Spirit Matters

Wisteria Tearoom Mysteries #5.5

by Patrice Greenwood

After a disastrous Halloween party at the Wisteria Tearoom, Ellen Rosings seeks to draw some understanding out of the chaos.While trying to support her grieving Goth office manager, Ellen ponders the mysterious flashes of light she saw in another part of Santa Fe, wondering if they are related to Captain Dusenberry, the tearoom's resident ghost. She asks for help from the local spirit-tour guide, Willow Lane, who takes curiosity about the captain's unsolved murder to a new level, where Ellen finds herself exploring the very meaning of spirit.Will a séance in the tearoom finally provide the answers to her questions?- - - - - - - - - -Dear Readers – PLEASE This is not a mystery. It is an interlude between book 5, A Masquerade of Muertos, and book 6, As Red as Any Blood.~ This is not a novel. It's a novella, about a third as long as a novel. That's why it costs less than the novels.~ This is not "leftovers." It is not text that was edited out of a novel. It's all original material that is focused on the characters in the series.~ Finally, if you have not encountered the Wisteria Tearoom books before, this is not the best one to start with. Any of the mysteries—the full-length novels—is a better choice. Since they're sequential, I recommend starting with book 1, A Fatal Twist of Lemon. - Patrice Greenwood

Genres: Cozy Mystery

121 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 11, 2017

About the author

Patrice Greenwood was born and raised in New Mexico, and remembers when the Santa Fe Plaza was home to more dusty dogs than trendy art galleries. She has been writing fiction longer than she cares to admit, perpetrating over twenty published novels in various genres. She uses a different name for each genre, thus enabling her to pretend she is a Secret Agent.

She loves afternoon tea, old buildings, gourmet tailgating at the opera, ghost stories, costumes, and solving puzzles. Her popular Wisteria Tearoom Mysteries are colored by many of these interests. She is presently collapsed on her chaise longue, sipping Wisteria White tea and planning the next book in the series.

Reviews

[Sherwood Smith]

I was lucky enough to read this lovely novella in draft. It's a little sidestep in the ongoing mysteries centered around a tea shop in New Mexico. These are cozy mysteries: there is a lot of delicious food involved, and the workings of the tea shop as Ellen, the owner, goes about solving the mysteries she gets drawn into.

But this one is a little different.

All along there were small signs that the tea shop might be haunted. In this story, the characters decide for reasons having to do with the previous story to hold a seance. Who and why and what happens unfolds with quiet observation and a strong and abiding sense of love. It's lovely, light, atmospheric as all these mysteries are, and contained that frisson of surprise that I especially enjoy in a story.

I suppose anyone could read it and pick up on what's going on, but to enjoy the full effect I encourage the reader to delve into the previous volumes.

[Anne Boardman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this novella isn't "officially" one of the numbered books in the series, it is much needed. It is the continuation of the story from book 5 "A Masquerade of Muertos." Now, why this wasn't included in that book is beyond me. Whether it was an afterthought, a grab for a few extra dollars, or necessary to set up book 6 (which I haven't read yet) is puzzling. I enjoyed the storylines and the characters and the new information, which answered questions and set the next part of the story in motion, thus the 4-star rating. I guess I will need to move on to book 6 to see where this lands.

[Deb Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm always delighted to read about my favorite tearoom. I really liked the story approach of starting two days after a tragic and mysterious death. It immediately raised my curiosity. The details around the death were revealed in believable ways and at a nice pace over the course of a tearoom business day. The minor dread felt during the preparation for the seance was fun . Well done.

[Genevieve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this in between book but not as much as the long books. This is much more about the spirit world than a mystery and Tony who I really like isn't in it. He is mad at Ellen for interfering in the last book. It is well written and I do love Ellen and all the characters that work at the tea room.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, engaging and a little spooky in spots. This novella is composed of material related to the story told in volume 5 of the Wisteria Tearoom Mystery series. It contains no mystery only answers to questions asked in the story.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this little interlude with little bits of things that wouldn't usually be put into the book. I could see how some who didn't understand what this is would be disappointed; however, I found it fascinating and comforting.

[Emme · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glad Ms. Greenwood wrote this novella. I was glad to see most of the visiting characters from the Halloween Edgar Allen Poe reenactment. The seance was very interesting and done differently. Looking forward to the next full length book.

[Sharon Slack · Rating 5 out of 5]

100 page "novella" that is a continuation of A Masquerade of Muertos (MOM) book. What a fun, quick read! Love to see how the friends of the MOM victim heal from his death. Of course, there's some exploration of the spirit world and new clues to the Captain Dusenberry/Maria Hidalgo romance.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have been following the series of the Tea shop since the first book. Can't wait to read the next one

[H. Spence Daniels · Rating 5 out of 5]

An entertaining interlude while waiting for next book!
Jamie Dee

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Penny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Enjoying the captain’s tale but still don’t care about the goths.