Brenda H. (booksinvt) -
Helpful Score: 1
Murder with Cherry Tarts is the fourth installment in the Daisy's Tea Garden Mystery series set in the Amish town of Willow Creek, PA and featuring tea garden owner Daisy Swanson and her two daughters. Daisy is busy planning for her pregnant daughter Violet's wedding to Tea Garden employee Foster Cranshaw while finishing up the apartment she has built for them over her garage and trying to support younger daughter Jasmine (Jazzi) efforts to get to know her biological mother a little better.
Daisy notices that one of her employees, the young single mom, Karina Post is beginning to ask to take all of the leftover baked goods and soups home with her at the end of her shifts. When a customer mentions that they've seen Karina in the "seedy" part of downtown, Daisy becomes curious and asks her boyfriend Jonas Groft to join her to tail Karina one evening. They discover that Karina is bringing the food to a single father; homeless and living in his van with his small and sickly daughter, Mandy. Jonas and Daisy quickly agree to try and help the father and daughter, giving them a home, finding them a job and getting Mandy the medical attention that she needs.
Keith Rebert has been supporting himself and his daughter since his wife died by buying and selling antiques and most recently he's been working with the local Civil War Shop, Pirated Treasures. The elderly owner Otis has failing eyesight so his nephew Barry has taken over control of the shop, but he's not treating folks fairly. Knowing the Keith is down on his luck, Barry takes full advantage of the situation by low balling the amounts his willing to pay. After a testy argument between the two men, Otis stumbles upon the bludgeoned body of his nephew and unfortunately the only person he remembers seeing the previous day is Keith. Daisy and Jonas are convinced that Keith is innocent and they set out to clear his name.
A fast paced and easy read. While this addition to the series can read as a stand alone I strongly encourage readers to start at the beginning in order to grow along with Daisy, her girls and her relationship with Jonas. I look forward to more adventures in Willow Creek.
Daisy notices that one of her employees, the young single mom, Karina Post is beginning to ask to take all of the leftover baked goods and soups home with her at the end of her shifts. When a customer mentions that they've seen Karina in the "seedy" part of downtown, Daisy becomes curious and asks her boyfriend Jonas Groft to join her to tail Karina one evening. They discover that Karina is bringing the food to a single father; homeless and living in his van with his small and sickly daughter, Mandy. Jonas and Daisy quickly agree to try and help the father and daughter, giving them a home, finding them a job and getting Mandy the medical attention that she needs.
Keith Rebert has been supporting himself and his daughter since his wife died by buying and selling antiques and most recently he's been working with the local Civil War Shop, Pirated Treasures. The elderly owner Otis has failing eyesight so his nephew Barry has taken over control of the shop, but he's not treating folks fairly. Knowing the Keith is down on his luck, Barry takes full advantage of the situation by low balling the amounts his willing to pay. After a testy argument between the two men, Otis stumbles upon the bludgeoned body of his nephew and unfortunately the only person he remembers seeing the previous day is Keith. Daisy and Jonas are convinced that Keith is innocent and they set out to clear his name.
A fast paced and easy read. While this addition to the series can read as a stand alone I strongly encourage readers to start at the beginning in order to grow along with Daisy, her girls and her relationship with Jonas. I look forward to more adventures in Willow Creek.
