Hibiscus Homicide

Tea Shop Cozy Mysteries #6

by Katherine Hayton

Willow Foxglove's friend Reg finally spotted some aliens in an outfield. But are the visiting creatures responsible for a murder? When Reg doesn't turn up for his tour group, Willow is frightened something terrible has happened to him. After an increasingly panicked hunt, she and Harmony find him hiding away from the extraterrestrial life-forms he usually seeks. After Sheriff Wender uncovers a body in the same pasture Reg insists he encountered an alien being, they must consider whether a universal incident has taken place. As the murder case drags on, unsolved, Willow soon faces increasing pressure on her fledgling business. If the tourists stay away from Aniseed Valley for fear a murderer is on the loose, then she might end up having to close her beloved tea shop. With Reg's sanity and her business on the line, Willow joins forces with best friend Harmony to uncover the truth, solve the murder, and discover if Aniseed Valley is now a tourist destination for the entire galaxy! Tea Shop Cozy Mysteries are quick 1-2 hour reads perfect for filling in time waiting for appointments, commuting to work, or when your significant other insists on watching the show that makes you roll your eyes! They contain no swearing, no gore, no cliffhangers, and no graphic scenes.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Cozy, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller, Contemporary

100 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 3, 2018

About the author

I'm a middle-aged woman who works in insurance, doesn't have children or pets, can't drive, has lived in Christchurch my entire life, and currently reside a two-minute walk from where I was born.

For some reason, I've developed a rich fantasy life.



I like to write mysteries, some set in my hometown of Christchurch, others ninety minutes up the road in the beautiful township of Hanmer Springs, or in the quasi-fictional town of Pinetar. These mysteries range from hard-hitting psychological thrillers, through to police procedurals, or the lighter adventure of a cozy mystery.

Reviews

[Louie the Mustache Matos]

Hibiscus Homicide by Katherine Hayton is Book 6 of the Tea Shop Mysteries series. It is the final book of the series and equally as fast-paced as the others. These novella length stories can be read in 2 hours. Willow Foxglove is a 50 something former model who runs a tea shop and plays the amateur sleuth in all of her adventures which have her start what is essentially a "Heroes Journey" in all of the major events that occur in the sleepy town of Aniseed Valley.

Her best friend Harmony is a bibliophile who goes to the library every day and does the research for the investigations. Reg is her other best friend, and he does the physical exploring. As a lifelong resident and former custodial engineer for the high school, he knows the byways and shortcuts of the town. Again, the story is as fun and entertaining, as the other stories have been.

[Rochelle Saldaña]

I’ve now read all six of these cozy mysteries. I found them to be quick, fun, and endearing. The character development was good and their relationships charming!

[Mahoghani 23]

Strange events always occur in this small town. However, murder never goes away.

[J.M. Northup]

Great Final Installment

I really enjoyed this book. It was fun to have an adventure with Willow and Reg, this time. I felt the cozy cozy in this story and thought it was a perfect way to tie up the series.

What I loved was the respect the friends have for each other. I don't know if I'd handle things the way the characters do, but I know they act from concern. If my actions made the people important to feel as cared for, if be thankful. After all, the relationships have always made the book(s) endearing for me.

There wasn't anything I didn't like. I felt the plot was one of the strongest and least predictable. I enjoyed the whole experience, except the series ending. LOL

I recommend this title (and series). It's an easy, feel-good read. It isn't abrasive, yet it offers an entertaining murder mystery.

[Meg]

3.5 stars. The final two stories are the best of the collection. Willow and Harmony have to help their friend Reg after he thinks that he has finally spotted an alien one night. But it turns out that what he saw on his friend's farm was just a man covered in luminescent paint. When a man is found dead and naked on the farm in the morning having been shot to death, the police think that Reg is to blame. But the man was still alive when Reg saw him. The dead man turns out to be an antique dealer who was in town for a swap meet. He tried to skip town without paying his hotel bill and he cheated a local man named Timothy by selling him a fake antique. Willow and Reg go back out to the farm one night and try to make sense of what has been happening and they see another man covered in luminescent paint but they know this one. It is Wilber who has been caught poaching from the farm before. Willow figures out what happened. The farm owners, Tess and Howard, wanted to catch the poachers so they left booby traps on the farm that would coat the poachers in the paint if they went onto the fields at night. Timothy, angry that he got swindled by the antique dealer tampered with his car so that he'd break down driving out of town. When the car broke down, the man tried to go to the farm for help but got coated in the paint. Tess and Howard, thinking that he was a poacher, shot at him. He stripped his clothes off so that they couldn't see him and shoot again but by then it was too late and he died from his injury. A clever story.

[Heather]

While I was on vacation in Maui, the radio kept getting staticky so I decided I'd just pull up an audiobook to listen to instead. I randomly selected this set from Spotify since I like cozy mysteries.

I'm not sure why I listened to all six "books." They are really more like novellas and part of the story builds on itself (Willow deciding to open a teashop through the construction and opening of it) so that aspect feels like it's all just one book. That part didn't bother me. The rest is your typical cozy setup - small town, unusually high number of murders, character not affiliated with law enforcement solves them all. Again, that's what I expected so I wasn't bothered by it.

