I’m more of a romantic suspense or psychological thriller girl but lately I have been reading quite a few cozy mysteries. Cozies are great because they tend to be comical or generally uplifting, which I needed.
This is actually book one in this author’s Book Tea Shop Mystery series. I’m not sure if she’s written anything else but this happens to be my first time reading this author.
In this story, we meet Callie and her aunt Iphy who owns the Book Tea Shop in town, where she concocts sweets with a twist—a mystery book clue. She has many fans—of both the mystery clues and the sweets.
Callie has been away traveling the world as a tour guide. She’s decided to come back to her hometown after many years. But she’s only on vacation. Her aunt Iphy puts her to work right away delivering and setting up the cake for a grand event at Haywood Hall, a grand house she played in and grew to love as a child! Dorothea, the owner of the house, has decided to have a reading of her will. But her nephew’s wife Sheila has other plans for the gathering. And yet someone else has even other plans!
Nobody gets what they wanted but crimes are committed and the mystery ensues!
This cozy was an awesome read with a pretty fantastic murder mystery. And it gets into the action right away and doesn’t really let up until the very end. It’s a great whodunit and I honestly didn’t have it all figured out!! So hats off to the author!
Of note, it’s really not about Christmas at all except that Christmas is a couple of weeks away as the events unfold. I do enjoy Christmas stories but this is truly a cozy murder mystery!

This book was provided to me by Crooked Lane Books through NetGalley for my review.

#InPeppermintPeril #JoyAvon #BookTeaShopMystery #CozyMystery #CrookedLaneBooks #NetGalley

In Peppermint Peril is the first book in the Tea and a Read mystery series. It stars Callie Aspen, an international tour guide who visits her hometown for the holidays and stumbles upon a dead body and harsh secrets that could tear a family apart.

My favorite aspect of the book was the holiday theme. I love reading holiday cozies during the holiday season, mostly because it just makes the holiday season feel more festive. Everything about this book screamed Christmas—the cover, the rich descriptions, the activities, and even the title haha. I really enjoyed reading this book. It kept me glued to my seat and kept my attention until the very end.

Callie, the main character, was very likeable and down-to-earth. I really connected with her, and I loved how she stood up for what she believed in. And even when it turned sour for her, she never regretted her actions. Just stood firm. I liked that a lot. Some of the characters were very unlikable, but most of them were delightfully entertaining and fun.

The mystery itself was set up very well. There were just enough suspects that it was hard to pinpoint the culprit at first, but I figured it out about half-way through, which sucked, but I did enjoy the ride. There were a few unpredictable moments that really caught me off-guard.

The only negative thing that caught my eye while reading was the pacing. It felt off. For example, in certain places, I felt like the story got slower—dragged on, and in other places, like the ending, it felt rushed.

But overall, I still enjoyed the book. The festive theme and the book tea shop concept was really cool, and I loved Callie and her great-aunt. They were really interesting characters, and I can’t wait to read more about them in book two.

I always love a good Christmas cozy, so I was very excited to read In Peppermint Peril when I heard about it. However, this one missed the mark just a bit for me. I found it to be slow moving, and just was never able to become invested in the story.
I did however love the setting, and Daisy the dog was adorable..

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley, all opinions are my own

A great start in what I hope will be a long a series.
I loved this cozy with a great cast of characters and a lovely setting.
The mystery was very good and entertaining. This was an enjoyable and fun read, full of Christmas spirit.
A very good read, highly recommended!
Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for this ARC

Thanks to Net Galley and Crooked Lane Books for this free book in exchange for my review.
This was a cute start to a new cozy mystery series! Callie returns to her favorite childhood town to visit her great aunt & help her at Book Tea, a vintage tearoom that sells sweet treats which all contain bookish clues. At a themed tea party right before Christmas, a murder occurs that sends the town into chaos. Who did it, and was it connected to the will reading that was about to happen (but never did)?
I liked the characters - Callie and Daisy (her sweet Boston Terrier), Falk (the small town cop), and Iphy (her great aunt who is a baking machine). The progression of the story was good, but I did find myself skimming some of the dialogue at some point. It wasn’t bad, I just wanted to move forward & know what happened! Overall, this was cute & hopefully the series will continue to be good.

I loved the sound of this when I first heard of it and I definitely was not disappointed, In Peppermint Peril is the first book in the new debut series by Joy Avon and I am looking forward to reading more from this series and author.

