In cold chamomile is the third book in A Tea and A Read Mystery series by Joy Avon. Our heroine, Callie Aspen, is helping her aunt Iphy host a Valentines Day fun raiser for an historic building in Hearts Harbor, Maine that ends in murder. Ace Falk, the acting sheriff and Callie’s boyfriend is on the case with the unwelcome assistance of Callie and Iphy. One of the surprise guest performers at the event is an old boyfriend of Iphy’s that she hasn’t seen or talked to in 50 years. When he is arrested for the murder of a prominent antique book appraiser volunteering his services at the fundraising event, Iphy and Callie try to clear his name. In the meantime, Ace’s sister Peggy is having a meltdown and he blames Callie.
Not having read the first two books in this series, I felt like there was a lot of history that I was missing. The main problem I had with the book is that none of the characters were likable. I would have liked for Callie to have more backbone but instead she lets everyone boss her around and walk all over her. Iphy comes across as obstinate and irrational as well as very selfish and like she’s gone off the deep end. It doesn’t make sense that she would go to such great lengths to defend someone she has had no contact with in half a century. Peggy is a basket case and Ace is a wimp. The one thing I did like about the conclusion of each characters saga is that it leaves room for a completely different direction for each one of them in a future book.
Thanks to Crooked Lane Publishing for the Advanced Reader Copy of this book.

Callie and her great aunt Iphy own a vintage yes room. The host tea away from the shop on occasion. Valentine's day is here and Callie and her aunt are hosting an event at Haywood Hall. There will be books, tea, music and treats. Nice cozy mystery. Enduring characters you want to get to know. I will be going back to read the other books in the series and look to future ones

Callie Aspen is looking forward to the Valentine's Day event that is being held at Haywood Hall, an historical mansion in Heart's Harbor, Maine. Everything is going well and she's excited about the way it's turned out. However, it seems that the town's librarian, Miss Forrester, has persuaded a television antiques appraiser to appraise books at the event, and he seems pretentious to her.

Then, the baritone who was scheduled to appear has been replaced by another man - Sean Strong - and her Aunt Iphy seems shaken by this fact, but won't tell her why. Everything else seems to be going along swimmingly, until the librarian's assistant comes to her and asks her to call the police, stating as how the appraiser is dead. What Callie doesn't know is that Mr. Strong and her aunt have a history, Deputy Falk's sister is having issues of her own, and now it's all beginning to cause problems for Callie herself. Will she be able to find the truth or will her questions put herself or someone else in danger from a killer?...

I was looking forward to reading this third book in the series, but I'm left wondering exactly what was going through the author's mind when she wrote it. The reason I state that is the fact that this book is nothing like the first two in the series, and it seems as if an attempt is being made to create an entirely new series after only two others have been written. Why, you ask?

However, I have hidden the entire thing in a spoiler due to the fact that not only has this book not as yet been published, but there are people who probably have not read the first two in the series and so will have not noticed the changes. I have, and I did. Please be aware that this spoiler not only contains major plot points, but major points regarding the ending (although not of the murderer or the reason why the victim was killed. So please do not read unless you don't mind the ending exposed.

THIS IS HIDDEN IN A SPOILER AND CAN ONLY BE READ BY CLICKING ON IT:

First, there are the little things (which really don't need to be in a spoiler, but I added them anyway: For the people who had their books appraised - in this day and age it's so easy to get to a computer (and I'm sure local libraries have them even if you don't), why didn't any of these people check beforehand to get an idea of what their books were worth? Even if they didn't exactly know for sure, they would have gotten a rough estimate. Sorry, but they deserve to be cheated. NEVER would I sell a book without checking its worth online. Plus, anyone who worries about what other people will think really are morons.

The police hear from several people that they were cheated out of their books and they just shrug their shoulders and say, 'Oh, well, not our problem?' They don't look into it to see if they're telling the truth or what kind of history this guy might have had? I'm sorry, but if there was a con man out there with the history this guy had, the FBI would have been all over it. Is the author attempting to make police officers look inept? Chances are the police would have already been following everything he'd been doing and would welcome these people to give their stories so they could catch him.

Ace is a complete ass in this book, but maybe he was meant to be so we'd be glad to get rid of him. In the first two books, he was nice, and was obviously attracted to Callie and it didn't make him crazy that she was doing her own 'side investigating' because well, that's the way she's wired and who wants to change someone, anyway? Why would Ace believe the worst of Callie without listening to her side of the story regarding Peggy instead of jumping to conclusions? Why didn't Peggy tell him the truth instead of allowing him to treat Callie that way? Well, thanks a lot. You invest two books in teasing us about the relationship between Callie and Ace, but then Ace, who's supposedly an intelligent police officer, now all of a sudden decides he "can't handle" the fact that his girlfriend reluctantly involves herself in the investigations? What kind of wimp is he? Has he no emotional intelligence at all? He also doesn't know if he can handle everything thrown at him because the sheriff has been ill? Seriously? He needs to retire from the force right now...and Callie needs to find herself a real man. Ace needs to disappear altogether (which the author seems to want him to do, anyway) and bring in a man who can handle whatever the world throws at him and doesn't resent a woman for being who she is. Who wants a police officer boyfriend who has a meltdown if he has an 'emotional crisis?' .

