Murder in a Teacup by Vicki Delany is the second book in the cozy Tea by the Sea Mysteries series. As with most cozies each book of the series will contain a new mystery that will solved so this could be read as a standalone if choosing to do so. Of course there will be character development that carries over from book to book for those that read the series from the beginning.

Some days Lily Roberts doesn’t know what keeps her busier, running her own business, Tea by the Sea, a traditional English tearoom, or keeping up with her feisty grandmother. Thankfully for Lily her tearoom is right by her grandmother Rose’s bed and breakfast so most days she can do both.

And old friend of Rose has decided to visit and has brought most of her family along with her. Lily hosts the group in her tearoom before they head back to her grandmother Rose’s B&B. Later that night one of the guests begins to fall ill and after he passes away Lily’s tearoom falls under suspicion. With the police looking her way Lily vows to find out who actually poisoned her customer’s tea before she ends up behind bars herself.

The Tea by the Sea Mysteries series is another that I started at the beginning and with returning I felt back at home with the characters. This is one of those series that while you follow along and try to solve the mystery you will also be chuckling along the way. When you combine the mystery and humor with a wonderful setting I find myself enjoying every minute I spend reading and will definitely return.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Murder in a Teacup is death by poisoned tea. Not what Lily and her grandmother, Rose expect as the tourist season is in full swing on Cape Cod. Rose keeps the B&B, Victoria-on-sea, humming along and Lily runs the adjoining tearoom. Things turn sour when a family reunion is booked into the B&B. The matriarch of the McHenry family, Sandra, is a close friend of Rose. Boy, do they come with a whole lot of emotional baggage. Lily is not sorry when they leave the tea room and return to the B&B. Not long after, Ed French drops dead but nobody else is stricken. Ed had his own custom blend of tea and the killer spiked it. Who in the family had it in for poor Ed? Lily and Rose better find out PDQ because the Tea by the Sea tearoom is shuttered until the killer is caught.
This mystery had such a nicely complex puzzle that I guessed wrong many times and was surprised by the ending. As it should be. Lily, Rose and the various recurring characters are people I would like to call friends and the food mentioned throughout the book made me hungry. Add the lovely setting of North Augusta, Massachusetts and I was all set to pack my bags and book a room at the B&B.
My thanks to the publisher, Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Nice, solid cozy mystery. I've never had a proper (or improper) tea before, so I was really captivated by the descriptions of the food and set-up in the tea room. And the tea room itself sounds like a fun place too visit. I liked Lily and thought it was interesting and different that she was a reluctant amateur sleuth, pulled into the mysterious death of a guest at Rose's (Lily's grandmother) B&B, by her bestie, Bernie and by Rose (who is quite the colorful character).
Intriguing mystery and storyline with death by tea, feuding families, and a surprising culprit. Looking forward to the next book in the series.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor or expectation.

3.5 stars

Pastry chef Lily has left big city stress behind to return to Cape Cod and open a tea shop next door to her grandmother's B&B. Lily works hard to present exquisite afternoon teas, complete with tiered trays of fancy sandwiches and lovely pastries.

Her grandmother Rose, a bigger than life somewhat acerbic ex-pat Brit, is hosting a dear friend's family for a reunion and getaway. Unfortunately, her friend Sandra has a pretty dysfunctional family group. Four generations include surly teenagers, adult children who don't get along, two married couples on the verge of splitting, and her widowed granddaughter who inherited millions and inspires a lot of resentment, even though she is paying for everyone's vacation.

When one of the family dies of poison after tea at Lily's shop, all hell breaks loose. Lily and her quite annoying best friend Bernie attempt to figure out who the guilty party is. Fun setting, with great descriptions of Lily's scrumptious food. Lily is likeable, but it feels like Grandma Rose and Bernie spend most of their time taking up space and creating obstacles in Lily's tiny work kitchen, which is not very believable. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I read the first in Vicki Delany's Tea by the Sea mystery series so I jumped at the chance to read this, Murder in a Teacup.

I got to meet Lily Roberts in book one, 'Tea & Treachery'. In Murder in a Teacup, Lily has a visitor; her grandmother Rose's friend, Sandra McHenry, along with other members of the McHenry family as well as their chums and foes. When one of the guests staying at Rose's B & B ends up dead after drinking tea at Lily's tearoom, Tea by the Sea, Lily's sleuthing cap is aired.

Set on the Massachusetts coast, I really enjoyed this intriguing story and I continue to find both Granny Rose and Lily very pleasing. Granny Rose is spirited and has vivacity, whereas Lily is smart, caring and considerate. The writing was smoothly paced, and the mystery itself was very well executed, with misdirection and twists to sustain my interest. All in all, a top-notch instalment with snippets of humour, some well-hidden motivation and plenty of sniping, drama and bickering. I will certainly be returning to Cape Cod to see what Lily is getting herself into next and I am eagerly anticipating book three.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Kensington Books via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Lily is in the midst of the busy summer tourist season when her grandmother Rose has an old friend visit, Sandra. Sandra comes with baggage in the form of family and old friends/enemies. The old friend winds up dead, a grandson causes problems wherever he turns up, a runaway car, and some inexpert sleuthing leads to a bit of a surprise ending.
Vicki Delany takes us on quite the ride with this second Tea by the Sea mystery while treating us to fantastic descriptions of afternoon teas and the food that graces them.
Lily is by turns very practical and hard working and then takes almost ridiculous risks with her safety.
This is a fun and delicious read. I enjoyed reading this mystery set on Cape Cod.

