This review is long overdue. Kate Kingsbury's book about the English tea room was an enjoyable read and I have been recommending it. I love it when an author describes the settings in a way that brings me into the book. The tea room and Vivian's upstairs apartment are places I'd like to visit. I appreciated how she put all the little details of life into the book such as Vivian's boyfriend stopping by to walk her dog. The beautiful description of the beach and the town make this book one to spend a bit of time escaping into.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC! Another great cozy mystery. Will read more of this series!

This is a stand alone book. The author references things that happened previously, so I think you might have a better understanding of the characters if you have read the previous book. I like cozy mysteries, which I would classify this as one, because you have a murder without all the gory details. A body is found without any over the top descriptions. Just when you think the book is going to end, something else happens. It's amazing how the protagonist is rescued. We all should own a dog just in case we find ourselves lost. I liked the characters and the action moved at a pleasant pace.

This is a good, clean read.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy for an honest opinion.

I really loved this first book in a new to my series and author. I can't wait to read the next one. The characters and location really add to the plot. This book keeps you guessing until the end.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

This book is the second in a series but I never read the first book. I don't think it matters much but there were a few times I was a bit confused by characters and their relationships. However over all it was generally a good little cozy crime book.

It's about Vivian and her employees from the tea room. The see that a local beachcomber was killed and Vivian recognises a statue that only she sells on his mantle. She is determined to find out who bought it and why it was with the dead man.

When she tracks down the statue it has a diamond in it which just makes the mystery more intense.

In Too Steep is the second Misty Bay Tea Room cozy by Kate Kingsbury. Released 9th Aug 2022 by Crooked Lane Books, it's 288 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback format due out in 3rd quarter 2023. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a nice follow-up to the series starter and will please fans of small-town shopfront cozy mysteries. Protagonist Vivian is an intelligent and active widow and the owner of the Misty Bay Tea Room. When a local beachcomber dies under suspicious circumstances, she's soon involved in another mystery and up to her neck in danger, jewel theft, and murder.

The author is prolific and experienced. The plotting is quite linear, but the characters are well rendered and the dialogue flows well. The language is clean (PG) and there's no on page graphic violence. The climax, denouement, and resolution are all self contained in this volume, and it works well as a standalone.

Four stars. Fans of Cleo Coyle, Paige Shelton, and Sue Minix will find a lot to like with this book. It's a light cozy read.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Book wasn't meant for me. Hopefully someone will enjoy it more. I will look into renting it in the future

IN Too Steep by Kate Kingsbury

The peace and tranquility of the Misty Bay Tearoom is rocked by murder and a long-buried secret hidden in a most unlikely place.

This was an interesting and mysterious novel. There were many characters featured, all exciting and mostly friendly. There were many twists and turns until the end.

Thanks to Net Galley for sending me an advanced reader’s copy for review.

This is the second book in the Misty Bay Tearoom series by Kate Kingsbury.

I really enjoyed following Vivian and her friends at the tea shop as they tried to prove the innocence of a murdered beach bum fingered as a fence for a bunch of jewel theives. There was a sweet aspect to this mystery as both Vivian and Julia found love as the investigation moved forward. Hal, the pet store owner, came to Vivian's rescue more than once and she helped him when he had to go into a sudden surgery. Julia and the cop who had accused her of murder in book one started dating. It was cute to see this secondary storyline. Totally enjoyed this cozy mystery and suggest it highly. Definitely a great book to pull you out of a reading slump. Fast-paced, fun and entertaining.

I read this as an ARC in return for an honest review via NetGalley.

Interesting story format, two person views one is the tearoom owner, Vivian Wainwright and the other is police investigator, a bit of a “she said, he said”. Now before you start thinking that Vivian and Detective Lieutenant Tony Messina are going to be an item, you need to know that she isn’t into younger men and he is into Vivian’s assistant, Jenna Ramsey. Vivian, Jenna, Gracie Jackson and are more than just coworkers, they are supportive friends and a trio of sleuths. Vivian is unable to let the mysterious death of a homeless vet found with one the not so pretty Big Ben clocks from her tea room go without trying to do him justice and find his killer. This is the second in this new series and it was not necessary to have read the starter to know what was going on with the regulars. The story has a good amount of suspects, red herrings, and clues which help to keep the story flowing and enjoyable. The only thing I could think to suggest would be to add a few English tea house recipes to go with the wonderful food items mentioned in the story.

Although I found the mystery concept intriguing, I also thought that it was a bit odd that someone would go to such great lengths to exonerate a beachcomber.

This book was excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know everyone at the Tea Room. Vivian was an exceptional main character with a lot of spunk, charm, and mothering qualities. The two helpers, Jenna and Gracie, were both great characters to help flesh out the story and to complete "The Three Rookies."

The amount of character development and general story progression vs crime solving was a nice change to what I'm used to reading lately. I enjoyed learning a lot about each of the characters without having to read a lot of books.

The way Vivian was written to be a mature older person but not having that harped on was good for me as well.

The book has a little bit of everything, from love after loss, as well as new love, and helping find who killed the person who had no one.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and all the characters, I hope there will be many more books from this world in the future.

Vivian owns an English tearoom in Misty Bay, which being in Oregon is nowhere near England. However, her mother’s recipes are authentic and popular.

