Champagne and ball gowns, fairy lights and music… Oxford summer balls are one of the highlights of the calendar and tearoom sleuth Gemma Rose is looking forward to taking a break and slipping into something gorgeous for the evening. But when the night ends with a celebrity chef murdered by his own whisk, Gemma finds herself plunged into a new mystery—and the nosy Old Biddies keen to help with the … the investigation!
But trouble is also brewing at her quaint Cotswolds tearoom: between fighting claims that she’s serving “fake” custard tarts and stopping her little tabby, Muesli, from being catnapped, Gemma has her hands full—and that’s before she has to fend off an amorous Italian. To top it all, her boyfriend Devlin’s mother is coming to visit and Gemma is anxious to make a good impression… although Mrs O’Connor isn’t quite what she expected!
With so much going on, it’s a recipe for disaster—but with a bit of help from her mother, Gemma might just solve the case… and live to bake another day.
(English Custard Tart 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)
Another One Bites the Crust (Book 7)
more
Another One Bites the Crust is a cozy mystery done right. HY Hanna always delivers on a solid mystery with plenty of red herrings, engaging characters, an atmospheric setting (in and around Oxford, England), at least one amusing animal and a totally plausible outcome. There’s so much to love about this book, including the sub-plots which keep the story moving along at a pace that keeps you in anticipation of the next revelation.
I’m cruising through the Oxford Tea Room mysteries and still enjoying them. This one had an interesting murder and a great side story about Devlin’s mom. I kept wondering who the killer was, and I guessed wrong! I love when that happens. The only thing that drives me nuts about these stories is Gemma’s inability to say no to things. It’s painful sometimes to watch people continually take advantage of her because she doesn’t want to put someone else out. JUST SAY NO! But it’s an English thing, I guess. Unfailingly polite. Lol. So not American, that’s for sure!
Another One Bites the Crust, my fifteenth read/listen from author H.Y. Hanna & the seventh 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 was given an Audible copy of this book & am voluntarily reviewing it. Now that I’ve finished 2 of H.Y. Hanna’s series, The Oxford Tearoom Mysteries & Bewitched by Chocolate I’ll have to return to the English Cottage Garden Mysteries. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 – July 24, 2018)
I’ve Read Every “Oxford Tea Room Mystery’” HY’s Muse is Her Cat /I Love Being Across The Pond…Waiting For The Next Book/And A New Series As Well.HY Has a Great Newsletter;) Signup For All Her Very Interesting Life/Books
ANOTHER ONE BITES THE CRUST is book 7 in the Oxford Tearoom Mystery series.
The story revolves around Gemma Rose, owner of the Little Stables Tearoom in Meadowford-On-Smythe, the Oxford summer ball and the murder the celebrity chef Josh McDermott during the event. It’s a mystery that Gemma and her four friends, the Old Biddies, are determined to solve.
The story intriguingly leads you on several different avenues of suspects with funny mishaps along the way. Gemma’s beloved cat, Muesli is being stalked to be catnapped. She must find a way to keep the cat she loves while bringing happiness to an elderly lady who only wants someone to love and share her days with. She also meets her boyfriend, Detective Inspector Devlin O’Connor’s Mom who is nothing like she expected. She’s about as opposite from her own straight laced Mom as you can get. Their exchange is not only funny but delightful. The Old Biddies keep Gemma on her toes trying to keep both them and herself out of trouble while giving the reader a few chuckles along the way. She also doesn’t want the law after them for interfering with the investigation of a crime. Along the way, Gemma is accused of stealing an Egg Custard Tart recipe (recipe included at the back of the book) and has to defend her shop and employee’s recipes. Through it all, the show must go on.
This whodunit will keep you guess until the very end and even then you may be surprised when you find out you had figured it out wrong. I love a story that isn’t so predictable that you have it solved after just a few chapters. This book will not disappoint!
ANOTHER CRUST BITES THE CRUST can definitely be read as a standalone book. This was the first book in the series for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I know that now I not only want to read but MUST read the rest of the series. I’m also hoping that the series continues on and on and on!
