Death by Tea

Alex Erickson

Dec 2015 · A Bookstore Cafe Mystery Book 2 · Kensington Cozies

About this ebook

A book club meeting turns murderous in this mystery in the national bestselling series…
 
Mystery lovers have descended on Pine Hills for this year’s book club competition, to be held at Krissy Hancock’s bookstore café. But the killer in their midst seems determined to outwit all the armchair sleuths—and send Krissy to the remainder bin forever.
 
Just before two dueling book clubs are set to square off, one of the competitors turns up dead—bludgeoned with the silver teapot that was to serve as the prize. Suspicion immediately falls on Krissy, who was seen skulking around town in dark clothes on the night of the murder.
 
To clear her name and find the real killer, Krissy turns to an old flame, Officer Paul Dalton. But even Paul can’t ignore the trail of evidence that seems to point in her direction. And with Krissy’s personal nemesis, Officer John Buchannan, working overtime to pin the murder on her, it will take an amazing feat of detective work to close the book for good on an elusive killer…

Ratings and reviews

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.

This potentially interesting and humorous story is dragged down mightily by the most annoying protagonist I've ever come across! She's a whining, self-obsessed drama queen. She flounces around uselessly and gets upset by any little thing. I also can't believe she allows her cat to control her and destroy her house! Cats are trainable you bimbo! Strangely enough though, she's one of the more believable characters: I've definitely met women like this, but I don't want to spend time in their heads!

Average overall. Solid mystery, but balance between mystery and everyday life is uneven. Heroine comes off as flighty.

About the author

Alex Erickson has always wanted to write, even at a young, impressionable age. He’s always had an interest in the motive behind murder, which has led him down his current path. He’s always ready with a witty—at least in his opinion—quip, and tries to keep every conversation light and friendly. Alex lives in Ohio with his family and resident felines, who provide endless amounts of inspiration. You can visit him on Twitter at twitter.com/AEricksonbooks and on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/alexericksonbooks.