Callie and her cute and a button dog return to her old childhood hideaway; Hearts Harbour for Christmas, she plans to visit her aunt Iphy who runs one of the best tea rooms I have ever come across, they it is a tea shop that hold and caters for bookish themed events and parties, which is such a brilliant idea. Iphy is a master at these events she tends to know exactly what her customers want and she goes above and beyond to cater for them. While staying with her aunt Callie and Iphy are preparing for an Agatha Christie themed event at Haywood Hall. The owner of the Hall; 93 year old Dorothea has decided to make adjustments to her will but as with the stories of the great Agatha Christie her self thing’s don’t exactly go to plan.

As the family and friends of the hugely wealthy Dorothea all flock to the Hall to see what if anything is in store for them, which is all very well the only thing is that none of them like each other, in fact dislike is a mild term what this family feels for one and other. To add to the not so happy get-together Callie’s child hood friends adds a bit more fuel to the fire in the form of her wanting to steal the lime light in announcing her daughters engagement, which isn’t the happy news that she would have hoped. Then right in the middle of so much hype and animosity somebody is murdered with Callie right in the middle of the investigation.

I love that this has got a real Poirot or Miss Marple feel to it, the murder mystery is brilliantly paced the reader follows Callie and the investigation right up to finally uncovering who the murderer was. Even though this is a contemporary story, for me it has a proper vintage feel to it, it’s cosy and fun and brilliantly engrossing. The writing is clearly stylish, it flows with a rare ease and keeps the readers turning the pages. Callie is a brilliant character she is a genuinely lovely lady who is a pretty damn good investigator – definitely a young Miss Marple in the making. On top of the whole murder mystery you have a jolly good Christmas read that will fill you with festive cheer and it is perfect for these cold and cosy long

In Peppermint Peril by Joy Avon is the first book of the new cozy A Tea and a Read Mystery series. This is a small town cozy mystery in which the main character has returned to work with her aunt in a bookish themed business.

Callie Aspen had left Heart’s Harbor, Maine main years before after nursing a broken heart when her long time crush married another friend. This Christmas however she’s returned to visit her aunt and volunteers to help with her aunt’s business, Book Tea.

Callie finds herself among those she had left behind when she ends up working a special party at Haywood Hall owned by the town’s richest widow, Dorothea Finster. Dorothea had intended on making an announcement about her will but the party was overtaken but Sheila, Callie’s old friend, who had set up her daughter’s surprise engagement much to her daughter’s dismay. But things really go wrong when a dead body is found and a murderer seems to be on the loose.

In Peppermint Peril is one of those books that really tried to come in with a bang and it felt a bit like being dropped into a situation I should have known more about. Callie is barely introduced herself in the story when a whole bunch of other characters are coming into play and it was a bit confusing of a start.

Once settled in though I felt there still seemed to be a lack of depth to the characters to let them stand out more on their own. There’s not much told about the business, how Callie came about her travels, the other folks in town other than a brief what happened. I think if things had more depth this one would have really stood out as the small town vibe and the Christmas events going on seemed fun but with it hard to connect to anyone this first book was just an alright read.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

In Peppermint Peril is the debut novel in Joy Avon’s Book Tea Shop Mystery series. The writing style flows smoothly, and the book is a clean, quick, and easy read. The mystery in this steadily paced book is interesting and includes a murder, blackmail, threats, and multiple suspects. The characters are well developed, and there are lots of red herrings, twists and turns.

Calliope “Callie” Aspen, a historical location tour guide who’s traveled the world, is visiting her Great Aunt Iphy for the Christmas holiday. Callie brought Daisy, a sweet Boston terrier she’s fostering and hopes to find a good forever home for, with her. Great Aunt Iphigeneia “Iphy” is the owner of a vintage tearoom, the Book Tea, asks Callie to set up a special tea party at Haywood Hall for Heart’s Harbor’s oldest resident, Dorothea Finster. Ninety-three-year-old Dorothea, a wealthy widow, who has invited her estranged relatives, old friends, and a few distinguished citizens who hope for bequests when she makes an announcement regarding changes to her will. Callie has a history with Haywood Hall and is worried about being with several people who will be there. Callie left Heart’s Harbor many years ago when her longtime crush, Stephen Du Bouvrais, married her friend, Sheila. Stephen is Haywood Hall’s future heir and Dorothea’s only living relative. Sheila had other plans for the tea party and arranged to announce her daughter, Amber’s, engagement to Ben Matthews, but things don’t work out as she’d planned when the valuable family heirloom ring is missing. Dorothea tries to make her announcement, but things go from bad to worse when the gardener, Mr. Leadenby, is found murdered in the conservatory. Since the sheriff is out of town, Deputy Falk is assigned to the case. Callie is determined to uncover the truth about what happened, and she begins an investigation of her own and shares her findings with Deputy Falk.

