Tea with Jam & Dread is book 6 in Vicki Delany’s Tea by the Sea cozy mystery series, but it’s easily read as a standalone.
Lily, her grandmother (Rose), and best friend (Bernadette or Bernie) are off to England for the 100th birthday of Lily’s grandmother’s former employer, Elizabeth . Unfortunately the celebration is cut short when the birthday girl’s grandson dies, and the famous family jewels are stolen.
Tea with Jam and Dread has a huge cast of characters identified in the Dramatis Personae that the author included in the front of the book. Luckily, even though there are a lot of characters, it wasn’t too difficult to keep most of them straight so I didn’t have to keep referring back to it.
There is tons of drama within Elizabeth’s family, so unsurprisingly there is no lack of motives or suspects for the murder. What’s not clear to either the investigators or the reader, is if the murder is in any way related to the jewel theft, and the author was able to keep me guessing to the end of the book.
My only problem with the book was a scene near the end of the book that really didn’t make sense to me in how it played out. The actions of one of the characters in the scene seemed to contradict each other, with no real explanation. It was just weird.
That said, I enjoyed Tea with Jam & Dread, and think most lovers of cozy mysteries will enjoy it.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Tea with Jam & Dread will be available on July 29 2025.
Life, Tea, and Everything 