Gemma ditches her high-flying job and returns to Oxford to follow her dream: opening a traditional English tearoom serving warm buttery scones with jam and clotted cream, and fragrant tea in pretty bone china… Only problem is–murder is the first thing on the menu and Gemma is the key suspect! And the only people Gemma can turn to for help are four nosy old ladies from her local Cotswolds … Cotswolds village – not to mention a cheeky little tabby cat named Muesli. Who was the mysterious woman Gemma met on the flight back from Australia and why was she murdered? Now Gemma must find the killer, solve the mystery and clear her name if she’s to have her cake–and serve it too.
This PREQUEL to the OXFORD TEAROOM MYSTERIES includes BONUS CHAPTERS FROM “A SCONE TO DIE FOR” (BOOK 1). It is shorter than the rest of the series – which are all full length novels – and can be read as a standalone, before or after any other book in the series.
THE OXFORD TEAROOM MYSTERIES:
All-Butter ShortDead (Prequel)
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)
more
Enjoyed reading
Amazing book, I fell in love with Gemma. Such a good read, totally pulled me in!
Gemma had a high power job in Australia, but that was not her dream. She wanted to run an authentic tearoom in her hometown of Oxford in England. So she flies home and is intent on making her dream come true. Things however don’t go as smoothly as she plans. A woman she meets on the plane is murdered and she becomes the main suspect.
This is a contemporary cozy mystery set in England and is the prequel to the new series of Oxford Tearoom Mysteries. The characters were well crafted, quirky, fun and engaging, keeping the reader interested until the surprising ending. The narrative is well crafted with enough description to allow the reader to visualize the setting. The story is told by the spunky, independent heroine, Gemma, allowing access to her feelings, thoughts,motivations and actions. The storyline flows smoothly and quickly filled with great clues, numerous suspects, humour, surprises and suspense. I thought this was a good prequel as it introduced the dynamic characters and set the stage for further adventures. If you like cozy contemporary mysteries, then you will likely like this one. I look forward to reading more in this series.
I enjoyed this prequel.
Gemma is coming back to England to start a tea room. When she meets a woman on a plane who turns up dead leaving Gemma as the main suspect, her world is turned upside down. Enter the “old biddies” who turn out to be quite humorous, you end up with a fun read. The mystery was good, I thought that I had it figured out but was thrown a twist at the end. I will continue on with this story.
Gemma returns to Oxford to open a traditional English tearoom serving warm buttery scones with jam and clotted cream that she always dreamed of doing. She meets a woman on the airplane home and things begin to happen that she think would happen. There are a lot of interesting characters in the book from Cotswolds village and a cheeky little tabby cat named Muesli. This is a very enjoyable cozy mystery and I liked listening to the story on audiobook being narrated with an English accent to give the story more character.
I read it January, 2019. While the title is familiar, it was not a memorable book.
Gemma got out of her heavy job and flew home to start her own tea shop. On the plane ,she meets a woman who leaves her scarf behind. While returning the scarf, Gemma makes friends with the woman and ends up being the last person to see her before she is killed. This make the police narrow in on her and make her their main suspect. She has to find the killer before she is put in jail. This is a good little story with a nice twist.
I enjoy the series but it is quite predictable and very typical of Cozy Mysteries. The tea room owner is not very sophisticated in her knowledge of tea varieties, tea service, etc. If you enjoy a little more ‘meat’ to your mysteries you are more likely to find satisfaction in a Laura Childs tea room book. But is you like cute quirky cats and love anything about Oxford you will keep reading the series as I intend to do.
All-Butter ShortDead by H.Y. Hanna is a prequel to the Oxford Tearoom Mysteries. Gemma finds herself in deep water when she is accused of murder.
This was a quick and interesting read. This prequel gives us an insight to Gemma and her plans for her future.
I enjoyed this book very much
This was my first time reading anything by this particular author. I found the book to be very interesting. I wanted the main character to succeed. When I finished the book I wanted to go straight to reading the next book in the series.
Hsin-Yi Hanna wrote a darling prequel to her Oxford Tearoom Mystery series. She did a wonderful job introducing all of the characters that make her stories one of the best cozy series I have ever read. I always wondered how the characters all got together and the tearoom came about and now I know. Of course the story would not be complete without a mystery for Gemma to solve which kept me guessing until the very end.
All of the stories in this series are a joy to read. Great character development, a well written mystery, and laugh-out-loud humor. What more could you ask for. Cozy mystery lovers who are not reading this series are missing out on a real gem.
This was the first book that I have read in this series and I liked it a lot. The prequel is a short read but a great mystery that didn’t feel rushed. It introduces us to the beginnings of the tearoom and gets us to meet the very loveable and interesting characters. I especially hope to meet the Old Biddies again, they are a hoot.
I am looking forward to reading more of Gemmas’ adventures.
“All-Butter Shortdead” earns 5/5 Plates of Buttery Shortbread Cookies!
Read Sept, 2016
I LOVED this prequel! It is shorter with 200 pages (16 chapters), but does not short the reader on having a delightful experience. Since most fans have read the other full-length novels, going back in time is an entertaining look into Gemma’s first arrival home and getting ready to embark on her new venture with the tearoom. For those just starting off on the Oxford Tearoom Mystery journey, the prequel is a great place to get introductions to Gemma, her BFF Cassie, her mother (OMG, her mother!), the ‘Old Biddies” (stewed prunes and all), and the engaging style of H.Y. Hanna. The only thing missing in this book is a recipe…how do I make traditional English shortbread biscuits—rich and crumbly?