Reviewed by Craig Sisterson
The Bookshop Detectives are on the case! In this rollicking new adventure, Garth and Eloise (and Stevie) must sniff out a prolific poisoner ahead of a vital fundraising event, the Battle of the Book Clubs. As time runs out and the body count rises, it seems the bad actors are circling closer to the people and places they care about.
Could Pinter, the infamous serial killer from Eloise’s past, somehow be involved? And when anyone could be a suspect, how can Garth and Eloise keep their customers, their small town and their beloved bookshop safe?.
After getting caught up in a decades-old cold case in last year’s #1 overall bestselling New Zealand novel The Bookshop Detectives: Dead Girl Gone, this time retired police turned booksellers turned amateur sleuths Garth and Eloise – and their beloved Stevie (more slumber-dog than guard-dog) get entwined in a very warm case that hits dangerously close to home. Could the series of local poisonings somehow be connected to Arthur Pinter, a literary agent and serial killer whose past violence gave Eloise PTSD, and who now seems determined to do even worse, despite being imprisoned in the UK?
Eloise and Garth are busy, scrambling to find a crowd-pleasing replacement for Kiwi storytelling doyenne Dame Fiona Kidman, who has to withdraw from their upcoming charity event. Meanwhile, there’s news from old British police colleagues who have been monitoring the game-playing Pinter in Belmarsh, and Garth is at odds with his fellow staff about a rodent addition to the Sherlock Tomes family. Then a few attendees at local book events begin ending up in the hospital. Or the morgue.
Given the age of many in the audience, natural causes can’t be ruled out. At first.
But surely it’s more than a coincidence, or bad luck? And even if Eloise and Garth aren’t being targeted themselves, the people in the community they care about seem to be. Tea and Cake and Death are all flowing in this warm-hearted tale. The Wards have crafted a delightful mystery that nestles well into the cosier corner of the crime genre, alongside Richard Osman or classic TV shows like Murder, She Wrote. There’s charm, warmth, and humanity in among the dark deeds, and while the book may not delve as deeply into the psychological or sociological as some grittier #yeahnoir (NZ crime, mystery, and thriller) tales, it's an entertaining read, full of characters that are fun to spend time with.
In a way, reading Tea and Cake and Death reminded me of when I first began watching The Brokenwood Mysteries several years ago. I usually lean darker or grittier in my crime dramas, loving shows like Luther, created by British-Kiwi author Neil Cross, or Sons of Anarchy, Criminal Minds, Bosch, etc. So at first Brokenwood seemed a little light – but within an episode or two I was hooked: on the characters and their interplay, the setting, tone, Kiwi sense of humour, community, and more. It’s now one of my absolute favourite shows.
Similarly, while the Bookshop Detectives escapades may be less dark than many others on modern-day crime and thriller bookshelves, they’re likely to delight not only cosy mystery fans, but win over other readers thanks to people and place, as much as the mystery plotlines.
[This review is a condensed version of a review first published on Kete Books. You can read the longer version here]
Craig Sisterson is a lawyer turned writer, editor, podcast host, awards judge, and event chair. He's the founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards, co-founder of Rotorua Noir, author of Macavity and HRF Keating Award-shortlisted non-fiction work SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, editor of the DARK DEEDS DOWN UNDER anthology series, and writes about books for magazines and newspapers in several countries.
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