Review: Murder in a Cornish Teashop

Murder in a Cornish Teashop by Fliss Chester is the first book in the new Maddie Penrose series. Set in a small rural teashop that is frequented by locals and visiting hikers alike, the story begins soon after a burnt out Maddie leaves her job as a chef in London to help out her grandmother Nor at the teashop. As happens in these types of books, there is soon a dead body and a mystery to solve.

As the book starts out, we only get bits and pieces of information about Maddie and Nor. Chapter by chapter, we get more insight, but there seems to be some crucial data missing.

For example, Maddie is drawn to making lists to record information (usually on whatever is handy which seems to usually be her grandmother’s recipe book). There is a hint that this might be due to Maddie being used to recipes and ingredient lists, but it’s never really delved into. At times, this behavior made me wonder if she was on the autism spectrum since she reminded me of the main character in The Dead Come to Stay.

The mystery itself is well laid out once it gets going. There are the usual red herrings along the way, but the final outcome is satisfying. I was kept guessing and never felt like the author was being deceptive in any way.

Maddie’s potential romantic interest and her grandmother Nor are two characters that I really want to read more about (as well as the bartender at the local pub).

As mentioned before, there is the promise of more books in this series. Because of the feisty nature of Nor and the projected growth for Maddie, I will definitely keep my eye out for the next book in the series.

3 lattes out of 5

Disclaimer: This eARC was provided by Bookouture via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.