Tea, tarot, and trouble.Abigail Beanblossom’s dream of owning a tea room in her California beach town is about to come true. She’s got the lease, the start-up funds, and the recipes. But Abigail’s out of a tearoom and into hot water when the realtor turns out to be a conman… and then turns up dead.But not even death puts an end to the conman’s mischief. He rented the same space to a tarot reader, … same space to a tarot reader, Hyperion Night. Convinced his tarot room is in the cards, Night’s not letting go of the building without a fight.
But they must work together, steeping themselves in the murky waters of the sham realtor’s double dealings, in order to unearth the truth – before murder boils over again.
Steeped in Murder is the first book in the Tea and Tarot cozy mystery series. Buy the book to start this hilarious caper today.
Recipes in the back of the book!
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Liked it very much.
A very good whodunnit it story. A real page turner from start to finish. Love reading this authors books.
I was surprised how much I enjoyed this read. I expected a run of the mill cozy mystery. The depth of the characters and plot were pleasant surprises.
Her dream seems to be coming true she has the building, the start up money but there is a problem. She has been conned. They end up dead and now a man arrives to take her space in the building. They decide to work together to find out what happened? Can they before there is another murder? See if they can
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is a beginning to a new series and I enjoyed this book so much, I can hardly wait for the next book. Do not miss this series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Abigail wants to open a tearoom, Hyperion wants to open a tarot reading room. Both are conned. How will they work things out? And what do they do when a dead body is found behind the building they want to rent?
This book had me laughing so hard in parts of it. The characters are so funny and just mesh together beautifully. The story line is similar to other cozies, but is original in its own way. It flows well and is a page turner, keeping you interested and asking for more. I can’t wait for book 2!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I really enjoyed this story. The characters are wonderfully eccentric and the story was well written with plenty of twists. I can’t wait to see how the characters evolve in this series. I see lots of potential for fun and mystery ahead!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Of course, having a grandfather around who always has your back, that is priceless.
Abigail might be surrounded by distant hot men, at least one of whom is definitely not straight, but the coolest cat likes her, even if the duck seems a bit neutral.
What more could a gal need? Staying alive long enough to open her dreamt about Tea Parlor- and cons, blackmailers and murders can go soak their heads instead of steeping her tea!
Hilarious cozy mystery!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The start of a new series called A Tea and Tarot Cozy Mystery a well written story that kept me guessing until the end. I know I want to read the next book. I think Tomas is my favorite character so far, I also like Peking. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Abigail Beanblossom has dreamed of owning her own tea room, so when the spot she wants becomes available, she jumps at the chance to sign a lease. The last thing Abigail expects is to be working with a conman of a realtor that takes her rent and someone else’s for the same location. Before that can confront him and get their money back, he is found murdered. Now Abigail and Hyperion Night (the other renter) find themselves as the number 1 & 2 suspects by the police. Can they find the real murderer before it is too late? And will they ever get their money back? Abigail and Hyperion partner up in more ways than one to solve the mystery.
This is the first book in a new Tea and Tarot cozy mystery series. It is filled with loveable characters, a great storyline, lots of hilarious moments, madcap adventure, and a mystery with involving many twists and turns. I found the book absolutely enjoyable and can’t wait to see what the next book in the series will hold.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Read, enjoy and have your fortune read.
I love cozies and this one was a well-formed delight from page one I became totally engaged in the story. I love the names of the some of the characters it was so campy and over the top just reading them again in my notes again brings a smile to my face. Love the mystery it was such a wonderful puzzle they had to solve. Ms. Weiss has given the reader a mix of pure delight with a great story and splendid characters. If you like cozies check this one out. I did receive a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.
