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A review by kimdavishb
Murder Spills the Tea by Vicki Delany
5.0
MURDER SPILLS THE TEA is the third book in the Tea by the Sea Mysteries by Vicki Delany. This charming cozy mystery features a reality baking show, America Bakes! with, much to her dismay, protagonist Lily Roberts as one of the contestants. Her grandmother, Rose, and best friend, Bernie, pushed her into it and, as she feared, anything that could go wrong does, despite the judges enjoying her baking. Ms. Delany brings tension to the pages as conflicts mount between the production staff and Lily’s employees. The filming scenes feel authentic and the interaction between the players makes me feel like I’m watching a reality show with all the drama that ensues. One of the author’s strengths—across all of her series—is her character development. Each core character is memorable and well-developed, making the reader care about what’s happening. And when Cheryl, one of Lily’s employees, is accused of killing one of the judges, Lily (and the reader) can’t help but want to see Cheryl’s proven innocent.
The plot of the mystery is well-executed and I jumped from suspect to suspect, thinking I’d figured it out. There was misdirection amongst the drama surrounding the filming of the cooking show and clues craftily placed for the armchair detective to suss out. As Lily converses with the film crew and the celebrities, and eavesdrops as much as possible to find out the truth, she manages to bake up loads of tea room goodies. With a spine-chilling reveal that had me on the edge of my seat, the pieces of the puzzle come together in a satisfying conclusion.
Running a tea room along with cooking breakfast for her grandmother’s B & B guests each morning, Lily spends a huge amount of time baking. There are mouthwatering mentions of baked goodies throughout the book, and Ms. Delany has thoughtfully included a couple tempting recipes at the back of the book for the home cook to try out.
I was provided with an advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
The plot of the mystery is well-executed and I jumped from suspect to suspect, thinking I’d figured it out. There was misdirection amongst the drama surrounding the filming of the cooking show and clues craftily placed for the armchair detective to suss out. As Lily converses with the film crew and the celebrities, and eavesdrops as much as possible to find out the truth, she manages to bake up loads of tea room goodies. With a spine-chilling reveal that had me on the edge of my seat, the pieces of the puzzle come together in a satisfying conclusion.
Running a tea room along with cooking breakfast for her grandmother’s B & B guests each morning, Lily spends a huge amount of time baking. There are mouthwatering mentions of baked goodies throughout the book, and Ms. Delany has thoughtfully included a couple tempting recipes at the back of the book for the home cook to try out.
I was provided with an advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.