Review of cozy mystery Never Say Chai by Kirsten Weiss
It’s Halloween season in small town San Borromeo, and Abigail and Hyperion are determined to make Beanblossom’s Tea & Tarot spooktacular. But when Hyperion’s boyfriend, Detective Tony Chase, is arrested at Beanblossom’s for murder, the duo is certain someone’s playing a nasty trick. And when the official investigation turns into a witch hunt, the stakes to unearth the truth are raised…
But a clever killer has plans to squash their investigation… and the two amateur detectives. If they don’t solve this puzzle—and fast—it will be out of the cauldron and into the fire for them both.
Never Say Chai is the fourth book in the Tea and Tarot cozy mystery series. A fast-paced and funny cozy mystery, packed with quirky characters, pets, and murder! Perfect for fans of Jana DeLeon, Janet Evanovich, and Donna Andrews. Buy the book and start this hilarious caper!
Tearoom recipes in the back of the book!
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Excerpt
Never panic-shop.
Also, never drink and shop. And especially never panic, drink, and shop.
I’d done all of the above.
The tearoom’s oven broke last month while I was baking quiches. The estimate for its repair had been nearly as much as a new oven. In a fit of panick and piña coladas, I’d bought a new one.
The thought still made my insides curdle like over-whipped clotted cream. Industrial ovens ain’t cheap.
I hated budget pandemonium, especially when I was its cause. There was a certain joy in watching numbers fall into place, especially on the profit side of the ledger. And I’d just messed with my carefully balanced tearoom universe.
So I was more than a little anxious as I studied our tearoom. Miniature pumpkins lined its broad windows. Paper bats dangled from hanging lamps and sprouted from tiered tea trays.
Even the costumed Tarot readers had gotten into the Halloween groove. The scent of baking sugar and pumpkin hung in the air. Women chatted at their tables, teacups clinking.
It was October first, day one of the Halloween season, and San Borromeo (saint of heartburn) was becoming a Halloween town. This was a good thing for those of us dependent on tourism. Tourists don’t flock to the Pacific beach quite as often in October, despite the occasional day of spectacular weather. The Halloween festivities meant more customers.
Beanblossom’s Tea and Tarot needed those customers, especially after that new oven. It was a really awesome oven, though.
Buy Never Say Chai:
Review
Another wonderfully entertaining and expertly plotted cozy from Weiss. I enjoyed this from start to finish. The character voice is spot-on for a cozy with the perfect blend of humor and serious. So relatable.
The Halloween angle made this all the more fun. I love Halloween, so a coffin race was neat, and the spooky stuff combined with a murder mystery got the book’s atmosphere just right.
I came into this series with Never Say Chai (which is number 4 in the series). I feel I would have had a greater connection to the characters if I’d started with book 1, but picking up with book 4 didn’t dampen my enjoyment or ability to get hooked. Highly recommend if you like delicious-sounding recipes (there are yummy scones!) and cozy mysteries with fun characters.
About Kirsten Weiss
Amazon bestselling author Kirsten Weiss writes laugh-out-loud, page-turning mysteries. Her heroines aren’t perfect, but they’re smart, they struggle, and they succeed. Kirsten writes in a house high on a hill in the Colorado woods and occasionally ventures out for wine and chocolate. Or for a visit to the local pie shop. Kirsten is best known for her Wits’ End, Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum, and Tea & Tarot cozy mystery books. So if you like funny, action-packed mysteries with complicated heroines, just turn the page…
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Giveaway
Kirsten Weiss will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
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Thanks for hosting!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and review Never Say Chai!
This sounds like such a good book. I really need to start this series.