I really enjoy the writing style of Julia Buckley. This book was so fascinating and the wolf drew me in as soon as Hana found it at the yard sale. The story is so unique in this book and I enjoyed the characters and the setting, I highly recommend this book to everyone who likes intrigue and well told mystery

The latest in the Hungarian tea house series is another winner , always a good story with engaging characters this series is always a winner.

Hana Keller usually works at her family’s Hungarian Tea House, but on a day off, she hits the jackpot at a local yard sale.
Hana collects porcelain tea cups, but when she spots a wolf figurine that she knows is rare and valuable, she is even nice enough to tell the seller that it’s worth more. He says that he received the wolf from someone he doesn’t trust and just wants to get rid of it.
Hana buys it, and to her surprise, finds a tiny microchip on the bottom. Erik, her boyfriend, is a detective, and determines that the chip is a tracking device. The two go back to the house only to find the seller dead.
Hana and Erik follow the clues in order to find the murderer and the secret of the wolf.
A cozy mystery with twists and turns galore.

Julia Buckley is one of my favorite cozy mystery authors. Death of a Wandering Wolf has made her Hungarian Tea House series one of my favorites. I love that Julia infuses her culture into the series.

Death of a Wandering Wolf finds Haniska “Hana” Keller and her friend Katie browsing a basement garage sale. Hana is shocked to discover that there are so many beautiful paintings up for sale at a fraction of what they should be worth, in her estimate. Hana hits the jackpot when Katie discovers a Herend wolf statue for only $5. When Hana goes to speak with the seller, Will Kodaly, she discovers that he’s the artist of all the paintings being sold and that he knows her family. Hana tries to pay more for the Herend wolf, but Will declines. She soon finds herself at another murder scene, when she takes her boyfriend, Detective Erik Wolf, back to Will’s house. Erik and Hana discover that Will has been killed and Erik is sure the wolf Hana purchased is somehow involved.

Hana later finds herself helping her friend Falken go through Will’s house to determine what things can be sold. Never does she expect to find that Will has had her family investigated. But things get even more complicated when Hana is almost killed not once but twice, after coming face to face with the killer. It’s a good thing wolves travel in packs, and that the Kedves/Keller women are suspected of having a sixth sense.

Death of a Wandering Wolf was an amazing story that left me guessing up until the reveal and still had me on the edge of my seat. I loved that the romance between Hana and Erik was stepped up, providing a little closed-door romance. Hana learns a little more about Erik’s family and is finally sure that Erik is the one for her. I can’t wait for the next book in this series.

I absolutely adored this book! I liked it even better than the first. I loved learning about the victim's backstory, and the characters, plot, and mystery were very captivating.

Hana works at her family’s Hungarian tea house. They host family parties, afternoon teas, and special events. The pastry chef creates imaginative tasty treats to accompany a variety of tea blends. If customers are lucky, Hana’s grandmother, Juliana, will read their tea leaves and predict the future.

Hana is a collector of beautiful things. At a garage sale she finds a large number of underpriced paintings and a valuable wolf figurine priced at five dollars, worth five hundred. When she tells the seller its value, he says he just wants it out of his house and insists it’s hers. The seller is William Kodaly (KO-dye), a Hungarian who knows Hana’s mother and grandmother. Two paintings, the wolf, and a sweater later, Hana is leaving when a man pulls into her parking spot and looks puzzled to see her leave.

Hana’s boyfriend is Erik Wolf, police detective. With erratic hours, meeting him for breakfast is a treat. She shows him the wolf and is shocked to find there’s a GPS tracker hidden inside. They decide to question Kodaly about it and return to the sale in time to see a frantic woman run out of the house. Kodaly is dead, shot.

In the Hungarian community, it’s not unusual to find connections, whether to the tea house, or those that date as far back to life in Hungary. In addition, the women in Hana’s family are sensitive, intuitive, and maybe outright psychic. It’s a hard adjustment, not only for friends and family but themselves.

Although Kodaly had many lovers over the years, he always maintained a good relationship with them after their breakups. A list of suspects for his murder is almost non-existent. The more Wolf and Hana find out about Kodaly, the more puzzles there are to solve. When Hana’s questions lead her too close to the truth, it puts her life in danger.

This is the second book in the series. Death in a Budapest Butterfly was reviewed here. While Hungarian phrases are used throughout the book, either the meaning is clear from the context or someone explains the phrase to Hana who speaks little Hungarian. Meeting Erik’s sisters, forces of nature, is a treat.

