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Wisteria Tearoom Mysteries #8
A Valentine for One
The death of Gabriel Rhodes on Halloween night sent a shock through the Santa Fe Goth community. Three months later, the fallout continues.Ellen Rosings is too busy for dead bodies. With a wedding to plan, a move to organize, and business at the Wisteria Tearoom ramping up for Valentine's Day, the last thing she needs is another corpse to deal with. She is far more interested in solving the murder of Captain Dusenberry over a hundred years ago than in finding fresh victims.
Alas, her plans are doomed to disruption. A body appears, and this time not only is it someone she knew...the evidence points to a member of the tearoom's staff.
This cozy mystery is the eighth in the Wisteria Tearoom Mysteries series.
Alas, her plans are doomed to disruption. A body appears, and this time not only is it someone she knew...the evidence points to a member of the tearoom's staff.
This cozy mystery is the eighth in the Wisteria Tearoom Mysteries series.
- GenresMysteryCozy Mystery
233 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 10, 2021
23 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
Patrice Greenwood
20 books108 followersPatrice 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
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August 15, 2021I'm a bit irrational about this series, as it pushes all my buttons for a comfort read and I auto-buy each new story as it's published.
Here we see the fallout from a previous murder as well as the deepening relationships between members of a cast you should be well-familiar with, if you've made it to Book 8 (plus novellas!). Ellen and Tony Aragón make solid steps toward planning their wedding and moving in together; Kris faces the bleakness of Gabriel being gone; and even the Bird Woman and Dee show up with intriguing hints of romances of their own. Meanwhile, Valentine's Day promises to be the busiest day ever at the Wisteria Tearoom, and I am never bored by the details of how Ellen runs the tearoom -- you can feel the love and attention she pours into her business. And even Minuit, the kitten, gets solid screen time.
As always, Ellen is impassioned in her belief about the innocence of people she cares about. I appreciated how Tony still played a role without being the investigating detective, and how he clearly respects Ellen's perspective even when she bristles over police procedure. The closing of the actual mystery may feel abrupt to some, but given that I read mysteries more for their characters and atmosphere, I felt well-fulfilled by this book, and am already looking forward to the next.
Here we see the fallout from a previous murder as well as the deepening relationships between members of a cast you should be well-familiar with, if you've made it to Book 8 (plus novellas!). Ellen and Tony Aragón make solid steps toward planning their wedding and moving in together; Kris faces the bleakness of Gabriel being gone; and even the Bird Woman and Dee show up with intriguing hints of romances of their own. Meanwhile, Valentine's Day promises to be the busiest day ever at the Wisteria Tearoom, and I am never bored by the details of how Ellen runs the tearoom -- you can feel the love and attention she pours into her business. And even Minuit, the kitten, gets solid screen time.
As always, Ellen is impassioned in her belief about the innocence of people she cares about. I appreciated how Tony still played a role without being the investigating detective, and how he clearly respects Ellen's perspective even when she bristles over police procedure. The closing of the actual mystery may feel abrupt to some, but given that I read mysteries more for their characters and atmosphere, I felt well-fulfilled by this book, and am already looking forward to the next.
September 30, 2021
This is a book in a series so while I might give away something you don’t know if you haven’t read any of the previous books I don’t think any of it can be counted as a spoiler.
Patrice Greenwood never disapoints, as usual a great Wisteria Tearoom Mystery.
There is something so cozy and sometimes almost mundane,in a good way, about her storytelling. Ellen goes through her day with lots of chores in the Tearoom intermixed with her romance with Tony the detective, the inevitable mystery and last but not least, her own ghost.
I marvel at the way this mixture of mundane things that could be boring to read about (but they’re absolutely not!), the mystery, the romance and the sometimes paranormal snippets, flows together in an ongoing thread through Ellens mind. I love it.
If you haven’t read The Wisteria Tearoom Mysteries I would like to encourage you to do so.
Patrice Greenwood never disapoints, as usual a great Wisteria Tearoom Mystery.
There is something so cozy and sometimes almost mundane,in a good way, about her storytelling. Ellen goes through her day with lots of chores in the Tearoom intermixed with her romance with Tony the detective, the inevitable mystery and last but not least, her own ghost.
I marvel at the way this mixture of mundane things that could be boring to read about (but they’re absolutely not!), the mystery, the romance and the sometimes paranormal snippets, flows together in an ongoing thread through Ellens mind. I love it.