“In my defense, the day did not ‘seem’ that murdery.” And so begins this absolutely delightful culinary cozy mystery. I will admit that I was drawn by the series name, as I am a fan of both tea and tarot. I actually lived on the northern California coast for some years, and I think that Abigail’s tearoom would have been perfect where I lived. Why didn’t we have one? As a tea person, I loved all the descriptions of the teas, and I could imagine being in a little tearoom on the California coast, eating some delightful scones and drinking some of the wonderful blends that were mentioned. I will admit that I am drawn to fictional books that include tarot as a part of the story, and it was perfectly integrated here. This book is a little zany, which–of course–is a delight in a cozy mystery. The small town where this takes place, I believe in southern California by the description, is full of a cast of quirky characters that I’m sure we’ll get to know and enjoy more in future books of the series. Just the names of the two main characters who were swindled by the same man tell you this book is as light as a murder mystery can be: Abigail Beanblossom (tearoom) and Hyperion Night (tarot reader). The book was long, but the author was able to maintain suspense and keep a good focus on the evolving mystery plot. The length of the novel allowed for the little tangents and red herrings that must occur in a satisfying mystery. In all, this is a perfect cozy mystery beach read, if you like bringing murder mysteries with you on vacation!
STEEPED IN MURDER by Kirsten Weiss
The First Tea and Tarot Mystery
Abigail Beanblossom’s dream is about to come true. She paid her realtor 6 months rent in advance for the perfect building and is about to open her own tearoom. She has interior designs in mind and a business plan all set. What she didn’t account for was the fact that her realtor was a con artist who had also rented the building to Hyperion Night, a tarot reader. Before matters can be straightened out they find the realtor dead behind their building, murdered. As Abigail tries to get her money back she finds herself teaming up with Hyperion. Will they get their money? Will either of them be able to get the building? Or will they find themselves victims of murder instead of just a con?
Tea and tarot are two of my favorite things, so when I discovered that Kirsten Weiss was writing a series combining the two I was elated. The first Tea and Tarot Mystery did not disappoint. I admit that some of it was a bit over the top. With main characters are named Abigail Beanblossom and Hyperion Night that’s to be expected! Hyperion is a bit campy and the lead detective is an overt germophobe. In fact most of the characters are a bit high on the excitable scale…the other victims of the con artist take drama to high art! But it works. They are fun, funny, yet still relatable. Deep down they are caring people facing real issues. Trust, abandonment, compromise, and the ability to have an open mind are just some of the themes dealt with here.
The author’s knowledge of the tarot shines through adding depth and meaning instead of using it as a gimmick. I love Abby’s tea blends and the description of scones had me drooling. I wish I could go to their shop, sip some sage and spearmint tea, nibble an almond and apricot scone, and have Hyperion give me a reading. Since I can’t visit them personally, I was thrilled to find recipes included at the end! I may get that scone after all!
STEEPED IN MURDER is a fun start to a new series. Delightful characters and a complex mystery provide plenty of laughs and a good puzzle for readers to enjoy.
FTC Disclosure – The publisher sent me an e-copy of this book in the hopes I would review it.
This is a light weight cozy mystery. The story starts okay, but just didn’t hold my interest. The setup for the mystery was okay, but then nothing much happens to move the story along. The main character makes some friends, there’s a murder, they investigate, every clue leads to a dead end, and then miraculously near the very end the case solves itself. Not much as far as twists, turns or surprises, but constant descriptions of the clothes people are wearing. I wanted at least a few bread crumbs along the way to make it feel like there was some progress being made. Instead, the characters just seem to run in circles as does all the dialogue. There just wasn’t much happening in this story to make it interesting.
This book was ok, not great. There were some great characters but some were described in detail but not necessary to the story.
started reading it; just couldn’t get into it. Don’t think I’ll finish it
Hard to get into. Slow reading.
Really enjoyed this light-hearted read. The characters had depth so that you could relate to them being real, and the story line was quirky and fun. The book didn’t take itself too seriously, but was entertaining from start to finish.
I really enjoyed this book! Easy reading!
I really liked the concept for this series with the tea and tarot focus so I bought a copy of this one and finally got around to reading it. It took me a while to get into this and there were parts that didn’t quite work for me, but there were also parts I liked. And by the end I am curious enough that I probably will pick up book 2. I am also hoping now that the tea and tarot shop is getting established that the next book will feature that more and will be more engaging.
