Business is going well at Gemma Rose’s quaint English teashop and she’s delighted about her first big catering job at a local village funeral… until the day ends with a second body and one of the Old Biddies accused of murder! Now the resourceful tearoom sleuth must find out which delicious pudding contained the deadly arsenic—and who might have wanted the wealthy widow dead… other troubles to contend with, from her naughty cat, Muesli, running loose in her tearoom to an unexpected hedgehog guest in her home—and that’s before the all-important “meet the parents” dinner with her handsome detective boyfriend turns into a total disaster!
With so many things on her plate, can Gemma solve the mystery in time to catch the murderer or will she come to a sticky end?
(* Sticky Toffee Pudding recipe at the end of the story!)
This book follows British English spelling and usage.
Clean read: no graphic violence, sex, or strong language.
Genre: humorous culinary cozy mysteries, cat cozy mystery series / women amateur sleuth / British detective mystery
OXFORD TEAROOM MYSTERIES
A Scone To Die For (Book 1)
Tea with Milk and Murder (Book 2)
Two Down, Bun To Go (Book 3)
Till Death Do Us Tart (Book 4)
Muffins and Mourning Tea (Book 5)
Four Puddings and a Funeral (Book 6)
more
I was very happy to pick up this book in the Oxford Tea Room Mysteries after slogging through the previous mystery in my audiobook queue. I love the light and exciting story H. Y. Hanna crafted for this particular mystery. I did not guess the murderer ahead of time! And I thought the addition of some Russian characters was a great idea. All in all, another cracking addition to this series!
Funny and witty! I love this cozy mystery series. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a relaxing read. I’m not sure which characters I like better – the Old Biddies or Gemma’s cat Muesli. Reading about the cat and closed door game had me laughing out loud.
I have learned quite a bit about Oxford, English Tea etiquette, and the difference between our two languages that often confuse us.
Great addition to this series. A must read
Four Puddings and a Funeral, my fifteenth read/listen from author H.Y. Hanna & the sixth in the Oxford Tearoom mysteries. An enjoyable cozy mystery. My wife & I have taken to listening to the books together. We love the narrator’s British accent; we’re so impressed with the vocal variety & inflections of narrator Pearl Hewitt, especially her oh so cute animal sounds. Cozy Mystery/romance, captivating primary characters, what other blurbs can I use to describe these books? Oh well, buy the book, read the books, get into a good author and some good characters as I have. I’m looking forward to Another One Bites the Crust Book 7 in the series. I was given an Audible copy of this book & am voluntarily reviewing it. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 – July 24, 2018).
“Four Puddings and a Funeral” earns 5/5 Sticky Toffee Puddings!
You can start here, there, or anywhere in the series and still be very entertained. H.Y. Hanna sixth novel does not disappoint providing fans engaging entertainment with which newbies, too, will be just as thrilled. The signature drama pops up from the “Old Biddies” putting Gemma in a ‘sticky wicket,’ and how many daughters can identify with Gemma’s frustration over her mother’s meddling in her love life? Everyone gets entangled in the mysteries; even the reader has the opportunity to sort through clues and suspect list. However, like Agatha Christie herself, the solutions are left to the end for a glorious reveal which often has someone in peril. The story has given me more than a few giggles when referring to some purely British idiosyncrasies, but, don’t worry about any British references because a “Glossary of British Terms” is provided to boast your Anglophile nature. Hsin-Yi also includes a lesson in British desserts, too. I learned that ‘Pudding’ can be a generic name for a dessert, as well as the dessert itself…so my favorite pudding is pudding, of course! Hanna also knows that many of us ‘cozi-holics’ love a little treat with our reading adventures, so she adds an excellent, easy-to-follow recipe to each of her novels which is actually part of the story. This story has Sticky Toffee Pudding…pudding, again! Not only is this series entertaining, but delicious as well!
Surprise! Being a big fan of the audiobooks, I was delightfully surprised to find myself hearing Pearl Hewitt marvelous voice in my head…fun!
Love this series, looking forward to the next book.