In this sixth book of the series Daisy is preparing refreshments for the faculty at Willow Creek High for a small party they are holding after the spring concert. The staff is hoping to take a moment away from teaching and enjoy themselves but teacher Althea makes it difficult. She always has a problem with something whether it be substitute teachers or the clothing that the teens wear. When Althea is found dead and Daisy among the first to find her she knows she must figure out what happened. Even though she was found in the pool she was strangled to death. Althea had quite a few enemies from other faculty to students but who among them hated the woman enough to kill her. While digging into Althea's life Daisy soon learns there were quite a few motives for people to want her dead. Follow along as Daisy puts all the pieces together in hopes of figuring out who killed Althea and why. This is such a great series that keeps you guessing the whole way through.

Murder with Oolong Tea by Karen Rose Smith is the 6th book in a Daisy's Tea Garden Mystery, and another great addition.  Daisy Swanson is a widowed mother of two daughters, and along with her Aunt Iris own Daisy's Tea Garden, in Willow Creek, Pennsylvania. In this adventure, the story line centers around the High School. When Daisy is serving tea at the school, and hears a scream, she and another women finds a teacher dead in the pool. There are a lot of different story lines in this book, so I suggest you read them in order to get the most out of the books. Once I started this book I could not stop reading it. It was a quick read that kept me guessing. I look forward to the next book in the series. I recommend this book for all cozy mystery book lovers, you will not be disappointed.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is the sixth book in a series by Karen Rose Smith about Daisy Swanson who runs a tea garden she co-owns with her aunt. Daisy moved back to her hometown of Willow Creek, Pennsylvania, after the death of her husband. Daisy is hired by Willow Creek High School to provide refreshments for a meeting of the faculty which is due to take place after the spring concert. The event gets underway but then a long-serving, very opinionated English teacher's dead body - Althea Higgins - is found floating in the school swimming pool. Daisy takes it upon herself to investigate.

I thoroughly enjoyed Murder with Oolong Tea and found it compelling. It was easy to read, and I thought protagonist Daisy was a great character as she was personable as well as being compassionate, level-headed, and showed brilliant sleuthing skills.

The mystery itself included more than enough twists and variety to keep me guessing and turning the pages until the big reveal. A good bunch of people surrounded Daisy, the tea shop was charming and the cakes and pastries sounded scrummy, especially the blueberry coffee cake. Daisy's family issues felt real and the author spotlighted topics of trust and kindness.

This is a great, very high quality, fun read, and I intend to catch up with the other books in the series. Also, I can’t wait to see what’s next for Daisy in book seven, Murder with Orange Pekoe Tea. Very highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Kensington Books via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Murder with Oolong Tea by Karen Rose Smith is book six in the A Daisy's Tea Garden Mystery series.
This is an easy to read Cozy that has it all.
Daisy has been hired to cater a teacher appreciation tea at the high school. In the middle of the tea a scream is heard . Daisy runs to where it came from and finds one of the teachers face down in the pool with a rope around her neck. Also there trying to pull her out is another school employee. Althea wasn't the most liked teacher and was quite outspoken but was that a reason for murder. Daisy starts asking questions and puts a target on her back.
Smith has plenty of suspects and twists and turns. The setting is in Pennsylvania Amish country,and is touched on just enough. There are likable main character as are most of the supporting ones. There is also a side story involving family and friends.
I was given an ARC by Kensington and NetGalley for an honest review.

Daisy's Tea Garden has been retained by the Willow Creek High School to cater an appreciation tea for the teachers after the spring concert. During the tea, Althea Higgins, an English teacher and one who speaks her mind gets a text message, she leaves the tea to answer the text only to not return. When Daisy is coming back from her van to get some desserts, she hears a scream coming from the school's pool. When she enters the pool area, it's to find the school guidance counselor Stella Cotton, hanging over the side of the pool and Althea Higgins floating with one of the lane ropes wrapped around her neck.

Many people, co-workers and students alike, did not like Althea for her continuous criticism of everything from dress codes to wearing too much perfume. But as Daisy investigates she is hearing conflicting statements as to what Althea was really like. What made her go from a caring teacher and co-worker to a bitter, unhappy woman? With so many people who are unhappy with Althea, the suspect list is a long one.

In the midst of this, Jazzi is wanting her friend, Brielle, to stay with them during spring break and the week after as her attorney parents are at a conference in Europe. All goes well until the day Daisy gets a phone call that has her running out of the tea house to go pick up Jazzi and Brielle. If that isn't enough, tensions between Daisy and Jonas are high.

