Tea & Treachery
By Vicki Delany
Kensington Books
Pub date: 28-July-2020
AMBER LOVE 01-June-2020 This review is a courtesy provided by NetGalley. To support this site and my other work, please consider being a monthly donor at Patreon.com/amberunmasked; you can also buy my books through Amazon (or ask your local retailer to order you copies). I’m also an Amazon Influencer so you can shop through my lists of recommended products.
Publisher’s summary:
In this charming new cozy mystery series from nationally bestselling author, Vicki Delany, a New York City expat-turned-Cape Cod tea shop owner must solve the murder of a local real estate developer to help her feisty grandmother out of a jam…
As the proud proprietor and head pastry chef of Tea by the Sea, a traditional English tearoom on the picturesque bluffs of Cape Cod, Roberts has her hands full, often literally. But nothing keeps her busier than steering her sassy grandmother, Rose, away from trouble. Rose operates the grand old Victorian B & B adjacent to Lily’s tea shop… for now. An aggressive real estate developer, Jack Ford, is pushing hard to rezone nearby land, with an eye toward building a sprawling golf resort, which would drive Rose and Lily out of business.
Tempers are already steaming, but things really get sticky when Ford is found dead at the foot of Rose’s property and the police think she had something to do with his dramatic demise. Lily can’t let her grandmother get burned by a false murder charge. So she starts her own investigation and discovers Ford’s been brewing bad blood all over town, from his jilted lover to his trophy wife to his shady business partners. Now, it’s down to Lily to stir up some clues, sift through the suspects, and uncover the real killer before Rose is left holding the tea bag.
Review:
Vicki Delany’s Tea & Treachery is a solid first book in a new series by this veteran cozy author. Tea house owner and pastry chef, Lily Roberts, lives in a unique situation where her tearoom, her modest bayside cottage, and a lavish B&B run by her British grandmother Rose sit on the same Cape Cod property ripe for tourists. Not everyone in the neighborhood is able to keep their property and buildings in the exquisite standards expected by Cape Cod locals of North Augusta. It’s because the grand house next door has fallen into a nearly condemned state that powerful land developer Jack Ford becomes a regular presence and pest for the ladies of Victoria-on-Sea B&B and Tea by the Sea.
Delany takes this common practice of pushy land developers wanting to desecrate quiet neighborhoods and intertwines it with nepotism and corrupt low level municipal politicians. Even if the opulence of Cape Cod isn’t relatable some other element of the plot may be. But if nothing is familiar to you, the dreamy landscape, the hunky gardener, the quirky best friend and the hard-working staff of these women-owned businesses will hook readers looking for an escape from the stress of real life.
Rose and Lily have a wonderful dependable relationship. It’s the connection between their old friend Bernie and Rose — and basically anyone else with Rose — that allows breathing room and chances for relief at witty repartee.
Vicki Delany makes it hard to read through one particular series when she continues to astound with multiple mystery series that are each unique and lovable.
Rating: 5 stars
Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AmberUnmasked.com and Vodka O'Clock Podcast. Author of The Farrah Wethers Mysteries, comic book short stories, prose, and non-fiction. Cosplayer and figure model.