Thank you to the authors, publishers, and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The recipe review and food pairing found on my Instagram feed are of my own doing.
If Books Could Kill
A Tea & Tomes Mystery
Karen Rose Smith
What should have been a fun Winterfest event in the town of Belltower Landing, complete with ice sculptures and a fun “date night” scavenger hunt, turns into a chilling encounter with death. Jazzi Swanson is no stranger to murder mysteries, she watched her mom, Daisy Swanson Groft, a talented albeit reluctant amateur sleuth, solve or help solve more than her share in Pennsylvania (check out Daisy’s Tea Garden Mystery series). Jazzi never expected to be following in her mom’s footsteps. One of the reasons for going away to college and choosing to live in Belltower Landing was to desire to live somewhere where her mom’s mystery solving reputation didn’t overshadow the person whom Jazzi is trying to become.
Matilda, the thoroughly organized head librarian, met with Jazzi to get advice about friction with a new employee, Tinsley Riva. Matilda and Tinsley were not meshing well at all, there wasn’t animosity per se, but something seemed tense. Matilda respected how Jazzi’s crew at Tea & Tomes seemed to be a friendly bunch who worked really well together. Matilda also respected Jazzi as a fellow bibliophile. Matilda loves really old, really valuable books as well and even gives Jazzi a peak at some rare first editions. Matilda was also experiencing a problem with a romantically inclined yet pushy library patron who was not taking no for an answer, to the point of needing a restraining order. So of course, Matilda is the victim and Jazzi feels the need to uncover the truth. With the disappearance of the hidden books, one has to ask themselves, was this a robbery gone wrong or a stalker related situation, either way Jazzi cannot help but to be drawn into yet another mystery.
Jazzi begins with a suspect list and some insight from members of her reading group which meets at Tea & Tomes. Speaking of the reading group, the format is different from most book clubs. Each person brings a book that they are reading and shares some insight rather than the whole group reading the same book. It exposes a reader to multiple books, one of which might turn out to be their next great read. Much to Detective Milford’s dismay, the locals bless Jazzi with helpful and sometimes not so helpful information. I was happy to see Daisy make an appearance in this book. She reminds Jazzi of the benefits of speaking with a therapist or counselor, which is great advice and it applies to more characters than just Jazzi.
This story does a very good job of broaching some tough topics such as therapy, growing up as an adopted child, growing up in an abusive home, and letting a friend know that you value them but are not attracted to them. As with the preceding books, the clues are laid as to not be obvious, the red herrings are not overdone, and the baked goods make my mouth water just reading about them. I have so many questions based on the ending, but I don’t want to leave any spoilers.
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