Then, what the hell is up with Peggy? She practically chased Quinn in the last book, almost begging Callie to talk to Ace and keep Quinn from leaving town and didn't want him to go. Now she's trying to convince us that she only wants 'friendship?' What. A. Crock. She suddenly decides she doesn't want to get involved after she's already sort of involved with him and introduced her kids to him - and even left her kids with him while she ran off somewhere? What kind of mother is she, anyway? Allows her kids to get close and then decides to change her mind? Then she decides to get a job out of town to get away from the man she wanted to be around in the last book? We're supposed to buy this stuff?

To top it off, what's wrong with Iphy? She spends her life building her business and just walks away without a care in the world to run off with an old boyfriend for three months. She doesn't even ask Callie if she wants to stay and run the tearoom. How is Callie supposed to order supplies and pay bills? And since Iphy was the one who was doing the cooking and baking all of the pastries, what is Callie going to serve? One can only assume that the tearoom will close shortly and Iphy will have lost everything, since there is no alternate baker in place, Callie more than likely isn't on Iphy's bank account or supplier list, etc. Little things like this add up.

I didn't like the ending at all. Why? Well, here's a recap: Iphy runs off and her business more than likely will shut down due to just leaving and not having a contingency plan in place. Peggy runs off and leaves after letting everyone know that she wanted Quinn in her life. Ace runs off and leaves when he decides (after two books) that he can't handle his job and can't handle the fact that Callie is who she is. Why didn't the author just put Callie back on the road again as a tour guide if she was going to eliminate the other major characters in the series? What's next? Callie and Quinn fall in love and decide they were meant for each other all along? Because they're really the only two people left in the book that matter at all. You can't write two books establishing characters and relationships and then just get rid of everyone except Callie in the third book and expect people to be pleased (I seriously have no idea how it got any five star ratings unless those people didn't read the first two or are afraid of not previewing other books.)

Needless to say, this book completely disappointed me. The ending was bizarre for the reasons I've named above. If this is the way the series is going to go, then I won't be reading any more of the series.

END OF SPOILER

Having enjoyed the first two in the series, I really wanted to like this book. However, with the way it was, this was not possible. Sorry.

While I did enjoy this book, it is my least favorite in the series so far. I was very frustrated with most of the people in the relationships. I am looking forward to the next book in series.

September became February as I read In Cold Chamomile! Valentine's Day is the setting for this new to me series and it was a fun read! When Callie's Aunt Iphy becomes involved in the murder of a book expert attending a charity event, Callie has to clear her name!

There was so much going on in the book and I enjoyed all the backstories, they made the mystery even better. Callie is a wonderfully written character and the supporting characters are lovable. The mystery had twists and turns that kept me reading.

A book you'll love to read, regardless of the season!

I received an ARC from NetGalley for a fair and honest review of this book.

'In Cold Chamomile' by Joy Avon is an outstanding mystery about a murder that was committed during a Valentines day fund raiser. There is a long list of suspects, all of which had motive and opportunity to have committed the crime. This book will keep you guessing until the end! 'In Cold Chamomile" is a fun and engaging murder mystery, well worth the read.

Many thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Valentine’s Day comes to Heart’s Harbor and Callie is hosting an event at Haywood Hall. The locals have turned out in full force and love is in the air along with murder.

A book expert who came to the event is found murdered and the visitingTenor who sang with the orchestra was seen arguing with the dead man shortly before his body was discovered. When the tenor is arrested, Callie finds out that this was the once in a lifetime love of her great aunt Iphy’s youth. Even though Callie has promised Ace she won’t investigate, she can’t let Aunt Iphy face things other own. It appears that crossing this line may be too much for Ace and Callie to get past this time.

Try as she might, Callie will not leave her Aunt Iphy stranded and reluctantly follows along as Iphy meets with suspects and works to release the man she still loves. But will the murderer silence Iphy and Callie before they can they uncover the truth?

This book is the best in the series yet. A great mystery with a slew of suspects that all had motive and opportunity to have killed the victim. It’s also a turning of events for many of the couples, old and new, in the series. Can’t wait to see what the future holds for Calie, Ace, Iphy, Sean, Quinn and Peggy.

Yet again Callie and her aunt Iphy team up to solve a murder- this time to clear Iphy's former love interest. A lot of relationship developments in this book- Ace is trying to figure out his feelings for Callie, Peggy is struggling to let go of her dead husband and Iphy is forced to re-examine a decision she made 50 years ago. A very solid read- i can't wait to see what's in store for these wonderful characters.