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

In Peppermint Peril is the first book in Joy Avon’s new A Tea and A Read Mysteries. Callie Aspen, career traveler and tour guide, has returned to Heart’s Harbor, Maine, to spend the Christmas holidays with her great Aunt Iphigeneia. During her visit, Callie is set to assist her great aunt with the high end tea parties that she orchestrates on behalf of the Book Tea Shop.

The first event Callie helps her great aunt is a special afternoon at Haywood Hall, where Callie had spent many happy hours as a child. Ms. Dorothea Finster, mistress of the hall, was always quite fond of Callie and her love of the books stored in their library. Also at the Hall are childhood friends Sheila and her now husband Stephen Du Bouvrais. With no known children of her own, relative Stephen is Dorothea’s most likely heir. Also at the Hall, Callie sees the eccentric gardener Mr. Leadenby who she remembers fondly for his love of history and the places where momentous things occurred.

During the catered tea party that happens soon after Callie’s arrival, there is a failed and contrived proposal for Amber Du Bouvrais from young Ben, a junior attorney with the firm charged with preparing Dorothea Finster’s newly prepared will. However, with the failed engagement and the misunderstood plans, Callie finds herself in the position of investigator, which may be a dangerous position.

As the mystery unfolds and the clues accumulate, the story evolves to see who the real villain is. In a time of important elections and less than honorable leaders, this story is timely and important. I love how the author brought forth the conclusion and am looking forward to the next book in this series. I did enjoy this book and do recommend it.

I felt as though I was reading a book. It felt like I was dropped in a few pages after the story began. I didn't get to fully know Callie herself or her story. There wasn't a lot of depth to the characters. I wasn't excited to pick the book back up when I set it aside; in fact I was going to DNF at 39%, why I picked it back up after three months I don't know. There should have been more focus on the book and tea shop and the potential murder suspects in order for this book to be a standout for me. The mystery itself was just okay. Although things got a little better as the story progressed (I did come to like the victim), it's not a memorable book for me.

This book was just OK for me. The mystery was well done and kept me guessing right up until the end, but none of the characters were particularly likable. Plus, the dialogue came off very stiff and formal at times. This was especially noticeable with the deputy, who came across so wooden and flat personality wise. I enjoyed it enough to finish it, but I doubt I'll be picking up any more books in the series.

There's something magical about a small town and especially a small at Christmas time. This debut book is no exception. It's a definite feel good cozy with lots of mystery and mayhem and perhaps even a little romance. I love a good cozy and I think this series is going to have a lot to offer in the little town of Heart's Harbor, Maine The mystery was good, the characters were written in such a way that we know a little about them, yet there is so much more to be discovered in future books. If you are looking for a good Christmas who dun it book, pick this up!

Callie Aspen is home for a Christmas break from her job as a world traveling guide. While she is there, she helps her aunt run a mystery themed tea shop and ends up involved in a murder that takes place at a tea for a will reading. With this being the first in a series, I would have preferred if the story had centered around the tea shop itself and done a more focused job of introducing the main characters. I felt like more time was spent on people who probably won't continue as characters in the series. (For that reason, I did not give it the 1 star bump I normally give the first book in a series.) I also didn't feel a connection between Callie and why she felt the need to investigate. But, in the end, this was a nice cozy perfect for reading during a lull in holiday activities.

Peppermint Peril is the first book in the A Book Tea Shop Mystery series.

Callie Aspen is going to take a break from her job as a tour guide and return to her hometown of Heart’s Harbor and give her great Aunt Iphy a hand at her tea shop Book Tea. Callie is excited to learn that Aunt Iphy is putting together a tea for Dorothea Finster at her home, Haywood Hall. Dorothea has plans to announce the terms of her new will and has invited her remaining relatives, and the mayor and his wife, the president of the Chamber of Commerce, and a new school teacher to her tea party. All are hoping for substantial bequests to help fund projects that will benefit the community of Heart’s Harbor.