If you haven’t read The Wisteria Tearoom Mysteries I would like to encourage you to do so.
August 25, 2021
A Valentine For One by Patrice Greenwood
Rating: somewhere between 2.5 and 3 stars. 🤷🏻♀️
Review: I admit this series continues to annoy me. Ellen’s character is uptight, unbelievable, and show’s too much of author Patrice Greenwood’s own notions and bias; as if Greenwood has spun herself into form as Ellen only 20 some years younger than she is in life. Yet it continues to be an auto-buy for me! It’s like a frenemy thing I guess.
This book seemed to take some sort of turn though, as if Greenwood was trying out some different styles or techniques. I’m not sure how I feel about it honestly, parts felt clumsy while others felt rushed, and overall it came across as awkward, and somehow incomplete.
I did enjoy seeing so many of the secondary characters get more “screen time” though, including Kris, Tony, Dee, and The Bird Woman (whom I love endlessly!), who I feel was up to something but I don’t know what. All while Ellen and Tony make in-roads on the plans for their upcoming wedding, move into their new townhome, and Ellen prepares for the upcoming rush of Valentine’s Day at the Wisteria Tearoom, oh and of course solving the mystery around the latest dead body to pop up in their otherwise harmonious world.
If you’ve never read this series before, I do recommend it, but maybe just don’t start with this book?
Rating: somewhere between 2.5 and 3 stars. 🤷🏻♀️
Review: I admit this series continues to annoy me. Ellen’s character is uptight, unbelievable, and show’s too much of author Patrice Greenwood’s own notions and bias; as if Greenwood has spun herself into form as Ellen only 20 some years younger than she is in life. Yet it continues to be an auto-buy for me! It’s like a frenemy thing I guess.
This book seemed to take some sort of turn though, as if Greenwood was trying out some different styles or techniques. I’m not sure how I feel about it honestly, parts felt clumsy while others felt rushed, and overall it came across as awkward, and somehow incomplete.
I did enjoy seeing so many of the secondary characters get more “screen time” though, including Kris, Tony, Dee, and The Bird Woman (whom I love endlessly!), who I feel was up to something but I don’t know what. All while Ellen and Tony make in-roads on the plans for their upcoming wedding, move into their new townhome, and Ellen prepares for the upcoming rush of Valentine’s Day at the Wisteria Tearoom, oh and of course solving the mystery around the latest dead body to pop up in their otherwise harmonious world.
If you’ve never read this series before, I do recommend it, but maybe just don’t start with this book?
August 13, 2021
Another winner from Patrice Greenwood
Patrice has continued to send you searching the clues and trying to figure out who the murderer is. She has given you a better insight to a some of the characters. There is a connection to Gabriel's death. She has really let you get to know Kris and more of the goth culture. Ellen and Tony's wedding plans are moving along and he has now moved into their new townhouse. Hoping there is another book soon.
Patrice has continued to send you searching the clues and trying to figure out who the murderer is. She has given you a better insight to a some of the characters. There is a connection to Gabriel's death. She has really let you get to know Kris and more of the goth culture. Ellen and Tony's wedding plans are moving along and he has now moved into their new townhouse. Hoping there is another book soon.
August 24, 2021
Took a surprising turn!
I totally enjoyed this story. The author teaches us things as she tells the story...about history, about culture, about people and of course about tea. You fell like you are right there in the story. You can see what's being described. Loved it!
I totally enjoyed this story. The author teaches us things as she tells the story...about history, about culture, about people and of course about tea. You fell like you are right there in the story. You can see what's being described. Loved it!
September 12, 2021
I love to read Wisteria Tearoom Mysteries. It was fun reading about Tony and Ellen making their new home together and the frantic goings on for the lead up to Valentines Day at the tearoom.
The mystery however was disappointing. Not the best of the series. However, I loved the book.
The mystery however was disappointing. Not the best of the series. However, I loved the book.
August 13, 2021
Another great book in the series! The only downside is that I felt the book didn't quite have an ending that tied up all the lose ends, hence my lower rating.
August 20, 2021
As the 8th in its series (plus 3 intermezzos), this book is a delightful palette cleanser. I’ve come to look forward to every one of these.
October 30, 2021
Ellen and her bridesmaids go dress shopping but, on arriving back at her tearoom, they receive a shock.
A familiar figure hanging from a branch of one of the big, old trees!
A familiar figure hanging from a branch of one of the big, old trees!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews