Callie
Aspen has gone home to Heart’s Harbor, Maine, to spend
the holidays with her Great-Aunt Iphy, who has a vintage tea-room
named Book Tea. Every treat the tea-room serves has a bookish
clue for patrons to figure out.
Aunt
Iphy was hired to prepare and present a special tea party
at Haywood Hall, a mansion belonging to Dorothea Finster,
age 93 and the oldest resident in town. Callie agrees to help
and brings a special cake, tea and cups, and other accouterments
befitting the fancy event. Dorothea plans to make an announcement
about her will. The wealthy widow doesn’t have much
in the way of family and is, for the most part, estranged
from the few she does have. Even the mayor and his wife, as
well as the president of the chamber of commerce, and the
headteacher of the local school attend – most of them
angling for a payout in the will.
But each
guest has their own agenda. Sheila, the wife of Stephen Du
Bouvrais, who is the heir apparent, has special plans for
the party. She has put a family heirloom ring in a box that
she has Callie place inside a hollowed out section of the
three-tier cake. The idea is that Ben Matthews, Dorothea’s
attorney, is to cut the cake, find the ring and propose marriage
to Sheila and Stephen’s daughter, Amber.
When
the ring disappears and there’s a murdered body in the
conservatory, there are plenty of suspects and motives.
The Book
Tea Room concept is certainly unique, and it was captivating
to learn about the hidden secrets of people in small towns.
I was unable to ferret out who the murderer was, which always
makes a mystery more enjoyable for me. There’s a nice
balance of characters, small-town charm and hidden motives
to make it a page-turner.
Be sure
to get your copy before the holidays so you have a nice distraction
for some downtime. It’s always good to get the first
book in a series so you can watch the characters develop,
too. I’ll sure be on the lookout for the next book!
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