Meet Lilly Tweed. Former Agony Aunt. Purveyor of Fine Teas. Accidental Sleuth.
It’s the height of summer and Lilly has been asked to demonstrate at a local book club. Not only is this her first event, but it’s for the crème de la crème of the town’s residents, a member of the aristocracy and a wealthy heiress included.
When the proceedings get underway Lilly notices underlying tension and competition between the members and it’s not long before tragedy strikes. The heiress is found dead.
As a prime witness Lilly is asked unofficially to help solve the crime, but with motives galore, animosity running rife and all the women having spent time alone with the victim, the culprit could be any of them.
The more she digs the murkier it becomes, and she soon realises appearances are deceiving when it comes to the rich and titled of Plumpton Mallet.
WRITER OF BRITISH MYSTERIES. Historical, contemporary, paranormal, cozy, humorous. Featuring memorable protagonists, their unusual side-kicks and an eclectic ensemble of supporting cast members. They usually include spirits (all varieties) a little bit of magic, a spot of romance and copious amounts of tea. At regular intervals they involve steam trains and sometimes bicycles.
SERIES:
THE YELLOW COTTAGE VINTAGE MYSTERIES, traditional English whodunits with a twist, set in the 1930s. Known for their clever humor as well as the interesting slant on the traditional murder mystery.
THE TEA & SYMPATHY series featuring Lilly Tweed, former newspaper Agony Aunt, now purveyor of fine teas at The Tea Emporium in the small English market town of Plumpton Mallet. Along with a regular cast of characters, including Earl Grey the shop cat.
THE FINCH & FISCHER series featuring mobile librarian Penny Finch and her rescue dog Fischer. Follow them as they dig up clues and sniff out red herrings in the six quintessential English villages and hamlets that make up Hampsworthy Downs.
Jacquie was born in West Yorkshire, England. She studied art and design and after qualifying began work as an interior designer, moving onto fine art restoration and animal portraiture before deciding to pursue her lifelong ambition to write.
I enjoyed the first book in this series but this one really dragged. I also got annoyed with the main character and generally have lost any interest in reading more of this series.
Amazon synopsis: It’s the height of summer and Lilly has been asked to demonstrate at a local book club. Not only is this her first event, but it’s for the crème de la crème of the town’s residents, a member of the aristocracy and a wealthy heiress included.
When the proceedings get underway Lilly notices underlying tension and competition between the members and it’s not long before tragedy strikes. The heiress is found dead.
As a prime witness Lilly is asked unofficially to help solve the crime, but with motives galore, animosity running rife and all the women having spent time alone with the victim, the culprit could be any of them.
The more she digs the murkier it becomes, and she soon realises appearances are deceiving when it comes to the rich and titled of Plumpton Mallet.
Another great story from J.New. So glad I discovered this author. Love the characters, the story moves at a good pace. Only criticism is it was too short.
In this second outing for Lilly Tweed, her Tea Emporium is busier than ever and she is asked to give a demonstration at a local book club. Lilly soon realised that this club comprises of some of the very best in local society, including a wealthy heiress and a member of the aristocracy but she detects a bit of an atmosphere between the attendees; something isn’t right and, naturally, her interest is piqued. When the heiress is found dead, Lilly is regarded as a prime witness and determines to help the police in any way she can but the more she digs, the murkier the waters become and she realises that perhaps all in not well in local ‘high society’.
Despite only having read one other novel in this series, I feel as if I know Lilly Tweed really well and this is a very different mystery to the first but no less exciting and endearing. Once more, the details of all the different teas fascinated me – the author has certainly done her homework! A riveting mystery with well-developed characters, beautifully composed into a really wonderful tale, as always. A fabulous second novel in series and one I thoroughly enjoyed and am happy to recommend and give a full house of stars!
Second book in the series about former Agony Aunt turned Tea shop keeper turned unformal sleuth.
I hated this but not that much? Its quick and really easy to read, and the mystery and murder is fine. The problem, and why I hated it so much, is that everyone is dumb af and don't have a single grey cell between them all. Like something happens and you think why is no one noticing the really obvious stuff? why is nobody talking (and by nobody I mean like the cop, the detective, the mc and the mc friends) about this right in your face clue? And then the murderer reveal... who the murderer was its meh but HOW she gets caught is horrible bad.
My life has been exhausting and I needed an escape that wouldn’t overtax my brain. This was PERFECT. Interesting characters, delightfully fun bad guys, interesting location, new things to learn about tea. I am HAPPY and won’t have nightmares tonight.
There is a substantial sprinkling of misspellings and grammatical errors, but the story flowed so nicely that I didn’t even care.
I really like the characters (though maybe not James) and Earl Grey is my favorite! I'd make the books last longer if I had my way. Maybe they need to start their own line of the blends to sell. There's never too much trouble when murder is involved so a few more scenes would be good. And give Stacie more to do then just "hold the fort.". She's smart let her advance the investigations too.
Another good mystery from J. New. After reading Tea and Tragedy I looked forward to reading this second book.
The book is well written and keeps you guessing. I love how it's easy to read and I can keep up with the characters. But it's nice not to know how the book ends. Very clever how J New does it. Look forward to more editions.
This is one of my favorite writers. I am not British, but am a tea drinker......so anything about tea catches my interest. Add a mystery, evil doers doing evil deeds, an adorable cat, and I'm right there! Enjoyed this immensely. I have the next one on my "to be read shelf" already. Enjoy.
First let me say, this is not my typical type of book. I enjoy getting lost in the past however this book made me long for a trip to a small English village and enjoy some intrigue and tea! I found that I could not put it down and read through it way too fast! So excited to read the next book and find out what adventure awaits Lilly!
After reading Tea and Sympathy I started book 2 right away. I’m pretty good at guessing who the villain is but was surprised by the ending. Now I’ll have to wait for book 3. Hopefully time will fly. I’m off now to brew a cup of tea 🫖☕️
In this interesting and cute story Lilly is put again to solve a murder amount the elite of her town. What she discovers is no matter what your status is envy and murder goes together.
Like the fact characters are likeable and interesting. Also not overly descriptive, nice comfortable easy read. Do like the more advanced (?) words used. Always nice to add to my vocabulary.
The rating would most definitely be higher, but this is a short cozy that can be savored by many. Only the length and light content kept me going four stars.