A Catered Tea Party
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $2.99
Publisher Description
A billionaire is felled at a fundraiser: “Fans of culinary cozies by Joanne Fluke and Diane Mott Davidson will enjoy discovering Crawford.”—Library Journal
Everyone in Longely, New York is talking about Blue House, an art complex that will bring the quaint little town a theater, an art gallery, and even a restaurant and coffee bar. But they’re less than enthusiastic about Ludvoc “Zeb” Zalinsky, the self-made billionaire who’s funding the complex—and rubbing everyone the wrong way.
Sisters Bernie and Libby Simmons are catering an elaborate tea party for an opening night gala fundraiser. But just when it seems the Alice in Wonderland-themed tea party is going according to plan, Zeb lifts an electric tea kettle, clutches his chest, and falls to the floor. It doesn’t take long for police to decide that this seemingly random accident was actually cold-blooded murder.
As Bernie and Libby set out to find the culprit, they realize Zeb might have had more enemies than money. With so many possible culprits to sort through, only one thing is clear: Zeb was poured a steaming cup of revenge—and a second serving may be on the menu…
Includes original recipes for you to try!
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Murder's surely on the menu when Bernie and Libby Simmons agree to make pierogies for abusive director Ludvoc Zalinsky in Crawford's hectic 12th mystery featuring the catering sisters (after 2015's A Catered Mother's Day). Zalinsky pours money into his Alice in Wonderland production at the Blue House arts center in Longely, N.Y., but buys only resentment. On opening night, someone steals the $2 million Chinese teapot he insisted be a prop. And the thief or another miscreant hotwires an electric kettle, fatally shocking Zalinsky. Daughters of retired police chief Sean Simmons, the intrepid sisters must outsmart his bumbling successor, Lucas "Lucy" Broadbent, to exculpate their play director pal, Caspar Cumberbatch. When not sleuthing or cooking, they tangle with Sean's 50ish girlfriend, Michele. The family scenes resonate, but the murder thread quickly frays. Crawford's recipes, usually plot-related, include semolina gnocchi and a coffee-filter clotted cream. Some testers may find that the cream comes together more sweetly than the story.