What bothered me is that the main characters in this series are supposed to be in their early 50s. That is established in the first book. The author is a middle aged woman. That is established in her bio. So why are the characters written as if they are in their 80s and have never seen a computer before? I kind of tuned out parts of the stories because of this and when I realized I was doing it, also realized I didn't care enough to go back and listen to the parts I missed. What's even more surprising is my discovery I've listened to another book by this author and gave it 4 stars so that makes this even more disappointing. And that book came out before this series so talk about a sophomore slump!

[Christine Goodnough]

This is an okay, low-suspense mystery, a quick read, but another case where the book title has nothing to do with the event. The story opens with Willow & Harmony find Reg in a closet, terrified and saying he actually has run into an alien from outer space. (Surely hiding in a closet half the day is a bit extreme even for Reg!) Willow and Harmony decide to go back to the area with Reg and find out if this alien has left any traces, but they rather find the sheriff investigating a suspicious death on the property.

Again in this sixth book the clueless sheriff needs to have Willow help him out by finding people who had dealings with the deceased, and also urging him to check out out a mysterious vehicle parked near the scene of the crime. She is able to put the scenario together and solve the crime.

[Amanda Evans]

This book was a pretty good cozy mystery. The mystery was at the forefront of the story, although why does this one of the half-dozen or so that she's seen, including one on the set of a very popular TV show, seem so much more important than all the others that it would keep tourists away?

The resolution moment was also very awkward.

I was not happy with the fact that Charlie seemed to be forced to 'propose' for all of a proposal that it was. I was pleased that she declined as she has spent the last 6 months bemoaning being married for the first time.

I like that they finally addressed Reg's hobbies and that it was significant, but I don't like that the author made fun of his beliefs.

I would not likely pick up or recommend anything By Katherine Hayton in the future the books have been too hit or miss.

[Mary A Moon]

Excellent Mystery

Hibiscus Homicide by Katherine Hayton, was, as always, an excellent mystery! I truly enjoyed this book, and would recommend it, and anything by this author. Love the cozy tearoom, the lively friendships, with their humor and banter, and the multilayered mysteries, that keep me guessing until the end.

[Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman]

Good series. I enjoyed watching the characters develop over the six stories. In this one, Reg finally sees his "alien" only to discover its connection to a tourist found dead, murdered in a field. Willow and her friends get to the bottom of things though and again help the Sheriff uncover the truth.

[Viridian Silvocia]

I absolutely loved it. The whole series has been wonderful and I highly recommend it. The fact that each tea from the title makes an appearance within each book is a lovely and mindful addition. The pacing is good and I appreciate how realistic the writing is to the character. It’s not overly descriptive and keeps in line with how the characters speak.

[Megan]

Another easy read. It was nice having a book focused a bit on Reg and his alien/UFO watching, seeing what he did. I thought his behavior to encountering what he thought was an alien was a little much, but I liked the way Willow and Harmony helped him. The murder mystery felt secondary and the resolution happened too quickly and without a specific murderer.

[gary c lehn]

Great series................

I'm having a wonderful time reading about the adventures of a middle aged woman and her friends! The author has a wonderful mind full of fun stories and mysteries of all kinds. Great reading......

[Cheryl A.]

Another outstanding book from Katherine Hayton! This is the best one of all the Tea Shop Mystery series! Many great interactions between characters old and new. Author really knows how to keep you entertained while staying focased on the mystery. I love every book of this series!

[Peggy]

The tea shop is about nine months running and still doing well. Charlie and Willow are doing well. Reg is a little sketchy but her is just respecting Willow’s friendship. But something is wrong, Reg is late by quite a while and Willow and Harmony go looking for him ...

[Sandra Bensley]

Reg misses a day of touring and has Willow worried. She and Harmony find Reg in a closet scared to pieces. Aliens have landed! Only Willow can figure out how a murder and aliens all line up to be one in the same mystery somehow. Great story line and quite an enjoyable story plot.

[Darlene]

This was my least favorite of the six Tea Shop mysteries but a cat, a tea shop, and a woman in her 50s or 60s as the main character, are all good fodder for reading.
Hard for me to imagine a tea shop though, that only serves herbal. (???) And it kinda makes me sad…

[Susan]

totally enjoyed the latest mystery, Willow and friends are a hoot

[Cynthia Sacks]

Fun series

Quick but week written series. Read in any order, but the characters make more sense if read in order. Imaginative mysteries, interesting setting.

[Michelle]

I loved this series! I will read another of Katherine's series. They were short, sweet, and fun! I hope the next one I choose is also.

[Jessica]

Loved it!! Loving this series! Enjoyable cozy mystery series. Currently binge reading every Katherine Hayton series available on KU!! Highly recommend them all.

[Michele]

Not sure if there will be anymore installments for this series but this was a good one to end with. My favorite character, Reg, is in the spotlight. Good storyline and character building.

[Cowboys_Sweetheart]

Sad to see it end!

Great ending to the series but so sad to see it end! Another fun quick mystery read! Really Loved it!

[nancy janette ✿]

I was hoping for a bang since it’s the last book of the series but it wasn’t very interesting.

[Debbie]

Very cute cozy mystery series.

[Teresa]

Well done audiobook series of cozy mysteries! Thank you Katherine Hayton and Sara Morsey!

[JoAnn]

enjoyed this story

[Holly]

Its a good series, hope she writes more.

[Tracey]

This is the last of 6 in a fun series. I’ve enjoyed getting to know Willow, Harmony, and Reg, along with all the other characters of Aniseed Valley.

[MadameZelda]

3.5 stars