Donna C. (darkcoffeeclouds) reviewed A Scone To Die For (Oxford Tearoom, Bk 1) on + 114 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I thought it would be one of those silly, eye-roll worthy books but it was pretty good. I prefer more serious, intense mysteries over the cozies. The thing with the mom not remembering her iPad password so often was over-exaggerated but it was still funny because I have one of those parents. So there are definitely some funny moments that made me chuckle or groan with understanding. I´m also not a big fan of mystery books that involve cats but this wasn´t so bad. The cat was just a cat with good timing but I do want to know where miss cat was hiding.
Gemma had a great job and was making great money but she wasn´t happy with her life. She decides to move back home to England and open a tearoom. She loves it and business is good until she comes to open the tearoom one morning and finds a man in the courtyard dead. It appeared he had choked on a scone. The news ended up being very bad for business and she realized she needed to do some investigating on her own or her business would be dead too.
I loved the Glossary at the end. I wish I had known it was there as I was reading. That will also come in handy when watching BBC TV. I also love books with recipes and can´t wait to try the scone recipe. I will definitely be reading more books in this series. This book makes up for the last cozy I thought was going to be good but wasn´t.
Gemma had a great job and was making great money but she wasn´t happy with her life. She decides to move back home to England and open a tearoom. She loves it and business is good until she comes to open the tearoom one morning and finds a man in the courtyard dead. It appeared he had choked on a scone. The news ended up being very bad for business and she realized she needed to do some investigating on her own or her business would be dead too.
I loved the Glossary at the end. I wish I had known it was there as I was reading. That will also come in handy when watching BBC TV. I also love books with recipes and can´t wait to try the scone recipe. I will definitely be reading more books in this series. This book makes up for the last cozy I thought was going to be good but wasn´t.
Helpful Score: 1
A Scone to Die For by H.Y. Hanna is the first book in an Oxford Tearoom Mysteries. Gemma Rose (age twenty-nine) has left her executive job in Sydney (that she disliked) to open Little Stables Tearoom in Meadowford-on-Smythe (her hometown in Cotswold near Oxford). Gemma has hired her best friend, Cassie to wait on the tables and has a great chef named Fletcher. One day a rude American comes for tea (he actually touched Cassie's butt and thought it was okay to do it). The next day Gemma comes to work to find Brad Washington (the rude American) dead in her courtyard outside the tearoom. There is one of the tearoom's scones stuffed into his mouth. Who killed him and why did they have to leave him there? Gemma sets out to find the killer with the help of the "Old Biddies" (four elderly ladies that have their nose in everyone's business). When Professor Geoffrey Hughes is killed (went to college with Brad), Gemma knows the cases are related. Can she find the killer?
A Scone to Die For is a satisfactory cozy mystery. We are not given clues that help solve the mystery until just before the killer is revealed. The mystery is very good, but I like trying to solve the crime as I read the book (don't we all). I felt that there was too much romance in this book. Gemma's old boyfriend, Devlin O'Connor is the inspector assigned the case. They have not seen each other in eight years. However, Gemma gets jealous when Devlin questions a beautiful suspect (there is also much admiration of Devlin's looks--goes on and on). There were also some puzzling items. Like Gemma wanting to call Devlin but does not know his number (but he called her a couple of times). Also calling the library to get information in the newspaper archives (has she not heard of the internet). I give A Scone to Die For 3 out of 5 stars. Be aware that the novel contains British spelling of words (does not detract from novel). Some of the desserts (i.e.--sponge is a thin cake) mentioned are not what we are familiar with here in the United States (unless you watch the British Baking Show). I just felt A Scone to Die For was a superficial novel. There is not enough information on the characters and too much information on Devlin's good looks.
I received a complimentary copy of A Scone to Die For from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
A Scone to Die For is a satisfactory cozy mystery. We are not given clues that help solve the mystery until just before the killer is revealed. The mystery is very good, but I like trying to solve the crime as I read the book (don't we all). I felt that there was too much romance in this book. Gemma's old boyfriend, Devlin O'Connor is the inspector assigned the case. They have not seen each other in eight years. However, Gemma gets jealous when Devlin questions a beautiful suspect (there is also much admiration of Devlin's looks--goes on and on). There were also some puzzling items. Like Gemma wanting to call Devlin but does not know his number (but he called her a couple of times). Also calling the library to get information in the newspaper archives (has she not heard of the internet). I give A Scone to Die For 3 out of 5 stars. Be aware that the novel contains British spelling of words (does not detract from novel). Some of the desserts (i.e.--sponge is a thin cake) mentioned are not what we are familiar with here in the United States (unless you watch the British Baking Show). I just felt A Scone to Die For was a superficial novel. There is not enough information on the characters and too much information on Devlin's good looks.
I received a complimentary copy of A Scone to Die For from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