The plot is complex, the mystery intriguing, and the writing some of the most beautiful I’ve read.

At the back of the book, Hana shares her recipe for Haluska (HOLL-ooshka), a heart-warming dish made with onion, cabbage, butter, sour cream, and egg noodles. Juliana’s recipe for Palacsinta (pahla-cheenta) (crepes) and cheese filling will leave you drooling.

This was a great mystery and I really enjoyed the Hungarian aspect of it, especially the folklore. The writing was very good and the mystery well plotted. I love the cast of characters and enjoyed learning more about them.
Many thanks to Berkley Publishing Group and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is the second cozy mystery in the series "A Hungarian Tea House Mystery". I have read the previous in the series and highly recommend this series. Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity. My review opinion is my own.

In this delightful next in series we return to Hana who has a rare day off from her families Hungarian Tea house to shop yard sales for tea cups. She is a tea cup and tea connoisseur. I enjoy the author's descriptions of tea and the European tea house in this series. The setting of European traditional foods and culture feature well into this series and are delightful .

When she finds a wolf figurine at a yard sale that is priced to low she talks to the seller about the price and value but he just wants it sold . He seems very determined to sell it . As Hana checks it after her purchase she finds a tracking device on the bottom and shows it to her boyfriend Erik a detective who confirms it is a tracking device. They go back to the sellers home to talk about it and find him murdered. Now Erik and Hana have a murder to investigate and Hana has proven to be a valuable investigator to the police with her psychic abilities that many in her family have . When Hana finds herself in danger they know they are on the right track.

I highly recommend this next in series. I look forward to further adventures of Hana and reading about the delightful Tea House . The relationship between Hana and Erik is progressing nicely and in this books we meet Erik's sisters who are building a relationship with Hana . The author has the perfect blend of murder, interesting charcters and a well crafted sleuth.

After reading the first book in the series, I was interested in Julia Buckley’s writing. This is only the second book that I’ve tried by this author and while I enjoyed the concept on this series in the first book of the series, I felt like DEATH OF A WANDERING WULF took a bit of a different approach than I was expecting.

As you can see, the title of the series is A Hungarian Tea House Mystery and what I liked about the first book is that it is a cultural experience in addition to a mystery story. With this book, I do still feel like you get that unique cultural experience. However, the focus of this book is Hana’s interest in a particular porcelain treasure. I guess it still matches well with the theme, but I didn’t find myself as invested in this storyline and concept as much as the first book.

That being said, it took me a while to get into this book. There are a lot of extra details, which can be seen as a good thing. However, it’s a double-edged sword because too much of that extra information and make the story feel bogged down and that’s what I felt like happened here. It’s unfortunate because I like Hana a lot.

I’m hoping that the next book in the series will be a better match for me. So while the theme of this story didn’t work as well for me, I am hoping that the next concept will interest me more.

Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Jeanie

Reading this cozy mystery brings a mixture of pure enjoyment, suspense, and armchair sleuthing. I appreciate the three generations of women in this Hungarian Tea Room. They and other characters are defined very well, and I really enjoyed meeting a couple special new people! The mystery was certainly a hard one to solve!

Hana, her mother Magda, and grandmother Juliana run Maggie’s Tea House in Ridgewood, just outside of Chicago. Magda and Hana are coming to terms with their second sight gift that has come from Hana’s great-grandmother Natalia. Juliana had hidden her gift for years at Magda’s request, and only recently began reading tea leaves at some of the special tea house events. Hana dates a wonderful man, Erik Wolf, a police detective she met after a murder at the tea house a couple months ago.

Hana and best friend Katie went to an estate sale at the home of William Kodaly. He was selling many of his paintings for $25 each, and many other elegant treasures. Hana, who collects various teacups and other objets d’art, saw a wolf figurine and, knowing it was worth far more than the seller requested, tried to offer him more money. To him, it represented bad memories of the giver, so would sell it at his asking price. She and Katie also purchased a couple of his paintings. As they talked, they learned that he was from Hungary, as her grandparents had been, and he knew of her family.

Shortly afterwards, Erik stopped by and she showed him the wolf. The first thing he noticed is that a tracking device is attached to it, and concerned for her safety, they returned to the man’s home, arriving just on time to see a woman running out of the home crying. Erik went in and quickly came back out, calling for backup. In the hour since Hana had left, the man had been murdered.

