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A review by theavidreaderandbibliophile
Death by Tea by Alex Erickson
2.0
Death by Tea by Alex Erickson is the second book in A Bookstore Café Mystery series. Krissy Hancock is part owner in Death by Coffee (named after a book by her father, James Hancock) with her best friend, Vicki Patterson in Pine Hills. Rita Jablonski (a big fan of James Hancock) has decided to move the Pines Hills and Cherry Valley Book Club Competition to Death by Coffee. A beautiful silver teapot is the prize. They are a vocal group, but it will bring business into the store. But then one of the Cherry Hill members, David Smith, ends up dead inside Death by Coffee. Krissy is a suspect thanks to her late night activities (taking a cardboard cutout of her father out of the store that belongs to Rita). Krissy sets out to prove her innocence and she will do whatever it takes. She will have to evade Officer Buchanan who is determined to put her in jail (he just does not like her) and her very nosy neighbor, Eleanor Withrow.
I was hoping that Death by Tea would be better than the first book in the series. Unfortunately, I was disappointed (I think it was worse). Krissy is just not a likable character. The story is written in the first person so we get to hear all her ramblings and nonsense. She likes Officer Paul Dalton (with the Pine Hills police department) and does not understand why he does not call (this goes on throughout the whole book). The mystery was secondary in the novel to Krissy’s life (she would forget what she was saying or doing when a handsome man was present). We get to hear more about her awful cat, Misfit (who destroys furniture), than about the mystery. When Krissy questions or interrogates people she is not very polite (actually can be rude and pushy). It is like she feels she is entitled to get the answers she wants (even though the people have no reason to talk to her). Krissy rushes into situations (frequently) without thinking things through (leading to embarrassing moments for her and the person she accuses). I give Death by Tea 2.75 out of 5 stars. As you can tell, I am not a fan of this novel. The mystery was extremely easy to solve (despite the attempts of the author to mislead the readers). One clue was the key to solving the mystery.
I received a complimentary copy of Death by Tea from NetGalley (and the publisher) in exchange for an honest review.
http://bibliophileandavidreader.blogspot.com/2015/11/death-by-tea.html
I was hoping that Death by Tea would be better than the first book in the series. Unfortunately, I was disappointed (I think it was worse). Krissy is just not a likable character. The story is written in the first person so we get to hear all her ramblings and nonsense. She likes Officer Paul Dalton (with the Pine Hills police department) and does not understand why he does not call (this goes on throughout the whole book). The mystery was secondary in the novel to Krissy’s life (she would forget what she was saying or doing when a handsome man was present). We get to hear more about her awful cat, Misfit (who destroys furniture), than about the mystery. When Krissy questions or interrogates people she is not very polite (actually can be rude and pushy). It is like she feels she is entitled to get the answers she wants (even though the people have no reason to talk to her). Krissy rushes into situations (frequently) without thinking things through (leading to embarrassing moments for her and the person she accuses). I give Death by Tea 2.75 out of 5 stars. As you can tell, I am not a fan of this novel. The mystery was extremely easy to solve (despite the attempts of the author to mislead the readers). One clue was the key to solving the mystery.
I received a complimentary copy of Death by Tea from NetGalley (and the publisher) in exchange for an honest review.
http://bibliophileandavidreader.blogspot.com/2015/11/death-by-tea.html