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Masher of Ceremonies
A fundraiser for the local historical society nearly goes bust when someone fills the coffers with blackmail and murder . . .
The annual Tea With the Queen fundraiser always makes for a festive weekend in Queensville, drawing visitors from far and wide and giving local shops a welcome boost. This year, vintage kitchenware collector Jaymie Müller is running the event, and she’s got her hands full organizing old and new volunteers along with a surly catering crew. Then her master of ceremonies tells her he’s being blackmailed but can’t go to the police, and before Jaymie can sort that out she stumbles over a dead body at the tea.
Despite the demands of keeping the event up and running, Jaymie can’t help puzzling over the murder. There’s no concrete evidence linking the cretin behind the blackmail scheme to the dead body, so she begins questioning everyone connected to the blackmail, hoping to expose the killer. And just as she discovers a web of relationships that leads her to the culprit, she realizes that the Tea With the Queen may have been a royal pain, but outwitting a blackmailer and catching a killer may be the death of her . . .
Includes a vintage recipe!
Praise for the Vintage Kitchen
“I have loved this series from the first book . . . it’s like returning to a favorite nook for a cup of tea. It will delight, entice, and drive a reader to want to solve the murder.” —Goodreads on No Grater Danger
“A chilling whodunit.” —Richmond Times-Dispatch
“Well-plotted with several unexpected twists and well-developed characters.” —The Mystery Reader
“Jaymie is a great character . . . She is inquisitive and full of surprises!” —Debbie’s Book Bag
About the
Victoria Hamilton is the pseudonym of nationally bestselling romance author Donna Lea Simpson. Victoria is the bestselling author of four mystery the Lady Anne Addison Mysteries, the Vintage Kitchen Mysteries, the Merry Muffin Mysteries, and A Gentlewoman’s Guide to Murder Mysteries. Visit her website at victoriahamiltonmysteries.com.
The annual Tea With the Queen fundraiser always makes for a festive weekend in Queensville, drawing visitors from far and wide and giving local shops a welcome boost. This year, vintage kitchenware collector Jaymie Müller is running the event, and she’s got her hands full organizing old and new volunteers along with a surly catering crew. Then her master of ceremonies tells her he’s being blackmailed but can’t go to the police, and before Jaymie can sort that out she stumbles over a dead body at the tea.
Despite the demands of keeping the event up and running, Jaymie can’t help puzzling over the murder. There’s no concrete evidence linking the cretin behind the blackmail scheme to the dead body, so she begins questioning everyone connected to the blackmail, hoping to expose the killer. And just as she discovers a web of relationships that leads her to the culprit, she realizes that the Tea With the Queen may have been a royal pain, but outwitting a blackmailer and catching a killer may be the death of her . . .
Includes a vintage recipe!
Praise for the Vintage Kitchen
“I have loved this series from the first book . . . it’s like returning to a favorite nook for a cup of tea. It will delight, entice, and drive a reader to want to solve the murder.” —Goodreads on No Grater Danger
“A chilling whodunit.” —Richmond Times-Dispatch
“Well-plotted with several unexpected twists and well-developed characters.” —The Mystery Reader
“Jaymie is a great character . . . She is inquisitive and full of surprises!” —Debbie’s Book Bag
About the
Victoria Hamilton is the pseudonym of nationally bestselling romance author Donna Lea Simpson. Victoria is the bestselling author of four mystery the Lady Anne Addison Mysteries, the Vintage Kitchen Mysteries, the Merry Muffin Mysteries, and A Gentlewoman’s Guide to Murder Mysteries. Visit her website at victoriahamiltonmysteries.com.
- GenresMystery
254 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 19, 2026
About the author
Victoria Hamilton
41 books1,056 followersVictoria Hamilton is the bestselling author of several mystery series including the national bestselling Vintage Kitchen Mysteries and Merry Muffin Mysteries. She does, indeed, collect vintage kitchenware and bake muffins. She drinks tea and coffee on writing days, and wine other times. It doesn’t do to confuse days. A solitary being, she can be coaxed out of her writing cave for brownies and cat videos.
She started her writing life as Donna Lea Simpson, bestselling author of Regency Romances, paranormal historicals and historical mysteries, and still has a soft spot for the Regency period.
In fact her latest writing adventure is the new Regency-set historical mystery series - to be published by Midnight Ink - beginning in February 2019 with A Gentlewoman's Guide to Murder, featuring Miss Emmeline St. Germaine, a young lady who dares to defy society. She will fight for her right to live her own life, despite the dangers that presents. She has a dagger, and she's not afraid to use it.
If you Google ‘Victoria Hamilton’, you will find listed first a famous actress who starred as the Queen Mother in the Crown and as Charlotte Brontë in ‘In Search of the Brontës’. That’s not the Victoria who writes mysteries.
No, really, it’s not!
You can find her buried in a good book, (entombed in a good tome?) or online at:
Website: http://www.VictoriaHamiltonMysteries.com (Sign up for her annoyingly infrequent newsletter for all the latest!)
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorVictor...