Later, Juliana and Magda said they knew of William Kodaly as he had dated several women in their groups, but he never settled down with just one. All of them remained friends with him. Magda had even posed for him once and the painting auctioned off for a charity.

Hana was having coffee with Falken, owner of her favorite antique shop. He was familiar with Kodaly’s art; many of his paintings sell for tens of thousands. When Hana mentioned her grandmother, an older man at the café came to meet Hana. He knew of Juliana and her mother Natalia from the old country, as he was also from Hungary. Henrik Sipos said they were much beloved there. He and his elderly mother had attended Natalia’s funeral. He said that if ever they needed anything, to contact him, and gave her his business card. Within days, an attempt was made on Hana’s life, and Erik is very concerned about keeping her safe, especially when a man was seen trying to get into her apartment building. It is the man who was on a dark painting of Kodaly’s that had been stolen from display, showing him stalking a woman’s home. Is the man who killed Kodaly stalking her?

The characters in this novel are a pure delight and defined with care. Hana’s family has an excellent blend of their Hungarian roots and her father’s intellectual pursuits. I was happy to see her brother Domo and his introverted girlfriend Maggie. I especially enjoyed meeting Erik’s twin sisters, Thyra and Runa, and hope we see much more of them and their unique talents! In the space of the first two novels in the series so far, I am invested in these characters.

The setting is displayed well. Most of the novel takes place in Riverwood, and some in Chicago. While we don’t see as much of the Tea House this time, I enjoyed the time it was given. Hana is very good at investigating a crime! She has great instincts and finds important clues that help put everything together. I did not know who the killer was, no matter how hard I thought it through. The ending offered interesting surprises and was satisfactory with all loose ends tied up. I highly recommend this novel and series!

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*

This was my first time visiting the Hungarian tea house and I'm so glad I did! I've also learned that I have severely neglected Hungarian cuisine - especially sweets - and desperately need to fix that. All the food sounded amazing and I was fascinated by all the discussion of life in Hungary and Hungarian culture. It's not something I remember encountering before in a book and I really enjoyed it.

The mystery was interesting and definitely had me asking questions. What was with the tracking device and just what was going on with the giver of the wolf? I did feel that the mystery got put on the back burner at times with the focus on the Hana, her family, and her relationship with Erik. I enjoyed this and loved the almost fairy tale quality of the writing but I did want more mystery at times because I was enjoying that part so much. That being said I was satisfied with the ending and I feel very connected to the characters and am looking forward to seeing more of them.

If you're looking for a unique cozy with lots of yummy food, fascinating characters, and an interesting setting this is one not to miss.

An excellent cozy! One of the best I've read recently. A smart, believable main character, a culture I know little about it, and a murder to be solved. The plotting is good, and the psychic element (which I am generally not a huge fan of) was handled really well. The psychic element and the romance did not, for me, overtake the mystery--that's usually what I struggle with. I haven't read book 1 in this series, and this title stands alone just fine. However, I'm going back now to read book 1 :>)

Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The second entry in the Hungarian Tea House series is a very entertaining read, and it introduces some good new characters and further develops the existing characters. The inclusion of more details about Hungary and Hungarian culture was interesting, and the tea room seems like such a fun and delicious space. I thought the mystery in this one was well done and I liked the inclusion of the victim's art as clues and the relationships that developed further.

This is the second Hungarian Tea House Mystery. Hana goes to a garage sale with Katie and meets an artist William Kodaly. About an hour later Kodaly is murdered.
Erik Wolf and Hana’s relationship faces a bump in the road and then blossoms. Hana meets Erik’s sisters and they rock.
Hana explores her psychic abilities and researches into Kodaly’s life and work. Her life is in danger more than once.
I loved this book! The elements all combine well to tug at your heart and urge you to keep reading to find out how the story will turn out. In addition the ending is great, it flows well into a sort of memorial for Kodaly. I prefer that cozy mysteries have activity beyond catching the bad guy. And this bad guy had Dark Intentions.
The food sounds delicious and there are a couple recipes at the end.
This is a wonderful use of a few hours reading.

Readers of the first Hungarian Tea House Mystery will be delighted to return to Riverton, Illinois, where the community includes expatriate Hungarians, including Hana Keller’s mother, Maggie, and grandmother, Juliana. Their tea house provides elegant, themed teas for community groups, with fancy treats from the kitchen, and decorations culled from their decades-old collections of tea sets and lovely ephemera.