Lewis Trenton lived in a shack at the beach where he could be seen hunting for treasures like items left by tourists or pretty shells to resell. He was found shot with a shotgun beside his body. It appears nothing was stolen and indeed, how do you steal from someone who has nothing? Vivian thinks it’s incredibly sad the old man died alone with no one to mourn him. However, there was the old Big Ben clock, a replica of the real things, sold in her shop as a souvenir. There were three to start and Vivian is afraid there will always be two. After all, they weren’t very well made. Somehow Lewis had the third, just a week after it was sold.

She decides the clock must have been a gift from someone who cared for him. She’s determined to find out who and to return the clock to them as a memento—and to make sure they’d heard of Lewis’ death. She ends up recruiting her two employees to help. It seems like each step forward is into a blank wall.

In looking over the damaged replica, Vivian finds a shiny stone. Surely, it couldn’t be a real diamond. Who would have something valuable and still live in a shack? It’s real and leads Vivian further down the path to find Lewis’ killer.

This is book two in the series. I really like Vivian and Felix, plus her two human sidekicks. The tea shop is somewhere you’d want to visit and you know they’d take care of you when you did so you left, fed and happy. Vivian has a budding romance with Hal, another business owner. It’s a pleasure to see an older couple in love. With a bit of a cliffhanger at the end, I can’t wait to read book three. Sadly, no recipes included.

A prolific writer, Kingsbury also writes the Merry Ghost Inn series (3), the Manor House mysteries (9), and the Pennyfoot Hotel books (23). Writing as Alison Kingsley, she’s written four Raven’s Nest Bookstore mysteries and, as Rebecca Kent, three Belle Haven House books.

I really loved "In Too Steep." In this series' second book we get to know the characters a little better, including Misty Bay Tearoom owner Vivian Wainwright. In this book, she tried to solve a mystery involving a clock that she sold in her store, which leads to more hijinks and mystery. I also liked that you could really enjoy this book without having read the first one in the series. That said, I will be going back to read that one too after having such a good time reading this.

I always enjoy Kate Kingsbury and In Too Steep is another delightful mystery. Set in a tearoom, this is a charming mystery with clever prose and a murder investigation that will have you guessing until the end. The characters are endearing and incredibly likable which will make you want to keep enjoying the series. A highly recommended read for cozy lovers and mystery fans! It will be hard to put down once you get started!

Kate Kingsbury gives us a charming tearoom cozy In Too Steep in which Vivian, the proprietor, gets involved in her second murder due to her sale of an item to a man found murdered. Then she finds a diamond in the item which has found its way to a thrift store. Of course she can't resist tracing things and try to clear the reputation of the murdered man. Enjoy.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

Please note - this is book #2 in the Misty Bay Tearoom series by Kate Kingsbury.

The little town of Misty Bay has had another murder. It seems like a simple cash - Lewis Trenton, hermit and beachcomber, has been found shot to death in his cabin. The local proprietress - Vivian Wainwright - notices one of her collectibles she sells in her shop in the background of a picture from the cabin. Since she has only sold one of them in recent months, she locates the purchaser to make sure they were aware of the death. The purchaser had told the shop keep that it was a gift for a friend. As Vivian starts to follow the trail of the collectible, she starts to realize there is more to the story. Especially when she discovers a diamond tucked inside the collectible. Vivian, along with her 2 employees, start on another mystery solving mission. Only this time, will she survive to see the end?

This is a cute series. The only downside is how many murders can these sleepy towns go through without the series feeling repetitious?

I love a cozy tea room mystery! In Too Steep had the fun addition of including a little romance and police perspective. This is not the first book in the series, but would work as a stand alone. I’m interested to see where this book series goes.

“In to Steep” is the 2nd instalment in A Misty Bay Tea Room Mystery series by Kate Kingsbury set in the town of Misty Bay, Oregon. I did have trouble getting into this instalment much like book one, but do recommend giving it a try.

The peace and tranquility of the Misty Bay Tearoom is rocked by murder and a long-buried secret hidden in a most unlikely place

I struggled to read this story, I’m thinking it was maybe just me although others seemed to have trouble too.

Vivian, Jenna and Gracie are all from different age groups so we see the different perspectives, which I liked. We get to see how they have progressed since the last book and some romance is in the air for at least two of them.

Felix , Vivian's rescue is a joy and she struggles with giving him the attention he needs and the tea shop. The surprise ending kind of made me feel like the author was wrapping everything up neatly, in case there is no book 3 or the series will take on a whole new direction.

The mystery is interesting and well plotted, and kept guessing and second-guessing myself on whodunnit but in the end I was correct.

I requested and received an Advanced Readers Copy from Crooked Lane and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love tea room themed cozy mysteries. Lots of tea and baked goodies, what else does a tea drinker want?

I loved the mystery behind the murder - the victim was killed as he might have been linked to a jewelry heist. Turns out, the big ben replica he had in his person was where the stolen diamonds were hidden. The media reports that the victim might have been a fence for the stolen diamonds. This piques Viv's curiosity and she decides to prove the victim was not related in any way to the jewelry heist.

What I did not understand is, why was Viv so obsessed with proving the victim's innocence. She hardly knew the guy. She is a mystery novel lover so she would take matters into her own hands and solve a murder case, hmm, not something I would want to read in a cozy mystery.

I did not like the character portrayal but the mystery kept me guessing till the end.