Steeped in Malice (Tea by the Sea Mystery #4)

by Vicki Delany Narrated by Shaina Summerville

Overview

Afternoon tea isn't just about flavorful brews and delicious treats. It's also about presentation-fine china teacups (never mugs!), with carefully coordinated saucers and plates. With her fragile stock running low, Lily has an excuse to indulge in one of her favorite hobbies: visiting an antiques fair for replacements.



Lily snaps up a charming Peter Rabbit-themed tea set in a wicker basket, perfect for children's events. But a few days later, a woman named Kimberly marches into the tearoom, rudely demanding to buy it back-then later returns and removes an envelope hidden in the basket's lining.



An acquaintance of Lily's named Rachel is on the trail of the tea set too. Apparently, she and Kimberly are half-sisters, searching for their mother's final will. To her annoyance, Lily is dunked into the middle of this mess-especially when her ex-boyfriend turns out to be involved. But it's more than a storm in a teacup when one of the sisters is found dead on the grounds of the B&B owned by Lily's grandmother, Rose.



It'll take some savvy sleuthing from Lily, Rose, and their allies to find the answers before a killer shatters more lives . . .

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Praise for the Tea by the Sea Mysteries by Vicki Delany
 
“Shoals of red herrings abound, but Lily and her delightful friends winnow out the big fish.” —Kirkus Reviews on Steeped in Malice
 
“A continuing delight.” —Criminal Element on Steeped in Malice
 
“Find a comfy chair, raise a cup of fragrant, freshly brewed tea to your lips, and settle down for murder and mayhem in a mystery novel set in a tearoom for a delightful form of armchair travel.” —TeaTime Magazine on The Tea by the Sea Mysteries
 
“Details about tea, baking, and running a tea shop and bed-and-breakfast are woven throughout a satisfying cozy with a beautifully described setting and a cast of charming, small-town characters. Share this new series with fans of Laura Childs’ Tea Shop mysteries.” —Booklist on Tea & Treachery
 
“Fans of culinary cozies will be sure to come back for more.” —Publishers Weekly on Tea & Treachery
 
“Bestselling crime writer Vicki Delany has penned more than 40 hair-raising whodunits—and her latest tale follows suit!” —Woman’s World (Book Club Selection) for Tea & Treachery
 
“Adds a sweet edge to the cozy genre...With a pot of Earl Grey and a shortbread made from the included recipes at their sides, readers will feel like this takes them on a mini-trip to the seashore.” —Booklist on Murder in a Teacup
 
“Delany expertly blends a cunning mystery plot with diverting characters and sparkling dialogue. Laura Childs fans will have fun.” —Publishers Weekly on Murder in a Teacup
 
“Quirky characters, a lovely setting, and a surprising denouement make this second installment a charmer.” —Kirkus on Murder in a Teacup
 
“Sympathetic characters, a charming setting, the baking frame, and appended recipes distinguish this cozy, which will appeal to fans of Laura Childs’ Theodosia Browning tea-shop mysteries and Cleo Coyle’s coffeehouse-set series.” —Booklist on Murder Spills the Tea
 
“Cape Cod provides an appealing backdrop for a food-centric cozy replete with red herrings and likable sleuths.” —Kirkus on Murder Spills the Tea
 
“Kudos to Vicki Delaney for this terrific whodunnit.” —Criminal Element on Murder in a Teacup
 
“It’s a crime not to read Delany.” —London Free Press

Kirkus Reviews

2023-05-09
A missing will, a lot of money, and a dysfunctional family add up to murder.

Lily Roberts left her job as a high-powered Manhattan pastry chef to return to Cape Cod and open Tea by the Sea on the grounds of her grandmother’s high-end B&B. At an antiques fair she's attending with her best friend, Bernie, and her grandmother Rose to replenish her supply of teacups, Lily also decides at the last minute to purchase a delightful children’s tea set in a wicker box. The next morning, a pushy woman shows up demanding to buy not the set but the box. Kimberly Smithfield, who claims it belonged to her family and was sold accidentally, gets so nasty that Lily has to be rescued by Simon, her handsome English gardener. The next morning Kim returns, throws money at Lily, cuts open the lining of the box, and departs with a plain envelope, leaving everything else behind. Soon Kim, who’s recently married celebrity chef Wesley Schumann, the ex-boyfriend who drove Lily out of New York with his ferocious temper, is followed by her half sister, Rachel Morrison, a restaurant designer Lily knows from her time in New York. Rachel also wants what was in the box, which turns out to be a handwritten will in which their mother determines whether her residual legatee will be Kim, Rachel, or their brother. Soon after Kim and Wes move into Rose’s B&B, Lily stumbles upon Kim’s dead body and is forced to investigate before her business is ruined.

Shoals of red herrings abound, but Lily and her delightful friends winnow out the big fish.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940176898637
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	07/25/2023
Series:	Tea by the Sea Mysteries , #4
Edition description:	Unabridged

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