As this book begins, Hana and her friend Katie are at a garage sale, exclaiming over the seller’s exquisite paintings, hand-knit sweaters, and porcelains. One of them is a Herend wolf, with its trademark fishnet patterning, priced at $5, that Hana wants to add her cherished collection, but she is aghast at the price - it’s worth so much more. So are the paintings. She listens to her better angels and offers the seller, Will Kodaly, what they really are worth, but he brushes off her concern; he will accept nothing more.

Hana feels a connection to the artist, a Hungarian whose landscape of a town named Keszthely causes her to experience one of the odd, sometimes frightening premonitions that she has come to call “The Misery.” She has begun to believe that this sensation is common to the women in her family, having heard tales of her great-grandmother Natalia’s perceptions, and seen firsthand how her own grandmother can sense otherwise-unknowable facts, sometimes just from reading tea leaves. Each of Hana’s “miseries” proved true and useful for her and her police detective boyfriend, Erik Wolf, when they were drawn together to solve a prior murder in the teahouse itself.

But there hasn’t been another murder in Riverton - or has there? Does Hana’s misery portend someone’s death?

Grandmother Juliana’s fear of wolves, whether in Hungarian folklore, a handsome detective’s name, or a ceramic wolf will be tested again, as the murder victim was, himself, a bit of a wolf where women were concerned. Solving this case will take the reader back to the old Hungary of the emigres, where great-grandmother Natalia’s gifts loop back to the events of the present, and to the subjects of more than one of Kodaly’s paintings.

Two of the new characters in this book are Erik’s fierce, blonde, preternaturally loyal twin sisters, whose wit and police training are invaluable in solving this case. When they are called on to protect Hana, a new loving and protective bond - a wolf pack- is created. The sisters are endlessly entertaining, and I look forward to reading more about them.

This is such a delicious book, filled with romantic fits and starts, to-die-for recipes, and characters whose exotic backgrounds ring true. Five stars. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC to review.

I loved the first book in the series, so I was beyond excited to get my hands on the sequel. Thankfully it was just as fantastic! The mystery and story line was so well done and flowed seamlessly with the descriptions and dialogue. I adore the characters and love learning little tidbits about their Hungarian culture. The new cast members added were a wonderful, surprise bonus.

I was intrigued by this case right from the start. Hana met the most amazing and mysterious victim that I've come across in a cozy for quite some time. You knew his story was going to be interesting and full of layers of clues to sort through. I love how his storyline tied together with Hana and her family. I loved the descriptions of his art too!

Hana got more in touch with her special abilities throughout this story. I love that she is opening up to understanding her unique family trait more. Her insight and psychic glimpses definitely added to parts of the story and preceded many action packed scenes! Wolf if a doll. I love watching their new romance slowly blossom. His twin sisters were such a fun addition. Talk about some powerful, strong minded females. They carried a lot of comical relief and will be favs as the series continues and we see more of them.

I'm not too familiar with the Hungarian culture, but I love learning tidbits about it from the characters interactions. The food descriptions alone sound amazing, but I love seeing the phrases and learning about the art from the area. I even looked up what a Herend Wolf and china pattern looked like. Beautiful!!

The book concluded with several Hungarian recipes.

I can't recommend A Hungarian Tea House Mystery series enough. It is easily becoming one of my favs. I'll anxiously be awaiting the announcement of book 3!!!

Amazon: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781984804846
Title: Death of a Wandering Wolf
Author: Julia Buckley
Genre: Mystery
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Hana Keller is enjoying a day off from serving up tea and delicious pastries at her family's Hungarian Tea House when her downtime turns deadly....

The only thing Hana loves more than a good cuppa is finding a delicate porcelain treasure to add to her collection. She's usually on the hunt for teacups but when she spots a rare wolf figurine at a local yard sale, she knows it's her lucky day. Hana also knows the wolf is valuable and tells the seller that he's charging too little for it. His reaction is peculiar--he says he received the wolf from someone he doesn't trust and he just wants it out of his life.

Hana is inspecting her new prize when she finds a tiny microchip attached to the bottom of the porcelain wolf. When she shows the figure to her police detective boyfriend, Erik, Hana is shocked to learn that the chip is actually a tracking device. They decide to confront the seller about the sneaky sale but when they arrive at his house, they find him dead. Erik and Hana now must hunt a calculating killer who has no intentions of crying wolf when it comes to murder...

I haven’t read the first book in this series—but I will! I thoroughly enjoyed this from the very first page. I relished the look at Hungarian culture here, as I haven’t read much within that context. Hana’s family is fantastic, and Eric’s is a bit scary, but I loved the whole three-ring circus.

