LIVE AND LET CHAI

Book 1 in the Seaside Café Mysteries

by Bree Baker

The first book in a delightful new beachside cozy mystery series!

Trouble is brewing in Everly's new café. Can she bag the culprit?

Life hasn't been so sweet for Everly Swan over the past couple of years, but now that she is back in her seaside hometown and the proud owner of a little iced tea shop and café right on the beach, things are finally starting to look up―until a curmudgeonly customer turns up dead on the boardwalk. With one of her hallmark glass tea jars lying right next to him and an autopsy that reports poison in his system, it doesn't look good for Everly or her brand new business.

As the townspeople of Charm, formerly so welcoming and homey, turn their back on Everly, she fights to dig up clues about who could have had it in for the former town councilman. With a maddeningly handsome detective discouraging her from uncovering leads and a series of anonymous attacks on Everly and her business, it will take everything she's got to keep this mystery from boiling over.

Easily one of my favorite books of 2018, and now in my top five must read series!

When I first read about the Seaside Café Mystery series, I knew I had to check it out. Between the shore atmosphere and the Sun, Sand, and Tea café that sells varieties of teas, I was sure I couldn’t go wrong. All I have to say is, I underestimated just how much I was going to love it!

LIVE AND LET CHAI is everything I look for in a cozy mystery. And I do mean everything!

1 - Starting with the characters. Everly Swan is 100% the protagonist that cozies call for. She’s bright, fun, hardworking, has self-doubts (don’t we all?), and is far from the perfect sleuth. The cast of supporting characters, Everly’s aunts, her friend Amelia, and Detective Grady Hayes, just to name a few, help to add enjoyment to every page.

2 - There is NO profanity in LIVE AND LET CHAI! While I am trying to learn to overlook certain small curse words such as h*ll and d*mn, if they are used in very short supply, I still feel profanity has no place in a cozy mystery.

3 - As I mentioned at the beginning of my review, the setting is ideal. And with author Bree Baker’s descriptions, I could vividly see every sight, hear every sound, and smell every aroma she spoke of.

4 - Ms. Baker knows how to write a captivating whodunit. There are two mysteries in LIVE AND LET CHAI. One is a smaller mystery within the main one. It was fun trying to figure out if they were related in any way. As for the main story . . . Oh my goodness. There were several suspects, all with good reasons for wanting the victim dead. I finally settled on who I thought was the most likely killer only to read the surprising reveal and discover I was wrong. And just when I thought everything was over and done, the author throws in a twist at the end that now has me not so patiently waiting for the next installment!

If you’re looking for a great cozy mystery, a true, old fashioned one, LIVE AND LET CHAI is the book for you!

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