At the same time, Shelia Du Bouvrais, wife of Stephen Du Bouvrais Dorothea’s only heir, plans on using the party to announce her daughter’s engagement to her boyfriend, Ben. She has asked Callie to put a family heirloom ring into the cake that is to be served at the party. Ben will be cutting the cake and will remove the ring and propose. But as the old saying goes about best-laid plans going awry happens at the tea party. First, the ring box is empty and the longtime gardener is found brutally stabbed in the conservatory.
Callie has known the gardener, Mr. Leadenby, since childhood and is shocked to learn that he has been stabbed to death. She remembers that she had heard Leadenby and Brenda Brink, the school teacher, having a heated discussion. Also, she wants to learn how Sheila had gotten blood on her dress, that hadn’t been there earlier in the evening. She also remembers seeing handyman, Cole Merton, who had a troubled youth, leaving about the time she had put the ring box in the cake. She begins to speculate whether the two events are related. So she sets out to try and find if they are, first, related and who might have done them.

This was an enjoyable first book and looking forward to seeing the next book to learn where the series will go once everyone is able to understand the terms of the new will. I enjoyed all the characters but will be looking forward to learning more about them, particularly Aunt Iphy.

I love a new book especially the 1st in a new series and at Christmas time too which gives you a cozy fill.
Callie comes home for Christmas to visit her great aunt Lphy in Heart's Harbor.
I enjoyed the story line with a little romance and a surprise ending as to who the killer was.
Thanks to crookedlane books and to Nettgalley for letting me read and review this book which is all my own thoughts.
Looking forward to Joy Avon next book .

A delightful cozy mystery that will be a perfect read during the winter holiday season! This will be the start to a great series! Grab a mug of tea, your favorite blanket and enjoy this book!

In Peppermint Peril by Joy Avon is the 1st book in Book Tea Shop Mystery series, and the series is off to a great start. Callie Aspen returns to Heart's Harbor, Maine to see her great aunt who runs Book Tea. Book Tea is a vintage tearoom that includes a clue from a book in ever sweet treat sold. The Book Tea is catering a tea party for Dorothea Finster, the oldest resident of the town. She has invited her family, friends, and the elite people in town to hear her read her will. Before she has a change to read her will, a murdered body is found. This book kept me reading through all the twists and turns of the book. I can't wait for the next book in the series. If you love cozy mysteries, give this new series a try.

I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I received ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

Christmas in Maine and Callie returns home to help her aunt with her tea shop. You won’t want to put this book down. The Christmas theme, tea shop setting in Maine and the relationship Callie has with her aunt draw you in. Wonderful read for the holiday season and I look forward to more in this new series.

Callie returned to her old stomping ground to help her Aunt out in her business, finding a dead body in the midst of a surprise will reading and engagement party they were catering for was not the list of things to do. Not only was there a murder, but they also had a theft to deal with and the surprise of seeing her first love and best friend after such a long time. Finding the murderer is a priority and it seems that Callie also found something else unexpectedly. An enjoyable and entertaining read with a fun storyline and great characters, fun and exciting. A cozy with a message of love and of course, that spoiler we can’t forget murder, what a time for this cozy knit of family and friends to get spooked by a murderer on the loose.

I love the idea behind the new A Tea and a Read Mystery series. A cute tea store (named Book Tea) that serves up delightful sounding treats, each tied to a classic mystery; if this place existed in real life, I would be a frequent patron. Ok, I’d go daily.

In Peppermint Peril, Callie returns to her childhood home (Heart’s Harbor, Maine) for Christmas and to decide her next move. Her aunt runs the aforementioned Book Tea and pulls in Callie to help her cater an Agatha Christie-esque event. Through this event, we get a glimpse into Callie’s past and a few of the friends she grew up with. Unfortunately, before long, several troubling occurrences, including the theft of an incredibly expensive diamond engagement ring, lead up to a murder and those friends (and their children) become some of the prime suspects.

The first book in any series is hard. The author has to set up the premise of the series, introduce characters along with their varied backgrounds, and provide a solid mystery that moves along at a good pace. In Peppermint Peril is great at introducing characters (maybe spending a bit too much time “typing” certain characters), and the mystery is intriguing, but the pace made the book difficult for me to get through. That and the holiday spirit is almost missing entirely. It’s like Christmas was used just to sell the book leading into the holidays.

That being said, I’m sold on the idea of A Tea and Read Mystery series and will pick up the sophomore offering when it’s available to see if it is an improvement. I received an Advanced Reader’s Copy of In Peppermint Peril in exchange for my honest review.