Murder with Cinnamon Scones

Second in the Daisy’s Tea Garden Mystery series, the author shares a cheery setting, well-drawn characters, and mounting suspense that crests to quite a surprise! I really enjoy the characters at tea garden who work together as if part of a finely-choreographed dance. They are warm and welcoming in an atmosphere where one is content to have a cup of tea or coffee and scone and relax. I love this new series, perhaps because of the setting and the leading ladies – Daisy, Iris, and Tessa. Daisy Swanson grew up in Walnut Creek, PA, then she and her late husband, Ryan, moved away. After his death, Daisy formulated a plan, packed up her delightful daughters Vi, now 18, and Jazzi, now 15, returning to Walnut Creek. Daisy and her Aunt Iris purchased a Victorian home for Daisy’s Tea Garden. Daisy’s best friend Tessa is the kitchen manager, who lives on the second floor of the Tea Garden, and uses the attic for her painting. Daisy and three other business owners are on the committee planning a Quilt Lover’s Weekend, which will hopefully provide a needed boost to the local economy for the winter weekend. They want to draw in people from nearby towns for year-round returns. There will be a drawing for two quilts, quilted kitchen goods for sale, and a demonstration at the local Quilts & Notions shop owned by an Amish woman, one of Daisy’s childhood friends, Rachel. All is going well until Reese, Tessa’s boyfriend who she has become very serious about, was found dead by the covered bridge, where Tessa has been working on a series of paintings. Reese, owner of the local gallery where Tessa had a showing last fall, was murdered. Tessa is the only suspect. Readers are treated to complex characters who we learn about through realistic dialog, actions, and revealing some of their backstories. Iris and Daisy are my favorites. Daisy reflects wisdom learned because of being a mother and, in recent years, a single mother. Each of the ladies, plus Foster, who work at Daisy’s Tea Garden are hard-working and personable. Daisy’s loyalty to Tessa and Foster through the challenges faced is exemplary, although it seemed at times that her words were challenging to a concerned parent and to Jonah when he tried to help her after she was attacked. Yes, Daisy was attacked on the stairs to Tessa’s apartment. She was injured, but thankfully not as bad as it could have been. Her computer searching skills are still excellent, finding that Reese had a few secrets he hadn’t shared with Tessa. This is a well-planned and executed multi-tiered mystery. Even though coffee is my preferred beverage, I appreciated learning more about the flavors of tea, how to prepare it, and seeing that I must try a white tea. Learning more about quilts, even though I can’t sew a stitch, was also enjoyable. Plot twists and turns brought electrifying changes about the potential suspects. I was stymied by the mystery, and stunned when finding out who the bad guy or gal is! There are no loose ends, and the story is well wrapped up. I highly recommend Murder with Cinnamon Scones, as well as the first in series, Murder with Lemon Tarts. From a grateful heart: I received a copy of this e-Arc from the publisher and NetGalley, and this is my honest review.