Ultimately, Daisy pieces together the clues to the puzzle to solve the murder before anyone else becomes a victim.

If you like a good, entertaining cozy with no swearing, this series is for you. This series also features mouth watering recipes . I can say I have never been disappointed with this series and I really enjoy them and look forward to more.

Please note that I received a copy of the book from the publisher through Netgalley.com. All opinions expressed are my own.

Tea and blueberry coffee cake are featured throughout. Expect to have some cravings. A clever cozy mystery. Some bumps in the romance department. Teenage angst. A nice variety of situations to keep one's interest.

I jumped into this series without reading the prior books; I'm a sucker for "foodie" fiction, especially cozy mysteries that take place in restaurants. This cozy with its bright pink cover definitely filled the bill. I was unfamiliar with the characters, and it took me a while to settle in and get to know who was who. I loved all the descriptions of tea and food, and Daisy was a strong, solid character. I feel like the author can take Daisy and her story into all kinds of different directions. The mystery was engaging, and I cared about many of the characters. The murderer may not have been a surprise, and the book wasn't "outstanding," but it was the perfect little cozy to take up most of my day. Thank you, Netgalley, for this arc.

Murder with Oolong Tea is the sixth book in the series: Daisy’s Tea Garden Mystery, but the first one I’ve read. The setting is the Lancaster, Pennsylvania area, so the influence of the Amish is prominent but the main characters are not followers of the Amish way of life. Daisy Swanson runs a tea “garden” in a small town and has been helpful to the local police in solving previous murders, as explained in the book. I’m sure it would have been a richer, more satisfying read if I’d been more familiar with the characters, but it still was an enjoyable read. Daisy, because of experience, doesn’t take undue or stupid risks, as some amateur sleuths do in “cozy” mystery series, so that was also a good feature. Daisy comes off as a bit of a “goody two shoes” (weird idiom, am I right?) but she is essentially just a good person. The mystery of who murdered Althea Higgins was the focus of the story and we eventually find out more about the murder victim, softening her from our initial view of her as a demanding teacher with an obnoxious personality. Recipes are included in the back of the book for items mentioned along the way. I just might try to make that blueberry coffee cake!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Daisy is excited about catering the spring tea event for the local school district. But when one of the teachers is found dead in the pool, she is once again in the middle of a murder investigation. To make things more complicated, she had tried to mediate between Zeke and Jonas, and this put a definite strain on her relationship with Jonas. And then there’s her daughter’s houseguest, Brielle. Is she a good or bad influence on Jazzi? A fun cozy mystery, with characters that are more centered on family and values. Disclosure: I am voluntarily reviewing this book received through NetGalley and all opinions are strictly my own.

I always enjoy a trip to Daisy’s Tea Garden in Pennsylvania Dutch country. This is the sixth in the series. I know I never have to worry about getting a bad or incomplete story with Karen Rose Smith as the author. Her books are always well-written, well-plotted and entertaining.
As an added bonus there are recipes at the end.

Daisy is on the scene when someone discovers the body of one of her old teachers, Althea Higgins, in the school pool.. Without giving anything away, I liked this book. It wasn’t just a murder mystery. I liked the sense of community.

I look forward to the next episode.

I was given an advanced copy by Netgalley and am not required to leave a positive review.

Daisy, proprietor of Daisy's Tea Garden, finds herself in the middle of another mystery. This time she is on the lookout for the murderer of an old teacher from her high school days. This teacher wasn't exactly well liked, so there were a lot of potential suspects. I enjoyed this cozy mystery. I hadn't read any of the preceding books, so it took a little while to catch up with who is who.

Murder with Oolong Tea by Karen Rose Smith is a 2020 Kensington publication.

Marvelous Characters and a Challenging Mystery!

Daisy is asked to provide the refreshments for a school faculty gathering, when Althea, an unpopular teacher with both her students, and her colleagues, is found dead.

The emotional toll of sleuthing weighs heavily on Daisy, and she is determined not to get involved in another murder, but, by now, she has gained a bit of a reputation as a natural crime solver.

As Daisy begins to gently explore areas of Althea’s life, she discovers some shocking information, few knew about. These revelations, widens the suspect list, making it much harder to pin down whodunit.

Meanwhile, Daisy has her hands full with the tea shop, and her family life is busier than ever. Jazzy has asked if her new friend, who is mostly unsupervised by the adults in her life, can stay with them for a while, plus, Daisy is worried she may have pushed Jonas away for good.