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/MysteryVictoria
She started her writing life as Donna Lea Simpson, bestselling author of Regency Romances, paranormal historicals and historical mysteries, and still has a soft spot for the Regency period.
In fact her latest writing adventure is the new Regency-set historical mystery series - to be published by Midnight Ink - beginning in February 2019 with A Gentlewoman's Guide to Murder, featuring Miss Emmeline St. Germaine, a young lady who dares to defy society. She will fight for her right to live her own life, despite the dangers that presents. She has a dagger, and she's not afraid to use it.
If you Google ‘Victoria Hamilton’, you will find listed first a famous actress who starred as the Queen Mother in the Crown and as Charlotte Brontë in ‘In Search of the Brontës’. That’s not the Victoria who writes mysteries.
No, really, it’s not!
You can find her buried in a good book, (entombed in a good tome?) or online at:
Website: http://www.VictoriaHamiltonMysteries.com (Sign up for her annoyingly infrequent newsletter for all the latest!)
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorVictor...
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/MysteryVictoria
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 25, 2026
Review to come soon.
Read
May 19, 2026Jaymie Müller is planning a big fundraiser in her Queensland, Michigan hometown called Tea with the Queen. It is a week long event, even including townspeople dressed up as Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. In the midst of this festival, her friend's assistant is found murdered. Jaymie works - on her own and with the police's blessings - to find the killer and solve the mystery.
I wanted to read Masher of Ceremonies because of the Vintage Kitchen Mystery theme. I love all things vintage, and especially kitchenware, cookbooks, etc., so I was intrigued.
This is my first read in this series, but there is a wonderful, descriptive Cast of Characters list included. This helped me to jump right in and enjoy Masher of Ceremonies as a standalone read. I wish more cozy mysteries would include a character listing - it is always so helpful!
This is a fun, leisurely paced read. (The murder occurred almost half way through the book.)
I really like Jaymie. We see her home life with her husband, daughter, cat, and little Yorkie Hopalong (Hoppy). We see her doing event planning, working with vintage kitchenware, and also as an amateur detective. The author did a wonderful job at creating a fully rounded character with a lot of nuance.
Jaymie has a gift of detecting, following her hunches, and having great intuition. I really enjoyed solving the mystery along with her.
I found the details of the weeklong Tea With the Queen festival interesting as well!
I look forward to reading more books in the Vintage Kitchen Mystery series. I recommend Masher of Ceremonies to other cozy mystery fans. It's an engrossing, well written mystery.
I wanted to read Masher of Ceremonies because of the Vintage Kitchen Mystery theme. I love all things vintage, and especially kitchenware, cookbooks, etc., so I was intrigued.
This is my first read in this series, but there is a wonderful, descriptive Cast of Characters list included. This helped me to jump right in and enjoy Masher of Ceremonies as a standalone read. I wish more cozy mysteries would include a character listing - it is always so helpful!
This is a fun, leisurely paced read. (The murder occurred almost half way through the book.)
I really like Jaymie. We see her home life with her husband, daughter, cat, and little Yorkie Hopalong (Hoppy). We see her doing event planning, working with vintage kitchenware, and also as an amateur detective. The author did a wonderful job at creating a fully rounded character with a lot of nuance.
Jaymie has a gift of detecting, following her hunches, and having great intuition. I really enjoyed solving the mystery along with her.
I found the details of the weeklong Tea With the Queen festival interesting as well!
I look forward to reading more books in the Vintage Kitchen Mystery series. I recommend Masher of Ceremonies to other cozy mystery fans. It's an engrossing, well written mystery.
Read
May 2, 2026Masher of Ceremonies is a well-crafted cozy mystery that blends small-town charm with a classic whodunit structure. Victoria Hamilton builds a light but engaging narrative centered around a community fundraiser that quickly spirals into blackmail, suspicion, and murder.
What stands out in this book is its atmosphere. The setting of the “Tea With the Queen” event adds a warm, nostalgic backdrop that contrasts effectively with the darker undercurrents of blackmail and crime. The protagonist’s involvement in organizing the event while simultaneously investigating a murder creates a natural tension that keeps the story moving at a steady, readable pace.
At its core, Masher of Ceremonies is about uncovering hidden truths beneath polished social events and seemingly ordinary communities. The layered relationships and gradual unveiling of motives align well with traditional cozy mystery expectations while still offering enough twists to maintain reader engagement. Light, structured, and mystery driven, it appeals to fans of character-focused whodunits with a gentle tone.
What stands out in this book is its atmosphere. The setting of the “Tea With the Queen” event adds a warm, nostalgic backdrop that contrasts effectively with the darker undercurrents of blackmail and crime. The protagonist’s involvement in organizing the event while simultaneously investigating a murder creates a natural tension that keeps the story moving at a steady, readable pace.
At its core, Masher of Ceremonies is about uncovering hidden truths beneath polished social events and seemingly ordinary communities. The layered relationships and gradual unveiling of motives align well with traditional cozy mystery expectations while still offering enough twists to maintain reader engagement. Light, structured, and mystery driven, it appeals to fans of character-focused whodunits with a gentle tone.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews