After being widowed, Vivian Wainwright has moved to a coastal Oregon town to fulfill her dream of opening a tea room. She has hired two younger assistants - Jenna and Gracie - and is happy in her new life.

When Jenna's ex-husband is murdered by falling from the honeymoon suite of the new hotel in town, Jenna is the best suspect. She was supposed to meet him that morning to talk about the alimony that he owed her. The police think they have their suspect in her and don't seem to be looking for another.

Vivian, Jenna, and Gracie decide that have to do something if they want Jenna cleared and begin their own investigation. None of them are experienced investigators. In fact, Vivian's love of reading mysteries and the fact that her husband was a criminal prosecutor is the closest they come to knowing what they are doing.

The trio does discover that the hotel and Jenna's ex were keeping secrets which puts them in line for threats and for danger.

This was an entertaining cozy mystery even though I had a pretty good idea of who the villain was quite early on in the story. I liked the characters. Vivian's confusion about her friendship with another of the store owners widower Hal Douglass added a little romance to the book too.

There were a lot of characters introduced at the outset without much description to distinguish between them, so it was easy to get confused at the start. That said, the story did pick up quite quickly and I was invested in the mystery. This is a solid start to a series with characters that made me want to follow them solving more mysteries. I look forward to more now that I know the characters.

I really enjoyed this. As far as cozies go, the plot was interesting. I actually had the villain pegged incorrectly. I also expected a certain storyline to develop that did not. It was fun to be wrong.

Things I liked:
*The main character was older. The other two primary characters referred to her as a second mom.
*I liked the setting of the tea shop.
*The side stories weren't the same things you see in so many other cozies.
*Chunks of "down time" were skipped. The author did not drag it out with unnecessary descriptions.

Things I didn't like:
*I would have like to see more of the tea shop business. The story referenced the characters being at work, but we didn't hear much about what happened.
*The police seemed to be bored with the case and not really working on it at all.
*The primary characters of Gracie and Jenna could have been developed more. I had a difficult time picturing them.

Vivian Wainwright is living the dream as owner of a quaint English accented tearoom on theOregon coast. But on the eve of the tea rooms 2nd anniversary the dream turns to a nightmare when a man falls to his death from a hotel balcony. The man is Dean Ramsey ex-husband of Vivians assistant Jenna. The detective quickly zeros in on Jenna as prime suspect, since she was seen leaving the hotel shortly before the body was found. Vivian and Gracie set out to help clear Jennas name. Using the wit and a bit of criminal know how Vivian picked up from her late attorney husband. Questions arise among them who’s clothes Dean was wearing when he landed on the rocky shore? To complicate matters Vivians friend pet shop owner Douglas seems to know secrets about the hotel that could add a long list of names to the suspect list including Hal’s own. Vivian needs to work quickly because if she can’t Jenna faces a murder rap or worse. Well written enjoyable story. Great characters you can relate to within the story. I recommend this to all readers who like tea shop mysteries.

In Hot Water is the first book in Kate Kingsbury’s new Misty Bay Tea Room series. Vivian Wainwright owns the Willow Pattern Tea Room in Misty Bay, Oregon. When the ex-husband of her friend and employee, Jenna, is found dead, Jenna is accused of killing him. It’s up to Vivian, Jenna, and fellow employee Gracie to track down the killer before Jenna is convicted of a crime she didn’t commit.

I love the location, Misty Bay. I think a tea room is a unique setting, and the description of the tea room is lovely. The characters are well written, each with a unique personality. Vivian has valid reasons for investigating the murder. I like Vivian’s budding romance, but her reactions to it are disappointing considering her age and intellect. I love the somewhat snarky relationship between Jenna and Gracie.

There are some serious issues with the story. There is no explanation of why the victim is wearing a pink negligee, even though it is a main point throughout the book. Some very prominent people in town are involved in a crime ring, but we don’t find out what happens to them. Maybe that’s in book two? The lack of interaction with the detective was disappointing. I am tired of reading the typical “stay out of my investigation” conversations between cops and sleuths, and thankfully there wasn’t any of that in this book, however, I feel that it would have enhanced the story if Vivian and her friends had talked to the detective about their findings.

All in all, it was a good first in series, and I will read the second.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

First, I am a fan of Ms Kingsbury. I have enjoyed other books she has written.

This one not so much.

A man falls from a hotel balcony and he is wearing only a pink negligee. He works at the hotel as the maintenance man. He fell from the bridal suite which was not supposed to be occupied.

When the police examine the crime scene it has already been completely cleaned.

Right there, I had a problem. Housekeeping would have had to be standing outside the door when the guy went over the balcony railing in order to have cleaned the room before the police got there. And that is never questioned by a competent policeman who moved to this small town from a large city.

The woman who is the chief suspect works in a tea room. She is well liked by her boss and her fellow employee. So, the 3 of them begin to investigate on their own.

The 3 women apparently are not the least bit worried about seeking someone who has already murdered one person. Even threats do not interfere with their investigation.

And when they find out about a large crime ring, it never occurs to anyone to speak to the detective who is investigating the murder.

I am a fan of cozy mysteries. I am willing to put my reasoning aside for minor details. But, for me, this story was filled with major red flags.

This is the first in a series. I am hopeful that in the next book, Ms Kingsbury’s normally good plotting ability will re-appear.

I liked the 3 lead women characters. Vivian is an intelligent woman with a strong sense of right and wrong. Jenna, the chief suspect, is a very volatile person who seems to speak before thinking. But, she has a good heart. Gracie, is a young woman who is very interesting. At times, she seems rather scattered. She is very devoted to both Vivian and Jenna.

Ms Kingsbury has always created characters who I like and enjoy. I believe that Vivian, Gracie and Jenna can be a good team in future books.

I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I am voluntarily writing this review. All opinions are completely my own.

This is the first book in the Misty Bay Tea Room series, and I did enjoy it. Vivian Wainwright is the main character and owns the Tearoom where most of the story takes place. Vivian is middle aged, which is nice because I am as well, and every once in awhile it’s nice to read about a character my age. She enlists her two part-time employees to help solve the murder of Dean Ramsey, who happens to be the ex-husband to one of her employees. To make matters worse, Jenna is the main suspect because someone saw her leaving the hotel he works at right before he fell to his death off of a balcony.
Vivian knows that Jenna had nothing to do with it and is going to prove it since Detective Messina has decided that she was the main suspect. While investigating, she uncovers some of the town secrets, some other suspects, and of course lands herself right in the way of the killer, but she’s not the only one. Jenna now has the killer’s attention on her as well. Will Vivian and Jenna figure out who the killer is before the killer takes action against them?
It was easy to figure out who the killer was and why. But I was still interested in the story and kept reading until the end. I loved how the author described everything, I actually felt like I could see, hear, and smell everything that was described. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher and NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

Vivian Wainwright moved to Misty Bay, Oregon to open the Willow Pattern tea shop after losing her husband. When one of her loyal employees is fingered for the murder of her ex-husband, Vivian goes on the hunt for the killer.

The good: The characters were interesting, each held their own very unique appeal and it was easy to tell them apart since their personalities were dramatically different. Misty Bay is an interesting setting, a small town on the water that makes it living off the tourists but yet wants to do all it can to keep too many of them from coming (somewhat of a conundrum but it worked). The budding romance between Vivian and Hal is cute.

The not-so-good: The killer was very easy to spot. This is partially due to the fact that there really weren't any other suspects, there were a few people fluttering around who could potentially have "dunnit" but they really had no motive or opportunity. I also thought the investigation was a little too easy. They found one person and that person spilled the beans on every suspect they had. I would have liked to see them work a bit harder to dig up clues.

Overall if you're a fan of Kate Kingsbury's other books you'll find this one very similar and you'll enjoy it. If you haven't tried Kate Kingsbury before this book is a very quick read and worth giving a shot.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

Misty Bay is just the place for a successful new small business at least that's what Vivian Wainwright hoped when she relocated there to open the Willow Pattern Tearoom after the death of her husband. With her late mother's English heritage and a love of cooking to help her along so far it seems to be going better than she could hope.

Detective Tony Messina has had a very quiet time of it since moving to the rugged Oregon coast after a personal tragedy but now he has a murder to solve and, apparently, only one possible culprit. Jenna Ramsey was seen fleeing the scene just before the body of her ex-husband was discovered. Working with Vivian and friend Gracie, at the tearooms she's soon caught up in her boss's efforts to clear her name while the safe town she calls home suddenly seems anything but.

This is the first book in the Misty Bay Tea Room Mystery series and isn't quite your normal cosy crime novel. The three main protagonists work together at the Willow Pattern Tearoom and there is just enough of the detail about its everyday happenings to give a more rounded view of their lives. There are some parts which stretch reality a bit and to me a few obvious solutions. Overall however, the gradual discovery of what really happened to Jenna's ex was an entertaining read and promises a good series of stories to come.

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 good start and I hope the storylines hinted at will soon be available.

In Hot Water by Kate Kingsbury A cozy mystery set in a tea shop. Vivian, Jenna and Gracie are all likable characters but they come across as scatterbrained and flighty. A few of the threads in the mystery seemed to be unsolved. Why was the victim wearing a pink negligee? A good start to a new series with plenty of opportunity for the trio to evolve into a crime solving team. Will Felix have more of a role next time?

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

*I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

"Vivian Wainwright is living her dream. The middle-aged widow owns the Misty Bay Tearoom, a quaint, English-accented shop on the Oregon coast. But on the eve of the tearoom's second anniversary, the dream turns nightmarish when a man falls to his death from a hotel balcony. The body belongs to Dean Ramsey, ex-husband of Vivian's assistant, Jenna. Detective Tony Messina quickly zeroes in on Jenna as prime suspect, since she was seen leaving the hotel shortly before the body was found. Vivian and her other assistant, Gracie, set out to help clear Jenna's name, using their wit and a bit of criminology know-how Vivian picked up from her late attorney husband. "

The first book in a new series called "A Misty Bay Tea Room Mystery" which, as you can guess, features a Tea Room! As a tea drinker I loved this setting. The Mystery in itself was okay, I found the who dunnit the moment that person was introduced. Doesn't have to be bad, as the rest of the story was quite nice. I loved that Vivian got a doggie in the end!

But the biggest let down for me in this series and why I gave it three stars instead of four is because, even though I do think this series has potential, it needs some tweaking left and right. There is a police force, that is being led by Detective Messina. Who we hardly see in the book. Most Cozies the protagonist works somewhat with the police, but in this case I was wondering multiple times where the police was. Only in a few moments we read about Messina when he was in his office thinking about the murder and at the end when there was a real danger. It felt like the Tea Room ladies did all the work, so it felt useless to even write in a police force and detective. Better it would have been that the police and detective had more involvement.

I also missed some personality in the three leading ladies. They felt a bit.... bland. So, when Jenna was the number one suspect I really didn't feel much about it. Usually you want to scream at a detective he is wrong, but I just missed a connection to the characters.

As I said, I think the series hat potential, but it needs a few tweaks. More involvement of the Detective and more personality for the leading ladies. I think this would help a lot. I would not highly recommend this book, there are better ones out there, but if you are looking for a new series or have time to spare, it's nice for in between.

A solid cozy mystery with all the hallmarks you would expect.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

In Hot Water by Kate Kingsbury is the first in the Misty Bay Tearoom series.
Teashop owner Vivian Wainwright is planning for the second anniversary of her Willow Pattern Tearoom, when her assistant Jenna's ex-husband Dean, falls to his death from the local Blue Surf Hotel and Jenna becomes the prime suspect. With her other assistant Gracie, Vivian sets out to clear Jenna and find the real killer.
Some convoluted twist and turns lead to the real killer, but not without a few misteps along the way. Wondered at the attraction between case detective and his prince suspect. Professional???
Had some bumps that needed smoothed out. Hopefully book two will develop better.
Read via a preview arc from NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books.
🌟🌟🌟

I enjoyed this book. It's got great characters and the story is interesting. I was surprised by who the killer was. #InHotWater #NetGalley

Maybe I read this too fast but I don't think this book ever explained why the victim was wearing a pink negligee which seemed to be pretty shocking as far as cozies go - never read about a cross-dresser. But that's okay - I'm totally open to new and exciting stuff but can you tell us why? And then she gives her DNA to try and prove her innocence but I don't think the book ever circles back to that. They just want you to believe the police are inept and stupid so maybe that's why they didn't provide any info - you're supposed to just assume it's because of that they never give her the results. And then Jenna and Gracie didn't seem very likable - in fact, at times they were kind of rude and their personalities weren't very friendly. Also - it was kind of weird. I think this was a shorter story compared to other tea cozies in terms of page length but it seemed to drag on forever at times with nothing happening. I so wanted to love this book since I love tea and cozies but I won't be continuing the series.

I was hoping that a tearoom mystery set in Oregon would be a winner, but I was quite mistaken.

First off, the story follows Vivian and her 2 assistances, Jenna and Gracie. It was so hard to tell the women apart, even though there were all suppose to be different ages. They didn't have personalities of their own, so I found it hard to care for the characters.

Don't get me started on the supposed police force in the town. I lost faith in them right from the beginning when the head detective didn't question why the dead man had a substantial amount in his bank account even though he was a cleaner at a hotel. No red flags? No following the money? Ok, let's just wait until the old woman from the tea room solves the mystery.

Sadly a disappointing read and I won't be continuing with the series.

Thank you to Netgallery and Crooked Lane Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review

Tea shop cozy mysteries aren't my cup of tea normally. At least ones that I have read previously haven't been my cup of tea. But In Hot Water by Kate Kingsbury changed that.. Vivian's spunk and likeable nature kept me turning pages to find out if she was going to get herself out of hot water.

i enjoyed In Hot Water. The main characters, Vivian Wainwright owner of Willow Pattern Tearoom and her assistants, Jenna and Gracie lead the reader on a wonderful adventure full of suspense and laughter. The other characters were perfect for the story. The death of Jenna's ex-husband;, Dean Ramsey falling to his death from the balcony of the Blue Surf Hotel wearing a woman's nightgown was a great opener on the first page. From there with all it's twists and turns kept the reader enjoying the book to the end. I look forward to reading more about Vivian, Jenna and Gracie's adventures and following the romance between Vivian and Hal develop as well as following the relationship begin between Jenna and the detective, Tony Messina.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC.

As someone who prefers tea to coffee, I have to admit, the Tea Room was the first bit that caught my eye. I’m fairly new to the cozy mystery genre, so this was the first Kate Kingsbury book I have read. I had high expectations for this book since Kingsbury has written several successful cozy mystery series, but the book fell short of my expectations.

The primary issue I had with this book was that it felt like the main characters kept jumping into situations unprepared and with little planning. I understand they’re amateur sleuths, but Vivian is also constantly bringing up her late husband’s career as a prosecuting attorney. So which is it? Is Vivian a know-it-all or is Vivian an amateur? It just felt a little tedious.

There is also a lot of discussion about the operation of the tea shop, which didn’t bother me by itself, but near the end there’s a conversation between Vivian and a friend where she finally talks about her daughters. It felt like that conversation was thrown in because the author made up Vivian’s daughters as an after thought. The balance between tea shop discussion and personal info was off balance for my taste.

With all that being said, I do have to say there is some promise here. I found the characters likeable, I liked the way Kingsbury set up advancement in personal relationships for the series, and I was a fan of the setting. I’m definitely willing to give a sequel a try and maybe even check out some of Kingsbury’s other books.

I love when a book catches you by surprise and leaves you stumped like this one! Normally, I follow the clues and am able to come close to knowing who the killer is but this one had me surprised! Bravo to the author for being able to do this! It's books like these that are the reason I love cozy mysteries!