Tea & Treachery

Former Manhattan pastry chef Lily Roberts, the heroine of this well-crafted series launch from Delany (the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mysteries), has opened Tea by the Sea next door to Victoria-on-Sea, the bed-and-breakfast owned by her 85-year-old British grandmother, Rose Campbell, in North Augusta, a town on Cape Cod. Slimy real estate developer Jack Ford wants the town council to rezone nearby land for a major resort development, but spunky Rose lets him and the council members know exactly how she feels. When Ford sues Rose and winds up dead on her property, Det. Chuck Williams, of the North Augusta PD, regards the aggrieved Rose as the sole suspect. Refusing to be put out of business or bamboozled by a slippery small-town detective, Lily and Rose start their own investigation, aided by Lily’s friend. Along the way to the satisfying solution, the women find time to consume a variety of tearoom delicacies. Fans of culinary cozies will be sure to come back for more. [em]Agent: Kim Lionetti, Bookends. (Aug.) [/em]