I loved the feel of this novel so much. The voice is casual and friendly and draws you right into the action, and Hana’s personality was so much fun to read. This is a perfect read to take your mind of a bad day—or a bad year.

Julia Buckley is a writer and a teacher. Death of a Wandering Wolf is her newest novel, the second in the A Hungarian Tea House Mystery series.

(Galley courtesy of Berkley in exchange for an honest review.)

DEATH OF A WANDERING WOLF, the second book in the Hungarian Tea Room Mystery series by Julia Buckley, is an enchanting cozy mystery that captured my imagination! Protagonist Hana Keller is an engaging character and I love the bond she has with her mother and grandmother. Together, the three of them own and run Maggie’s Tea Room. The descriptive voice of the author makes me want to visit and experience the charming setting and delectable food. The intrigue starts early on in the book and I adored how Ms. Buckley weaves in Hungarian culture through food, art, and fairy tales.

Shortly after Hana purchases two paintings from a Hungarian artist, he is found murdered. Since she and her boyfriend, Detective Erik Wolf, had returned to the artist’s home just as his body was found, Hana feels the need to get involved. On top of that, she felt an unusual connection to the man she’d never met before that day. She also felt a connection to his paintings, particularly those painted in Hungary. The addition of the mystical abilities that Hana’s grandmother has and that Hana is slowly discovering added a layer of intrigue for me, especially as the past is intertwined with the present. I also appreciated that Det. Wolf doesn’t discount Hana and her grandmother’s abilities and instead supports her efforts to find the killer. As Hana’s questions close in on the identity of the perpetrator, her life becomes endangered. Here the author introduces the reader to Det. Wolf’s mysterious sisters, Thyra and Runa. They add a delightful flair to the story and I truly hope that they are featured in future books. With a heart pounding conclusion, this story wrapped up the threads of the plots and subplots and left me wanting more!

With so many mouthwatering Hungarian dishes mentioned throughout the story, I’m grateful that Ms. Buckley includes several recipes at the back of the book.

4.5 stars

This is the second book in the Hungarian Tea House Mystery series by Julia Buckley.

This is the first book I have read in this series and I really enjoyed myself. It was a fun ride. Hana Keller found some prime pieces at an artist’s garage sale. When she gets home with a wolf statue, her cop boyfriend finds a tracker on the statue and goes to confront the artist. By the time he gets there the artist is dead.

I liked watching Hana as she learned to trust her own psychic powers and learning how to trust herself as she uses them. Then the whole relationship between her and Erik Wolf was a fun addition to the plot. I loved the whole family dynamic here. It was just real fun! Definitely a story I think cozy lovers would enjoy. Check it out

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

Death Of A Wandering Wolf is the second book in the A Hungarian Tea House Mystery series.

Hanna Keller is enjoying a rare day off from her family’s tea house. She decides to stop at a yard sale to see if she might find any teacups to add to her collection. Instead, she finds, is what she believes, a rare figurine of a wolf. She explains this to the owner, William Kodaly, and offering to pay more for it. He refuses her offer, saying that he just wants to get rid of it and that he doesn’t trust the person who gave it to him. She also purchases a couple of beautiful oil paintings that he had painted. She then heads to meet her police detective boyfriend, Erik, for breakfast. She shows him the figurine and as he is looking it over, he shows Hanna that there is a tracking chip on the bottom. They immediately leave to return to the house to learn why it has the chip on it. But when they arrive they see a woman coming out of the house screaming and they will soon find the man has been murdered.

As Hana is starting to learn more about Kodaly she meets Henrik Sipos. Not only did Hana learn about Kodaly’s time in her little community, but also when Sipos knew him in Hungary. As a side story, Hana learns that as a very young child had gone missing, Hana’s grandmother and great grandmother, using there psychic abilities to find the missing Sipos. Hana has been trying to get Erik to share more about his family. She is surprised when she stops by his apartment to drop off a note and some of his favorite Hungarian food and as she is about to leave, a set of beautiful twins come out of his bedroom. Hana is of course speechless and the twins take the opportunity to introduce themselves and turn out to be Erik’s sisters.

The book is well-written and reads at a good pace. A great addition to this exciting new series. I’m looking forward to learning more about the twins and Erik’s family.

A delicious-sounding recipe is also included in the book.

I will be watching for the next book in this interesting series.