Sweet Tea and Secrets: A Tea and a Read Mystery

Sweet Tea and Secrets by Joy Avon is the second A Tea and Read Mystery. It can be read as a standalone if you did not read In Peppermint Peril. Callie Aspen has quit her job as a tour guide with Travel the Past and is moving to Heart’s Harbor, Maine. Callie will be helping her Great Aunt Iphy with Book Tea as well as with the renovations to Haywood House. There is be a Fourth of July tea party at Haywood House with a sweet tea competition. Aunt Iphy asks that Callie find a past historical event that will have a big impact to present before the fireworks. Living history is the theme of the tea. Quinn Darrow is new to town and responded to Aunt Iphy’s ad for a handyman. Quinn will be fixing up Callie’s new cottage and has been roped into helping Callie find a historic event. Monica Walker, a television star, was taking a vacation in Heart’s Harbor when she vanished in 1989. She was never seen or heard from again. There is plenty of speculation, but no solid facts. Local editor-in-chief, Joe Jamison, reported on the incident years ago and Callie can tell he is hiding something. After an appeal for information on a local news station, the calls start rolling in. It seems Callie struck a nerve because Joe is found dead in his office and the evidence points to Quinn. Callie works to find answers before the killer strikes again. Two mysteries to solve in one book. One can be solved early in the book while the other takes a little longer. I was dissatisfied with the way the reveal was handled (I want the sleuth to solve). I wish the characters had more depth since they feel flat. There is supposed to be an attraction between Callie and Deputy Ace Falk, but I do not feel it. He comes across as overprotective especially of his sister and uses his position to dig up information on people he does not like or trust. I would like to see improvement to the dialogue which was awkward and more action. The pacing lagged throughout the book as Callie speculates on the crimes. The potential is there with a little tweaking. Sweet Tea and Secrets is a light cozy mystery with creative culinary confections, a missing movie maven, a tea tournament, a cutthroat killer, and fantastic fireworks.

Kept me guessing I loved these characters and the world created within these pages. The mystery was well written and the dialogue flowed naturally. I will definitely read more by this author! Thank you to Joy Avon, Crooked Lane Books, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book and share my honest thoughts and opinions. I enjoyed it so much, I recommended it to libraries and re-read it after checking it out.