Murder at the Lemonberry Tea

• Author: Darci Hannah
• Genre: Cozy Mystery
• Publication Date: November 26, 2024
• Publisher: Kensington Cozies
• Series: Beacon Bakeshop #6

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Cozies for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Lindsey Bakewell’s iconic lighthouse bakeshop in beautiful Beacon Harbor, Michigan, is hosting a celebrity cookbook author from the UK—but the notorious diva is now DOA . . .

Lindsey’s patrons have a new outdoor patio where they can eat their treats in the glorious summer weather. But even more exciting is that the Beacon Bakeshop is going to host British celebrity chef Vivi Lemonberry—and what could be a more appropriate event than a tea party?

What Lindsey didn’t realize is that Vivi is here to put some distance between herself and her recent professional and personal scandals. Despite assurances that Vivi is as sweet as a chocolate-dipped strawberry, Lindsey is cooling rapidly toward the culinary icon . . . especially after she banishes Lindsey’s beloved dog, Wellington, from the bakeshop and then flirts outrageously with Lindsey’s boyfriend.

She’s not the only one feeling hostile, though. While Vivi’s in the middle of making a tart in front of the cameras, a woman runs up and slaps her. Soon, Vivi’s nowhere to be found, and folks are speculating on whether she’s run off with her secret lover or just laying low due to embarrassment. That is, until Lindsey finds a body bobbing near the surface of Lake Michigan. It’s a sour ending for the diva, but Lindsey is determined to squeeze the truth out of every clue until she finds the killer . . .

With this latest installation in the Beacon Bakeshop series, Hannah has demonstrated her ability to consistently create fantastic reads without them ever feeling repetitive or formulaic. This time around, it’s full of wonderful summer weather and murder suspects.

At this point, I’m already sold on Lindsey, and her beau Rory, also known as ‘Sir Hunts-a-Lot,” so it’s genuinely enjoyable to start these books. I love Lindsey’s calm and unflappable approach, using all of the resources at her disposal to help the Beacon Harbor Police solve this most recent murder in the series. This time, Kennedy has arranged a tea party featuring a celebrity chef from across the pond, Vivi Lemonberry. Naturally, when she arrives, she exhibits some pretty bad behavior, namely banishing Welly, one of the best doggos, from the lighthouse where he lives with Lindsey, and then hits on Rory, followed by 

Three generations of Kapoor women are staying at the lighthouse with Lindsey, along with the ghost of Captain Willy Riggs. After Vivi gets slapped by a random woman while on camera, she goes missing. People in the town immediately assume that Vivi has run away, especially when they learn about her scandalous behavior in Britain. Until they find her body.

There are some tensions between characters, and it feels so true to life with some of the petty (and not-so-petty) squabbles that occur between family members. One of this author’s major strengths is writing characters who communicate in realistic ways. Even the way Kennedy and Rory bicker like siblings is hilarious and organic, having developed over the course of the series.

As usual, red herrings are sprinkled throughout the book to throw Lindsey, the police, and us, the readers, off track. It was difficult to figure out who was behind the murder, but I love that especially when reading mysteries, cozy or not. This is a fun, light read with a great plot and a wonderfully charming cast of characters. The pace is steady throughout the book, and as always, I’m a total sucker for recipes at the end of a book. This one features lemon bars, lemon scones, parmesan-crusted lemon garlic chicken, and a Bakewell tart (no relation to Lindsey, although it should be no surprise that she can nail this recipe). I highly recommend this book and series overall, particularly if you enjoy cozy mysteries, a swoonworthy slow-burn romance, great recipes, and fun banter.

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