I struggled a bit to get into Steeped in Murder, the story wasn’t gripping me at first. The mystery wasn’t engaging and I didn’t really care for the main character yet. Then she was keeping something from her grandfather first and at times he emotions seemed to go from one end to another, it made her feel a bit wishy washy and uncertain and it was hard to keep up with at times. There also seemed to be a few small things that didn’t quite make sense to me. Slowly it got better, and I liked her grandfather and Hyperion. The mystery however didn’t improve much. I did like reading about the tea and tarot shop and seeing how that developed and am curious how that will progress throughout the series.
Let’s talk about the mystery, while the set-up was intriguing it just fell flat for me. I wasn’t engaged and curious. We have the murder at the start and quite a bit of investigating, but very little new information or big reveals throughout the investigation. There is a limited group of people involved and it all felt a bit static somehow. It just seemed like they were going over the same thing and not getting anywhere. At first I wasn’t sure who had done it because I wasn’t invested enough to try and figure it out, but when I took a bit of time to think things through I quickly figured out who did it and turns out I was correct. I wasn’t 100% of the motive due to lack of clues, but even there I was thinking in the right direction. The reveal at the end also lacked impact, but I did like the epilogue about the tea and tarot shop. I was more invested in the shop than in the mystery.
At first it isn’t sure how Abigail will ever get her tearoom. Her realtor was a scam artist and is dead and both she and another person have the key to the building. Who will finally get the building and what will happen to the other person? She lost a lot of money and it is unclear whether she will get it back and if she can continue with her plans. I wasn’t sure what to think of this plot line at first and was annoyed they didn’t just agree to stay out of the building till they settled things. But after a certain point I liked seeing how things progressed and I am interesting to see how the shop will do throughout the series.
Abigail was an okay main character, but I never fully warmed up to her. I liked her baking scones and tea, although I did wonder if she ate other food as well as she always seems to be making tea and scones. I liked how she cared about her grandfather, the scenes with her and her grandfather were great to read. And I liked that she wanted to start a store, although sometimes I failed to feel her passion behind it, especially when she wanted to give up at times. I just wanted to get a bit of a better feel for her personality. And Hyperion with his quirky personality stood out way more than Abigail in my opinion.
I ended up really liking Hyperion, he was so quirky and I thought he was interesting. It was interesting how much trust he put in his cards and I also liked when he called Abigail out on her bad behavior, he seemed to get her quickly. And I liked how they interacted, after the first few scenes ofcourse. He really sticks by her and trust in their partnership long before Abigail does. I also liked how his tarot reading is a theme that plays a role throughout the book and the way the cards connect to what’s going on.
I also liked the scenes with Abigails grandfather and how he and family friend Thomas played a consistent role in the book. Peking, the duckling was also a fun addition. And Hyperion has a cat as well that is part of the story a few times. There is a hint of possible romance, but so far it’s mostly Abigail thinking someone is hot. I hope there will be a bit more to their relationship if it does turn in a relationship as so far I didn’t really care for it.
To summarize: Steeped in Murder was off to a rough start for me, I had some trouble getting into this book as it wasn’t really gripping me. It took me some time to warm up to the main character and even by the end of the book I thought she was just okay. I liked her determination and the baking she did, but felt like she could be a bit wishy washy at times and she sometimes seemed to go from one extreme to another. The mystery also didn’t really work for me, it didn’t progress as much throughout the book with not many new clues popping up. After thinking it over a bit it was clear to me who the murderer was and I was correct. I was more invested in the tea and tarot store than the mystery. I ended up really liking Hyperion, I wasn’t sure about him at first, but by the end of the book I really liked him. He is so quirky and interesting and I liked him. All in all this was a decent start to the new series, it didn’t fully grip me, but be the end I am curious enough that I think I will continue the series.