Tea Rose

Tea Rose is the second installment in the Tea Room Mystery series in which I find myself intrigued with the setting of this Maine lakeside series. The main characters  are widow ladies in their mid- fifties who began their own tea room business in a delightful Victorian home they purchase during their first mystery, Tea Room for Two, which I recommend here.

I was excited to find Tea Rose on our local library shelves, after reading Tea Room for Two and quickly added it to my stack.  However, I was concerned when I discovered later that these two books in the same series are written by different authors!  Could a different author pull off the same wonderful setting while developing an interesting story line?

A Little Concern...

Now I was curious to see if the book would be as good as the first mystery in the Tea Room Mystery series, as it had a different author.

A Possible Road Block?

I began the book but soon ran into another problem of my own making.  Since studying Charlotte Mason's philosophy of education, I tend to read three books or more each at a sitting.  One chapter at a time, and then take a break before reading the next chapter..  Unless it's a real page turner.  So a I began Tea Rose and a young adult fiction read, Angel's Command.  And I really had the worst time focusing on the two.  I believe I continued this routine for about a week.  I felt I was getting nowhere and began to dread reading two very interesting books.  I am not sure if it was mixing the two genres which didn't work or exactly what was wrong.  By the end of  this past week, to avoid quitting both books, as I was tempted to do, I allowed myself to focus on one book, Tea Rose.  And this weekend I found myself enjoying this gentle read much more.  When I reached the turning point of the book, I did not want to put it down.  I am so glad I made the decision to stop reading both books at once and focus on one at a time!

Tea Rose Summary

A beautiful three story Victorian home, complete with its own tower continues to be the setting in this series.  The lovely first floor parlors become the home for much of the mystery to unravel.  Main characters Jan and Elaine help their co-worker Rose look for answers to her confusing past that has ties to far away Germany.  Into the Victorian tea rooms come characters from the delightful small town they live in, including some friends and at least one mysterious stranger who catches the tea drinking detectives' attention as the plot thickens. In fact, small town life is further woven into the mystery when Rose's father, running for election as selectman , faces complications from his daughter's past possibly shedding a bad light on his campaign.  Suspicions grow when he and Rose find their home broken into and find themselves questioning the motives of people in their own community as well as summer visitors who flock to the lovely Maine lake.  Jan and Elaine, while baking sweets and serving tea, find themselves helping to sort out the many threads of this cozy mystery.

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed this read for the setting as much as the mystery.  I felt that I knew the characters well by the end of the story and I liked the overall coziness of the mystery in how the mystery details were handled - such as the break-in as well as the detailed descriptions of the lives of the characters.  It was my cup of tea!

Here is a link to Tea Rose on Amazon.  This is an affiliate link which will provide a small percentage for me, the author of The Mysterious Bookshelf.  Thank you for taking a peek!