Lily Roberts’s Cape Cod tearoom is hosting a bridal shower—until a gruesome gift sends the guest of honor running in fear . . .

Members of the Reynolds and Hill families are staying at Lily’s grandmother’s bed and breakfast, and now they’ve gathered at Tea by the Sea to sip some delicious blends while they shower bride-to-be Hannah Hill with presents. But the last package Hannah unwraps contains a beheaded Raggedy Ann doll and triggers a bloodcurdling scream. A doll like this was the last gift from her father before he died long ago, and she’s chilled to the bone.

Lily senses that the shocking anonymous gift just might be related to other tensions she’s picking up on. The mothers-in-law have been sniping at each other—and then Lily, out walking her dog, overhears the groom’s father, Ralph, offering his son a very sizable bribe to call off the wedding. She’s relieved when Greg angrily turns him down, but with so many people steamed at each other, can this event possibly go smoothly?

The answer is no. It suddenly has to be postponed—when Ralph is found dead in his bed, a bottle of whiskey beside him. When tests indicate the booze was infused with a lethal substance, it becomes a murder case, and of course, accusations are flying wildly with the guests all too willing to believe the worst about each other. Now, to find out whether all this family drama led to a fatality, Lily will have to turn up the heat . . .

Vicki Delany began her writing career as a Sunday writer: a single mother of three high-spirited daughters with a full-time job as a computer programmer. The years passed, as they tend to do, and the three daughters, somewhat hesitantly, flew the coop, leaving Vicki more time to devote to her writing. She was able to write three novels of suspense, set in Ontario, two of which, Scare the Light Away and Burden of Memory, were published to critical acclaim by Poisoned Pen Press of Scottsdale, Arizona. In 2007, In the Shadow of the Glacier, the first book in a police procedural series set in the British Columbia Interior was published. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Vicki was raised mostly in Ontario. Vicki majored in modern history at Carleton, her interest more in the lives of ordinary women and men and the circumstances of their times than ‘big men’ and their wars. It was on a canoeing trip in Algonquin Park that Vicki, realizing that she was doing for fun what people in the past would have considered a hardship, told her trip mates stories about the incredible difficulties people endured in their attempts to get to the Klondike in search of gold, and the idea for a series of Klondike Gold Rush mysteries was set.

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Praise for the Tea by the Sea Mysteries by Vicki Delany

“Shoals of red herrings abound, but Lily and her delightful friends winnow out the big fish.” —Kirkus Reviews on Steeped in Malice

“A continuing delight.” —Criminal Element on Steeped in Malice

“Find a comfy chair, raise a cup of fragrant, freshly brewed tea to your lips, and settle down for murder and mayhem in a mystery novel set in a tearoom for a delightful form of armchair travel.” —TeaTime Magazine on The Tea by the Sea Mysteries

“Details about tea, baking, and running a tea shop and bed-and-breakfast are woven throughout a satisfying cozy with a beautifully described setting and a cast of charming, small-town characters. Share this new series with fans of Laura Childs’ Tea Shop mysteries.” —Booklist on Tea & Treachery

“Fans of culinary cozies will be sure to come back for more.” —Publishers Weekly on Tea & Treachery

“Bestselling crime writer Vicki Delany has penned more than 40 hair-raising whodunits--and her latest tale follows suit!” —Woman’s World (Book Club Selection) for Tea & Treachery

“Adds a sweet edge to the cozy genre...With a pot of Earl Grey and a shortbread made from the included recipes at their sides, readers will feel like this takes them on a mini-trip to the seashore.” —Booklist on Murder in a Teacup

“Delany expertly blends a cunning mystery plot with diverting characters and sparkling dialogue. Laura Childs fans will have fun.” —Publishers Weekly on Murder in a Teacup

“Quirky characters, a lovely setting, and a surprising denouement make this second installment a charmer.” —Kirkus on Murder in a Teacup

“Sympathetic characters, a charming setting, the baking frame, and appended recipes distinguish this cozy, which will appeal to fans of Laura Childs’ Theodosia Browning tea-shop mysteries and Cleo Coyle’s coffeehouse-set series.” —Booklist on Murder Spills the Tea

“Cape Cod provides an appealing backdrop for a food-centric cozy replete with red herrings and likable sleuths.” —Kirkus on Murder Spills the Tea

“Kudos to Vicki Delaney for this terrific whodunnit.” —Criminal Element on Murder in a Teacup

“It’s a crime not to read Delany.” —London Free Press