Bea Reviews In Cold Chamomile by Joy Avon

Series: A Tea and Read Mystery #3
Read As A Standalone: Yes
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: February 11th, 2020
Buying Links: Amazon* | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository  | Google | Kobo
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Blurb from goodreads:

Just in time for the holidays, In Cold Chamomile is sure to be a cupid's arrow aimed straight for your bookshelf.

Tea party organizer Callie Aspen learns that Cupid's arrows can be deadly when a Valentine's Day soiree ends in murder.

Callie Aspen can't think of a more appropriate place to spend Valentine's Day than her adopted hometown of Heart's Harbor, Maine. When she's not helping out at Book Tea, her great-aunt Iphy's vintage tearoom, Callie's adorning Haywood Hall with hearts and roses for the big Valentine's event, where townspeople will fall in love with sweet treats, heartwarming music, and delightful books. But tension is brewing: The librarian argues with the expert who is on hand to appraise precious volumes. And Iphy is shocked to recognize the baritone who's slated to sing at the event as an old acquaintance--one she'd hoped she'd never meet again. And then, when a dead body is discovered, the stirring spoon of suspicion points at the many people who had reasons to want the victim dead.

When Iphy's old acquaintance draws the attention of Deputy Ace Falk, Callie finds herself in a spot. Ace, as usual, doesn't want Callie involved, but how can she ignore Iphy's anguish over the fate of a man she cares for more than she will admit? Bringing the killer to justice may endanger Callie's budding relationship with Ace--and, quite possibly, her own life.

Callie and the Book Tea crew may think they have this case in the bag, but un-kettling truths are yet to be decanted.

My Thoughts:

This was my first by this author and while I didn't love it, I did like it. I might read more in this series. "In Cold Chamomile" was not fast paced, it had a more leisurely and realistic pacing, but there was always something happening.

Callie and her great-aunt Iphy are running an event at a local historical house. As happens, not everything goes smoothly. Unfortunately, that includes a murder. Callie gets drawn into the investigation because the prime suspects are, respectively, a local acquaintance and an old friend of Iphy's. But her investigation annoys her boyfriend, a local police officer. In fact, her investigation causes problems with her great aunt, as well as her boyfriend. Much of the book centers around relationships - Callie and Ace, Callie and her friend Peggy, Peggy and Ace (they're siblings), Peggy and Quinn, Callie and Iphy, Iphy and Sean. All of the relationship drama, and there was a LOT, dragged down the story at times. I was glad to see the characters have lives, and to see Callie's actions have consequences, but the drama was overwhelming at times. Sometimes I thought I was reading a soap opera.

The mystery itself was interesting, with a few minor twists. Despite Ace's complaints, neither Callie nor Iphy did a lot of sleuthing. The focus was on the intertwined relationships and some, okay a lot, of whining on Callie's part. Honestly, both she and Ace needed to do a much better job of communicating. Callie, partly because of all her whining, came off as a weak character. She was reactive, not proactive, and she just let herself be dragged into doing things. The tea room setting was underutilized and I hope future books will feature it more.

 I liked that the mystery wasn't neatly wrapped in just a few days but took time. It was more believable, although it did contribute to the story dragging at times. Although Callie was often weak and Iphy was mopey, I liked the cast. They felt like the people next door, like real small town characters. Too many cozies these days emphasize quirkiness over character development or place setting and I appreciated the lack of quirkiness.

Overall, "In Cold Chamomile" wasn't unputdownable, but it did keep me engaged. I probably won't reread it but I will probably read more in the series. If only to see how the various soap operas play out.