When real estate developer Jack Ford is found dead on grandmother’s B & B property, tea shop owner Lily Roberts tries to help, but running Tea by the Sea tea shop in tourist season on Cape Cod while keeping her grandmother out of trouble is big job. The police are determined grandmother Rose has committed the crime, so Lily carves out time for some private investigating.

Tea & Treachery is first installment in Vicki Delany’s Tea by the Sea Mysteries series published by Kensington Books. The contemporary plot is set in fictional town North Augusta, in Cape Cod. We follow Tea by the Sea tea shop owner Lily Roberts when a murder happens on her grandmother’s B & B property, Victoria by the Sea. The victim is property developer Jack Ford who has made a lot of enemies in the area because of his dodgy business practices. He has tried to force Grandmother Rose Campbell to sell her B & B but Rose has resisted by some intense verbal altercations, so police suspect she has motive for murder. Granddaughter Lily has her hands full, but carves out time to help her grandmother by doing her own private investigation. Soon secrets come to light which changes the case entirely.

Main character Lily Roberts is pastry chef and owner of local tearoom. She has grown up in New York, but has recently moved to The Cape to help her grandmother and have a better lifestyle. I liked her a lot, and found her a suitable character to calm her grandmother down.

Supporting character Rose Campbell is the temperamental, opinionated and demanding English grandmother who insults the police and not is helping her case at all. She refuses to sell her property because she is passionate about environmental issues. I loved her feisty and eccentric character. She kind of “makes” this story and is my absolute favorite.

For me the best part of this story was the vivid nature descriptions of the Cape Cod area which drew me in and made me feel I was actually there. The descriptions of the baking involved in the running of the teashop and the recepies at the back was very enjoyable. I felt the dialogue was light and humorous. A perfect summer read.

I felt the worst part was when property developers and council members turned up to force Rose into selling her grand stately home promising her progress, money and jobs. -Whatever would get them the property. I felt bad for Rose, but she certainly didn’t cave. I appreciated the dramatic element.

Tea & Treachery was an entertaining plot set in The Cape with focus on environmental vs property development issues. Well developed characters and good descriptive writing and dialogue made for a perfect summer read. The ending was a total surprise to me. I suspected plenty of people along the way, but the actual culprit evaded my attention.

Fans of Vicki Delany would love this new series. As will readers who enjoy cozy mysteries. Similar authors to explore might be Victoria Gilbert or Kirsten Weiss. Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for this eARC which gave me the opportunity to share my honest review. All opinions are my own.
My Rating: 4 stars / 5
Main reasons: entertaining plot, good descriptive writing, surprise ending