Sunday, June 3, 2018

Murder with Cinnamon Scones: A Daisy's Tea Garden Mystery


Good Day!  Falcon's Prey by Terry Odell is the eighth book in A Blackthorne Inc. series and is now available.  Arms of Mercy by Ruth Reid along with A Daring Venture by Elizabeth Camden will be published on June 5.  

Murder with Cinnamon Scones by Karen Rose Smith is the second book in A Daisy’s Tea Garden Mystery series.  Daisy Swanson co-owns Daisy’s Tea Garden with her Aunt Iris in Willow Creek, Pennsylvania.  The town is getting ready for Quilt Lovers Weekend in three weeks.  Daisy has been working with Reese Masemer, owner of Revelations Art Gallery and Tessa’s boyfriend, on the preparations.  Unfortunately, Reese will not get to enjoy the fruits of his labors.  He is found dead in the woods near the covered bridge and Tessa finds herself at the top of the suspect list.  Matters are not helped when Chloie Laird, Reese’s attractive assistant, openly accuses Tessa of the crime at the tea shop.  Knowing that Tessa did not commit the crime, Daisy takes a deep dive into Reese’s life.  It seems that Reese had some secrets and one of them could have gotten him killed. 

Murder with Cinnamon Scones is well-written and has steady pacing.  There is a lovely cast of characters and a charming town.  Daisy is friendly, smart main character who is moving on with her life after the death of her husband.  I think she is handling her adopted daughter’s (Jazzi) search for her biological mother very well.  It is sensitive issue that the author handled thoughtfully.  Daisy has starting dating Jonas Graft, but their path is bumpy.  I could have done with less romance and more mystery.  I prefer a romance that plays out slowly in the background.  There are beautiful quilt descriptions in the book especially of the Baltimore Album Quilt.  There are many cozy moments with cooking, baking, eating, tea events, family time, town events, quilting plus more.  I especially like that Daisy and her kids live in a converted barn.  Foster Crenshaw’s father is worried about him working at the tea garden and his relationship with Daisy’s daughter, Violet. Mr. Crenshaw does not want Foster’s college plans derailed.  The mystery had some good components, a couple of suspects and misdirection.  I am not a fan of Detective Morris Rappaport who is a cliché cozy mystery detective.  Murder with Cinnamon Scones can be read alone if you have not had the opportunity to pick up Murder with Lemon Tea Cakes.  I am rating Murder with Cinnamon Scones 4 out of 5 stars.   I thought Murder with Cinnamon Scones was an engaging cozy mystery that will delight readers of this genre and Karen Rose Smith.

Thank you for reading my review.  I am featuring Confessions of a Red Herring by Dana Dratch next time.  I hope that you have a day filled with joy.  Please take a moment to follow my blog (upper right).  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris
The Avid Reader

No comments:

Post a Comment