This and That with Karen : In Hot Water by Kate Kingsbury

Oct 17, 2021

In Hot Water by Kate Kingsbury

Hello my cozy friends,

Today I am reviewing "In Hot Water” the first instalment in A Misty Bay Tea Room Mystery series by Kate Kingsbury set in the town of Misty Bay, Oregon. A good start to a new series, I did have trouble getting into it at first but do recommend going past the 20% mark as it does pick up.

In bestselling author Kate Kingsbury's Misty Bay Tea Room series debut, the proprietress of a British-style tea shop must draw on her love for mystery novels to sleuth a murder.

Vivian Wainwright is living her dream. The middle-aged widow owns the Misty Bay Tearoom, a quaint, English-accented shop on the Oregon coast. But on the eve of the tearoom's second anniversary, the dream turns nightmarish when a man falls to his death from a hotel balcony.

The body belongs to Dean Ramsey, ex-husband of Vivian's assistant, Jenna. Detective Tony Messina quickly zeroes in on Jenna as prime suspect, since she was seen leaving the hotel shortly before the body was found.

Vivian and her other assistant, Gracie, set out to help clear Jenna's name, using their wit and a bit of criminology know-how Vivian picked up from her late attorney husband. Detective Messina is on board, but he's starting to develop feelings for his number one suspect. Puzzling questions persist--chief among them, whose clothes was Dean wearing when he landed on the rocky shore?

To complicate matters, Vivian's friend, pet shop owner Hal Douglass, seems to know some secrets about the hotel that could add a long list of names to the suspect list...including Hal's own. Vivian must work quickly because if she can't, Jenna faces a murder rap...or worse.

I enjoyed this story, and it has made me want to give book 2 a try. I liked how it was centred around an older protagonist and a tea room. Vivian, Jenna and Gracie are all from different age groups so we see the different perspectives, I also like the banter between Jenna and Gracie almost like sisters. We also get the perspective of detective Tony which was kind of neat to see how his mind was working.

There are two possible romances forming which I look forward to seeing how they develop in the next book. Close to the end we have an addition of a furbaby named Felix which I always enjoy.

The mystery is interesting and well plotted, and I liked the characters. I kept guessing and second-guessing myself on whodunnit but in the end I was correct.

I recommend this book to all my cozy lover friends.