Life hasn't been so sweet for Everly Swan over the past couple of years, but now that she is back in her seaside hometown and the proud owner of a little iced tea shop and café right on the beach, things are finally starting to look up—until a curmudgeonly customer turns up dead on the boardwalk. With one of her hallmark glass tea jars lying right next to him and an autopsy that reports poison in his system, it doesn't look good for Everly or her brand new business.
As the townspeople of Charm, formerly so welcoming and homey, turn their back on Everly, she fights to dig up clues about who could have had it in for the former town councilman. With a maddeningly handsome detective discouraging her from uncovering leads and a series of anonymous attacks on Everly and her business, it will take everything she's got to keep this mystery from boiling over.[summary via Amazon]
Lately, I've taken to Twitter and Instagram, and the use of polls, to let readers choose what books I read next. Recently there was overwhelming votes that I read Bree Baker's Live and Let Chai, the first book in the Seaside Cafe Mystery. Let me just say, all the hype regarding this book is totally warranted! Live and Let Chai was the perfect seaside cozy mystery!
Everly Swan is returning to her hometown of Charm, looking to recover from recent heart break and open up a new business, her very own tea shop. However, when a customer turns up dead outside her cafe, the townsfolk seem determined to pin the crime on Everly. She must, with the help of her aunts, try to find the killer before they strike again.
As I mentioned earlier, there was a lot of hype before I read Live and Let Chai. Both cozy mystery authors and readers were telling me that I had to read this book, and I'm glad I listened to them! This was a perfectly sweet seaside mystery, and was filled with charm from beginning to end.
I really liked the main character, Everly Swan. She comes with her own baggage, but so does every Swan woman, if you listen to legend. Everly, along with her aunts, Clara and Fran, are the resident Swan woman in Charm and they are all very intriguing. Together the three of them get together to solve the mystery, and I loved watching the adventure alongside them.
For non-human sidekicks, Everly has Lou the seagull and Maggie the cat, stray turned pet (sometimes). The feathered and furry sidekicks definitely added to the seaside atmosphere, because what other cozy mystery has a seagull named Lou!
I really liked the mystery. It was well-plotted and kept me guessing until the end. The victim, Benedict Paine, literally was a pain and there were definitely lots of suspects in the course of solving the mystery.
If you haven't picked up the Seaside Cafe Mysteries, listen to the words of many readers and pick up this series. It will have you dreaming of summer, of drinking a cool glass of iced tea, and reading a cozy mystery in the sun!
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