Review of Tea & Treachery by Vicki Delany

From the publisher of Tea & Treachery

As the proud proprietor and head pastry chef of Tea by the Sea, a traditional English tearoom on the picturesque bluffs of Cape Cod, Lily 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.

My review

There’s plenty to like about Tea & Treachery. Let’s begin with a likable protagonist—okay, I liked Lily, but wasn’t so thrilled with her grandmother. She’s a bit too pushy for my taste. Then again, she’s not the protagonist.
The plot unfolded at a nice pace with only the necessary information brought up when it was needed—no unnecessary backstory or data dumps here.

With the story set in a small community on the coast, this is a place most of us would want to visit—sans the murders, of course. Characters in the story were brought in only when necessary, so the storyline remains clear throughout. Even the romantic storylines played well with the main mystery and didn’t take away from the suspense.

Overall, I was entertained from beginning to end by this witty mystery with some very nice twists.