Amanda Cooper (pseudonym of cozy mystery author Victoria
Hamilton) begins the brand new Teapot Collector
Mystery series with TEMPEST IN A TEAPOT, where former
restaurateur and Manhattanite Sophie Taylor moves to
Gracious Grove, the small town in upstate New York where she
spent blissful summers with her grandmother.
Before Sophie can figure out how to make herself useful in
her grandmother's tea room, there is a murder across the
street in a competing tea room run by her grandmother's
rival, Thelma Earnshaw. Sophie ends up on the scene before
the police, and eventually decides to investigate a bit
herself, turning any clues she finds over to the police, of
course.
I have to say I am not entirely sure of motive as presented
in the book for Sophie to pursue the murderer. The motives
given include the murder happening so close to her
grandmother, and that her friend Cissy's grandmother (Thelma
Earnshaw) is under investigation. Perhaps an
underlying/unstated motive is Sophie finds herself at loose
ends with confidence low after losing her restaurant.
I am kind of on the fence about this particular book. It is
well written, and the characters are believable,
but as a reader I faintly dislike the involvement Sophie
takes in the mystery.. I know, I know it wouldn't be much of
a cozy mystery if the amateur sleuth could not poke and pry,
but without looking deeper for a motive, it initially comes
off as Sophie finding specious reasons for sticking her nose
in, leaving the impression she is making excuses instead of
owning her actions. I repeat 'faintly dislike'. Mostly I
enjoyed the world Amanda Cooper has built in small town
upstate New York, with plenty of the townsfolk providing
background as well as potential suspects. The
characterization is complex, with layered histories that are
integral to the plot. Cooper also uses more than one
narrator, and more than one sleuth (although Sophie is
definitely the main investigator) which adds an interesting
interplay among the multiple viewpoints.
Overall, I have to say I think this is a series worth
pursuing. There was just too much I liked outweighing the
slight discomfort I felt from the motivations of the main
sleuth. If you have enjoyed Victoria Hamilton's cozy series'
in the past, give this new incarnation under the name Amanda
Cooper a try. TEMPEST IN A TEAPOT has many qualities of the
best of cozy mysteries; small town drama, interesting
characters and multi-layered relationships complicating a
well-plotted mystery.
Tucked away in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York
is the charming town of Gracious Grove, where time moves
slowly, gossip spreads quickly, and the scones are to die
for...
When her fashionable Manhattan restaurant goes under, Sophie
Taylor retreats to her grandmother's cozy shop, Auntie
Rose's Victorian Teahouse, where serenity is steeped to
perfection in one of her many antique teapots. The last
thing Sophie expects is a bustling calendar of teahouse
events, like her old friend Cissy Peterson's upcoming bridal
shower.
Not everyone is pleased with the bride-to-be's
choice of venue--like Cissy's grandmother, who owns a
competing establishment, La Belle Epoque, and has held a
long-simmering grudge against Rose for stealing her beau
sixty years ago. Tensions reach a boiling point when Cissy's
fiancee's mother dies while sampling scones at La Belle
Epoque. Now, to help her friend, Sophie will have to bag a
killer before more of the guest list becomes a hit list...
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