This cozy mystery takes a while waking up fully. The first 25% reviews characters and settings from the series, while introducing a large, dysfunctional, Iowan family full of murder suspects (and one victim). Once the poisoning occurs in the tearoom, the investigation is underway. I was disappointed when the plot continued to crawl along. I expect the genre to err towards cozy over mysterious. I don't expect thrills, but I look for setting and characters to do the work of making things welcoming. However, I think this book focused too much on unnecessary details with no relevance to the murder or to characterization. Because of it, I grew bored and testy the further I read. For example, I liked delicious descriptions of Lily's cooking and baking, but repetitive reminders of her daily work routines did not add value to the story.

One thing I enjoy about the setup of this series is that protagonist Lily isn't the intrepid amateur investigator. She begrudgingly supports her grandmother and best friend's sleuthing while she herself provides food, a certain naïveté, and tries to put on the brakes when scheming goes too far. Where this diverges from the first book is that Lily comes across as very underappreciated in this one. She works herself to the bone, but she is often talked down to, her help is assumed rather than asked for, and her opinions are sidelined.

Overall, the promise of these characters and their relationships from the first book is betrayed by stagnation in this sequel. Lily ultimately doesn't grow closer to her best friend, grandmother, or romantic interest. We see a slight shift when people are reacting to the dramatics of the murderer reveal right at the end, but I would guess that this is a temporary response and everything will go back to square one in the next novel.

There's one more aspect of the book that I wish to discuss because it's actually problematic and not just about preference. There are several scattered instances of fat-shaming in this book. Sometimes, weight was the main feature of a character shared with readers. In fact, it's suggested by one helpful armchair detective that the murder victim wasn't poisoned but rather so fat that he died of a heart attack (logic!). This is furthered when Lily's grandmother doesn't want people to know a murder occurred on her property, so she tells someone in town that he was overweight to let them infer it was his own fault he died.

I'm just really disappointed.

Murder in a Teacup is a solid cozy mystery with settings at the heroine's Tea By the Sea tea shop and her grandmother's B&B, Victoria by the Sea. This is the 2nd in the series.

The romance in this series is low key and sweet (more hints of ramance than any actual romance) which is fun.

The heroine, Lily, is likeable and not particularly interested in playing amateur detective, but rather is pushed into it by a meddling best friend (Bernie) and her indomitable grandmother (Rose). It is a refreshing take on the cozy plot.

This edition sees two feuding families who are connected by a marriage end up vacationing together at the B&B. Of course, one of the members ends up murdered. An eventful and tangled investigation into a family's deepest secrets insues.

The story was well-crafed, well-written, and well-researched. I would recommend it.

I enjoyed this first book in a cozy tea mystery. I haven't really been a fan of cozy mysteries set around tea in the past. But something about this one has me changing my mind. And I look forward to the next one in the series.

This one dragged a bit for me and I didn't like it as much as the first one, but I might continue and read the next one to find out what Lily, Rose, and Bernie are getting up to next. I enjoyed catching up with them, but the murder was not particularly exciting. I like the setting and the tea room though!

I like that Vicki has a tendency to write characters who are quirky and not entirely likeable. I found myself comparing Rose from this series to Gemma from the Sherlock Homes series. They can be very nice at times but also very grating at some points. While I loved the story in general, I think Lily either needs a break from working so much or she needs a substantial raise. Just reading about how she was always baking or cooking was exhausting. She needs to get out more. The story was great and the ending was a surprise. Very enjoyable.

Murder in a Teacup is the second book in a series I have really enjoyed. Lily moved to Cape Cod to help her grandmother with her b&b and for Lily to set up a tea house. In this book, Sandra and her granddaughter Heather come to visit along with the rest of the family. Sandra is an old friend of Lily’s grandmother and is from Iowa. When one of the guests dies in the tea house, Lily has to save her business and find the murderer.

Great characters and of a course Cape Cod is always a wonderful setting.

MURDER IN A TEACUP, the second book in the Tea By the Sea Mysteries by Vicki Delany, is a charming and inviting addition to the series. The protagonist, Lily Roberts, is up to her elbows in baking scones and other delectable treats for her tearoom during the busy Cape Cod summer season. The author does an admirable job in making her workday realistic – it’s nonstop with not a lot of time for sleuthing – but yet she manages to find snippets of time to ask questions and find answers. Joining the core cast of characters is Lily’s grandmother, Rose, who owns the B & B next to the tearoom. I’m happy that Rose’s personality shifted from mostly abrasive to simply feisty in this new book. I found her antics enjoyable and her zest for helping in the murder investigation made the scenes fun. Lily’s sidekick and best friend, aspiring author, Bernie, is a hoot. Her very humorous approach to trying to write a novel as each scene unfolded during Murder in a Teacup, kept me chuckling.

With a bickering family staying at the B & B for a reunion to contend with, Lily and her grandmother have their hands full. When one of the guests is poisoned during tea served by Lily, she and her grandmother are left scrambling to find out who did it after the police shut down the tearoom. Ms. Delany writes a tight plot with enough suspects to keep the reader guessing and enough intrigue to keep the reader turning pages. As the story unfolded, I was entertained and delighted with each passing scene and had a difficult time putting the book down to tend to other responsibilities. With a surprising reveal, Ms. Delany has proven once again, to be an expert storyteller!

You’ll be absolutely drooling over all the delicious goodies Lily serves at her tearoom. The author has thoughtfully provided several recipes at the back of the book.

I was provided with an advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Lily Roberts' grandmother Rose is excited that her dear friend Sandra McHenry is coming to visit. But the visit turns into an unpleasant McHenry family reunion. The bickering continues when they visit Lily's Tea by the Sea teashop and Ed French dies from an apparent poisoning. Ed had brought his own special blend of herbal tea. Did someone fatally spike Ed's tea with deadly foxglove? In order to ensure their teashop and B&B can continue to operate during the busy summer season and to help Sandra, Lily, Rose and Bertie are determined to find the killer.

This was another fun, tasty entry in the Tea By The Sea mystery series.

I received a digital ARC from Netgalley and Kensington with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.

Did someone in Ed's family actually poison him? Well, his ex's family. Who and why? That's the question Lily and her grandmother Rose need to answer asap because it happened at the their tea house. Ed brought his own tea leaves but that doesn't take them off the hook. These two, along with Lily's BFF Bernie, ask a lot of questions and get interesting answers. It's a classic cozy with a good setting (on Cape Cod! With a tea room and B&B!), good characters, and enough twists to keep you guessing. Don't worry if you missed the first one- this is fine as as standalone. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Don't miss the recipes !

This is a perfect cozy mystery for the summer! Set at a B&B and teashop on Cape Cod, we get to know the characters and setting more in this second installment in the series. They are all very interesting, and bring color to the story. I enjoyed the mystery all the way through to the surprising ending, and it made me want to have afternoon tea every day. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series! Thanks to Netgalley and Kensington Books for the advance digital copy.

This is the second book in the series and it is even more enjoyable than the first. I found that the different characters were all well described and the storyline was entertaining with a really good mystery. I will definitely be looking out for next ones in this series.

Murder in a Teacup is the second book in Vicki Delany's Tea by the Sea Mysteries series set on Cape Cod, MA. I have always enjoyed Ms. Delaney’s books. This installment centers on a mid-western family, the eldest a friend of Rose that visits & stays at the B & B. The family is plagued with communication issues. One of the visitors, Ed French, is poisoned, why?

There are plenty of twists and turns. The why was not apparent until the reveal.
The mystery is well-plotted and full of twists. I enjoyed the story and look forward to the next installment. I still do not know if I like Rose or Bernie. But I do realize that you can’t pick your relatives and that everyone should try to accept people for who they are.

I enjoyed the information on teas and flowers.

I was given an ARC e-book copy from Netgalley. I am not required to leave a positive review.

This is a cute little series that is cleverly written about a grandmother and granddaughter that solves cases and still have fun! This one was a twist from start to finish when the killer was found out i was in shock!

The Tea by the Sea tearoom is owner Lily Roberts' happy place, closely followed by her grandmother Rose's B & B, Victoria on Sea, and the beautiful, rugged coastline of Cape Cod Bay it overlooks. When the serenity is shattered by the arrival of Rose's friend Sandra McHenry accompanied by her bickering and quite unpleasant offspring Lily appreciates it even more.

Trying to keep the peace Lily sets out a beautiful afternoon tea to show just how perfect things can be if you let them. But when one of the group falls ill that evening and subsequently passes away Lily finds her tearooms closed by the police and her kitchen cleared of everything that's not nailed down.

Determined to assist the investigation her grandmother Rose begins chasing clues much to Lily's dismay even if best friend Bernie is keeping an eye on her! When it becomes clear there is danger lurking all around Lily realises she has no choice but to join them however much she'd rather hide in her small but familiar kitchen.

This is the second book in author Vicky Delany's Tea by the Sea series and was very enjoyable. I loved the grumpy, disruptive, and downright rude McHenry family but would hate to be on holiday anywhere near them! Lily, Bernie, Rose, and the other regular protagonists aren't above a little sniping of their own as they work through the clues and I had no idea whodunnit until the big reveal. I did however,  fall for a few of the red herrings along the way!

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the opinions expressed are my own. This is a great read and I enjoyed it thoroughly.