Review: Tea with Milk and Murder by H.Y. Hanna

Posted February 22, 2016 by Lola in Mystery, Review / 12 Comments

LolaReview

Tea with Milk and MurderTea with Milk and Murder (Oxford Tearoom Mysteries #2)
by H.Y. Hanna

Blurb;
While at an Oxford cocktail party, tearoom owner Gemma Rose overhears a sinister conversation minutes before a University student is fatally poisoned. Could there be a connection? And could her best friend Cassie’s new boyfriend have anything to do with the murder?

Gemma decides to start her own investigation, helped by the nosy ladies from her Oxfordshire village and her old college flame, CID detective Devlin O’Connor. But her mother is causing havoc at Gemma’s quaint English tearoom and her best friend is furious at her snooping… and this mystery is turning out to have more twists than a chocolate pretzel!

Too late, Gemma realises that she’s could be the next item on the killer’s menu. Or will her little tabby cat, Muesli, save the day?
(** Velvet Cheesecake recipe included!)

This book follows British English spelling and usage.
Clean read: no graphic violence, sex, or strong language.
Genre: humorous culinary, cat cozy mystery series / women amateur sleuth / British mystery

My Review:
I received a copy in exchange for an honest review

This book was just as good as the first one, maybe a bit better even. As I was already familiar with the characters and setting, I easily got into this book. It starts with a party where some of Cassie her painting are being displayed and the murder takes place early in the book. At first it seemed pretty clear what happened, but it soon it turns out to be more complicated. The mystery kept me guessing and suspecting people and I was pleasantly surprised by all the twists and turns this murder mystery took. I thought the poisoning made for an interesting mystery and it was very well written.

Beside the mystery there’s a lot going on, the tearoom, Cassie and her new boyfriend, Gemma her potential love life, Gemma’s mother who discovers online shopping. There was enough going on to keep me interested and there wasn’t a dull moment. I also appreciated how lots of scenes had a bit of foreshadowing, where only later you could full put things in perspective.

I liked Gemma and how she handles things and got involved with the mystery again in this book. Although there were a few scenes which felt slightly off, like how it was obvious something happened as Gemma had to be at a certain place. I also liked how we see a bit of Gemma her flaws as well. She doesn’t like Cassie her new boyfriend and she not handles it the best way at times, but overall I think she did have her heart on the right place and just wanted the best for Cassie. I liked getting to see more of the character we got introduced to in the first book, like the old biddies, Gemma her mom, Cassie, Delvin and some new characters too. There’s also a connection with Oxford and the college again, which was a fun touch. And ofcourse the tearoom setting and the adorable cat Meusli.

There’s a bit of romance mixed in, but not much more than in the first book. She goes on a date with both potential love interest, but beside seeing there’s some mutual interest in both cases, it doesn’t go much further. I am still preferring Delvin as it seems she would settle for the other guy, just because it was easy, I don’t think she felt as much connection with him. he did seem like a nice character ad obviously has a soft spot for Gemma.

To summarize: I really enjoyed this book! The pace was well done and the mystery was interesting with lots of twists and turns, foreshadowing and it kept me guessing. There’s enough going on besides the murder mystery as well I liked seeing more of the familiar characters we got to meet in the first book already. There’s also an interesting plot line involving Cassie her new boyfriend and Gemma’s dislike for him. Gemma doesn’t handle it the best way, it was obvious she just wanted the best for her friend. Then there is a bit of a romance subplot, it doesn’t progress much, but just a bit to keep me interested in what will happen with that. All in all this was a great sequel and I can’t wait till the third book will be released!

4-star

Links:
Goodreads
Amazon
Amazon UK

Have you ever read a murder mystery book where the victim has been poisoned?

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12 responses to “Review: Tea with Milk and Murder by H.Y. Hanna

  1. I haven’t read a book with this plot but it does sound like the story kept your attention and if I get a book that does that, it’s a win for me.

    Oh and “more twists than a chocolate pretzel!” is a great description. I loved that in the blurb.
    Mary Kirkland recently posted…Happy Raturday!My Profile

    • The poisoning made for a very interesting plot line and mystery. And indeed it’s a sign of a good book when it keeps your attention. This one was definitely a win and I am looking forward to read more of this author her books.

      The author has a great writing style and I like that sentence in the blurb too. Nice nod to the food aspect in the book as well.

    • Oh I didn’t know that. This was my first cozy mystery with a poisoning and I really liked it. I’ve read some good cozies lately, so I hope I’ll continue to find good ones.

  2. Thank you so much again, Lola, for reviewing one of my books and featuring it on your blog! 🙂 I’m so delighted that you enjoyed Book 2 as much as the first book in the series and it was really interesting reading your thoughts. I’m pleased to hear that you enjoyed the poison plot – I loved writing it! It’s a bigger challenge for the author – poison plots are often more complex, as you have to do all the background research for the poisons, know the symptoms and how they can misinterpreted, and then also make sure that all the suspects have the means and opportunity to both obtain & administer the poison – but I enjoy a challenge! 🙂

    Thanks again for your kind words about my writing. I’m hard at work on Book 3 at the moment and hope to release that at the end of March – so I look forward to hearing what you think of future books in the series!

    best wishes,
    Hsin-Yi
    (H.Y. Hanna)

    • You’re welcome! This is the first cozy mystery book I read with a poisoning and I really liked it. It’s very different from other ways of murdering and I enjoyed reading about it and how they solved the mystery. I didn’t knew much about poison, so it was interesting learning a bit more about that. I can imagine that researching poisons and plots are more complex, but I think all your research definitely payed off in this book.

      I can’t wait to read book 3 and I hope I’ll enjoy it as much as the first two!

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