She’s done it again!Another winner. One of my favorite series. If you’ve read the rest of the series…you’ll love this one. If you haven’t read the others I suggest you read them as they are all great books. Or you can just read this one without the others and you’ll understand it and pry love it. Great book
Tea shop cuisine, Oxford setting, cats, elder friends—what’s not to like?
Another fantastic book by H. Y. Hanna. Gemma has her hands full trying to run her teashop and find a murderer. This series keeps getting better with each book. Gemma and Muesli have won my heart with their continuing adventures. The creativity brought out in each story makes the characters come to life. This story will make you laugh and also feel empathy for some of the character’s antics. You will not be sorry if you take a chance and read this book, you will be happy you made the effort. Highly recommend this book to all mystery lovers. H. Y. Hanna has a true gift for writing books that are well worth reading. Purchased the paperback as soon as it was released.
Another One Bites the Crust by H.Y. Hanna
Oxford Tearoom Mysteries #7
Gemma Rose and her friends have another cozy murder mystery to solve in the seventh book of this series. This time a popular TV Chef is killed just before he is to give a cooking demonstration and Gemma is the one to find his body. With Devlin, her boyfriend, at her side for the evening he is on the case quickly but Gemma, her friend(s) and the biddies have their own ways of finding out who done it and are not going to leave it to the detectives to figure things out without doing their part, too. There are plenty of suspects that are viable but only one who did it…and that person is revealed before the end of the story. Add in Gemma meeting Devlin’s mother, conversations with suspects, capturing a feral cat, Gemma’s uptight mother, someone wanting to cat-nap Gemma’s cat and you have plenty happening in a delightful story that I thoroughly enjoyed reading today.
Thank you to the author – this is my honest review.
4 Stars
“Another One Bites the Crust” earns 5+/5 Dozens of Egg Custard Tarts…Sinisterly Delicious!
Ok, so a diet of Chelsea buns, sticky toffee pudding, and Victoria sponge wasn’t the best idea, but Gemma Rose still needs to find a Cinderella-inspired ball gown that fits. No fall back “little black dress” will do for the annual Oxford ball. But despite dietary choices, the fashion dilemma, and a doily explosion courtesy of the “Old Biddies,” the tearoom has been doing very well including a recent blog review raving about “The Little Stables” custard tarts and comparing them to those created by celebrity TV chef Josh McDermott. WOW! Here we go with another marvelous H.Y. Hanna page turner to enjoy. It is a big ‘coup’ to be compared to such a brilliant chef, but McDermott turns out not to be a cordial mentor-style personality…the accusations of recipe stealing and using McDermott’s name for self promotion, women scorned, competing chefs, and then…murder. Yeah with a big fist pump! H.Y. Hanna, has ‘baked up’ another clever murder mystery supporting the idea ‘Karma’ exists…at least in literature, but with enough twists and turns, and ample motives and suspects to a final reveal, with Gemma often in peril, to challenge and delight anyone’s inner amateur detective. Her characters, albiet well developed, continue to grow and entertain, Gemma’s and Devlin’s romance may be derailed, and Muesli always there to ‘meorrw’ in some bother all to create a marvelous story topped off with your own easy-to-follow recipe for Egg Custard Tarts! Yummm!
I am a self-proclaimed Anglophile which explains one of the reasons I’ve become such a big fan of H.Y. Hanna’s Oxford Tearoom Mystery series, and as a matter of fact, also her Bewitched by Chocolate series which is set in the Cotswolds. With each book we are treated to a variety of typical British words, but we’re not left to our own devices or need to Google since she provides a Glossary of British Terms along with special terms used in Oxford University. But, it is fascinating and informative to also be treated to some typical or traditional British tearoom culture from the perfect pot of tea to the best tea sandwiches to serve. In this story Hanna gives us an excellent understanding of scones in England vs the United States, how clotted cream is made, and addressing the debate over whether scones should be slathered first with jam (Cornwall-style) or first with clotted cream (known as Devonshire cream tea). Either way they are best accompanied by a pot of tea.