I was frustrated by the insipid relationship issues in Joy Avon's latest in her A Tea and Read Mystery series . I feel certain this was done to set up future stories, but it felt lazy to me. Other than that I found the why behind the whodunit to be interesting and I actually was slightly surprised at who was guilty. The one highlight was Iphy and Sean. I will look forward to more if for no other reason than to have some relationship resolutions with Quinn and Peggy and Callie and Ace.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

'In Cold Chamomile' by Joy Avon is an outstanding mystery about a murder that was committed during a Valentines day fund raiser. The suspect list is long. This who done it story has intrigue throughout the entire book. Iphy has a special interest in solving this complicated case because her long lost friend Sean Strong is a suspect. Could Sean have changed since Ihhy last saw him? Iphy did not think so and was determined to find the real killer. Callie was always sucked into sleuthing with her great-aunt even thought it continually got Callie in trouble with her friend Ace, the lead detective on this case. I loved the characters in this book except for Ace. Maybe Ms Avon can get rid of Ace in her next book and find a good guy for Callie. I highly recommend 'In Cold Chamomile'. This book was given to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Its Valentine's week for callie and the book tearoom. She organizes a book exchange and appraisal at the mansion were someone is killed. Callie and her great aunt set out to find the killer but the deputy ace Falk is not happy with there investigation of the murder. To hear more read the book.

Loved this book! Great ending. Very realistic portrayal of life in a small town where everyone knows everyone and everyone is related to everyone. Fun read, hard to put down.

Callie Aspen and her Aunt Iphy find themselves involved in another murder investigation in In Cold Chamomile by Joy Avon.
It's Valentine's Day and they have a terrific party planned, complete with a singer, an antique expert and pets for adoption.
Things are going well until someone winds up dead, and Callie and her aunt find themselves involved from the beginning.
Things spiral out of control and relationships are renewed while some seen to be ending.
I really enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to reading more.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for approving me to read this book.

Callie Asper is in charge of a Valentine’s Day event at a mansion. She has lots of activities—Fall in Love with Books, Fall in Love with Music, Fall in Love with… something for everyone. Her great-aunt Iphy is manning the tea room part of the event. Everything is going smoothly until the singer shows up. Sean Strong is not the singer who was supposed to be there, but he tells them he’s stepping in for a sick friend. Callie notices, though, that there’s something odd between him and Iphy. But she’s got too much on her mind to look into it. Like the famous antiques/book dealer who seems to be under-rating everything shown him, and who’s doing his best to make sure nobody likes him. Then he ends up dead and Callie is thrown into helping solve another murder—against the strong wishes of her sometimes boyfriend/cop Ace.

This is a cute, standard cozy mystery with a murder, an amateur sleuth, and a cop who doesn’t want them involved. There’s lots of angst going on throughout the story, but it’s all tied up nicely at the end. Though this is obviously part of a series, it is a stand alone that can be read without reading the others, but you are missing some of the background, especially concerning Callie and her relationship with Ace.

Things I liked: The names! I absolutely love Callie and Iphy’s names—though we only learn Iphy’s real name once. We never do find out if Callie is short for something (maybe Calliope?). The characters were realistic and well-developed.

Things I didn’t like: There’s nothing overt that I didn’t like, but the book didn’t wow me. Setting was almost non-existent. Callie and Iphy run a tea room, but we have no idea what it looks like. Or the great mansion. Or even the town. I’d really like to have more sensory input as well. And…for me…it was kind of obvious who the perpetrator was.

Recommendations: I’d suggest reading the other books in the series first. Not because you can’t get what’s going on but so you have the background on the characters, the town, etc. As I said above, it’s not a bad book so if you’ve read the others in the series, pick this one up.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.

Another solid entry to this series. All the cozy characters, but less quirky compared to other series. The mystery moves at a fairly rapid pace, but I could have done with a bit less inner commentary. Will be interesting to see where everything goes next!

The description of this book sounded intriguing to me and drew me in right away. I fell in love with Book Tea & Haywood Hall. The flow is good and so is the pacing. Great characters and an engaging story. It was a good who done it murder mystery with a bit of romance thrown in but very predictable from the beginning for me.

I think that this book was well done. It is set in Maine as Valentine's Day is approaching. There is a dispute between some of the characters and this makes for an interesting read. Even though there is a murder in this book, this is one that will not leave you afraid and make you keep your lights on at night. Very well done!

Valentine’s Day is approaching in Heart’s Harbor, Maine and Callie Aspen is gearing up for the big day. She’s planned a big tea party for the occasion that will involve books, desserts and valentines along with some special music. But a falling out between the librarian and a book appraiser, as well as a guest thst is not well received, all add up to murder in this not so scary cozy mystery