This is one of the best culinary cozy mystery series going right now. The mystery is interesting, well-plotted, and suspenseful, and as always, the characterizations are lovely, and the delicious foods and teas, create the welcoming atmosphere that keeps me coming back for more!


Rose does a great job balancing the mystery with the trials faced by the recurring characters!! Can’t wait to touch base with Daisy and her lovely family again!!

*Recipes included!

Murder with Oolong Tea is the 4th in the Tea Shop mysteries by Karen Rose Smith--- though this is the first I have read. I had no trouble catching up to the characters.
Daisy is catering an appreciation tea at the high school she attended as a student. When a body is found, she finds herself sucked into the investigation. There are several threads in progress and the culprit is not easy to identify. The stories develop at a quick pace with a satisfying conclusion.
Thoroughly enjoyable to read , with a bonus of recipes that look delicious, for anyone who enjoys light/cozy mysteries.
I received a digital ARC of this book from Kensington Books and NetGalley. All opinions are my own--I review books I enjoy so that my friends and others can enjoy them ,too. Thank you #NetGalley. #MurderwithOolongTea@Kensington #KensingtonCozies #CozyClubCard
Coming December 29th 2020!

This was the first book I’ve read in this series. It follows a woman named Daisy, the co-owner of a tea shop who gets pulled into a murder investigation after someone was killed during an event she was catering. The series had plenty of good characters and a solid secondary storyline that kept me entertained. Fast and fun read.

3.5 stars. An interesting version of a small town cozy mystery.

Daisy runs Daisy's Tea Garden with her aunt and she's catering the teacher's appreciation tea at the local high school. But during the tea, teacher Althea Higgins is found murdered in the pool! Althea had had plenty of enemies both in and outside the school, but would any of them murder her? Daisy's position at the tea garden allowing her to hear lots of gossip and her previous experience helping the police solve murders means she gets pulled into the investigation. As if she didn't have enough problems going on with her daughter's friend staying with them and her trying to repair her boyfriend's friendships...

I enjoyed Willow Creek and all the people, as well as the mystery with all the moving parts! My biggest struggle with this book was the use of too many details at times, really bringing me out of the story. I don't really need to know that Daisy's daughter knows that the veggies bake at 450 for 20 minutes then at 350 for the rest of the time or the entire history of a local pottery company. The book is well-researched and Karen Rose Smith clearly knows a lot about the Pennsylvania Dutch and the Lancaster County region, but sometimes we don't actually need those details to understand what's happening.

Daisy had no intentions of getting involved with another murder. She wasn't particularly fond of the victim, she had respect for her old English teacher but it is hard to not be involved when you find the body and several people come to you asking for you to be involved. Guess how many of those people were from the police department. That's right much like the shape of the letter "O" in the word Oolong, there were zero requests from the Willow Creek PD. I will say that lately it seems like all the cozy heroines are having some issues with their cozy guys and my heart keeps riding that roller coaster. Trust seems to be a theme in this story on several levels. This is also a great story to help remind us that we never know what someone else is going through and that a little kindness goes a long, long way. The story played out well and for at least 2 chapters I was pretty sure I knew who the guilty party was and then BOOM, nope I was wrong, but that is okay because I now have some great recipes to try out and will be consoling myself with a piece of that lovely sounding Blueberry Coffee Cake and super cozy Cabbage Soup perfect for these cold December nights.

Daisy knew that her colleagues at Willow Creek High School weren't fond of Althea but murder? Daisy's there when Althea and Claudia go at it at a tea Daisy's catering that's meant to celebrate the teachers but she's sure Claudia didn't strangle Althea. Our cozy heroine will snoop around and discover that there was more to Althea than met the eye. The reason I like this series, though, is less for the mysteries than for the family. Daisy's daughter Vi has a new baby but more interesting is Jazzy, who is getting to know her bio-mom. AND there's her relationship with love interest Jonas. AND there's the food! I miss being able to purchase these sorts of treats (I'm never going to make them for myself). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Don't worry- this will be fine as a standalone and then you, like me, will be eagerly awaiting the next one.

Murder with Oolong Tea caught my eye as it involved two things I am familiar with: tea and the Lancaster, Pennsylvania area. I enjoyed the setting of this gentle murder mystery - if murder can be described as gentle! It is a pleasant change from the dark, gritty Scandi-type murder mysteries.

Daisy runs a busy tea shop in Amish country in Pennsylvania. In between baking snickerdoodles and other mouthwatering treats and serving the tea of the month, you guessed it - oolong, Daisy also helps solve a murder mystery. Which of the many people with motives, murdered school teacher, Mrs Higgins while Daisy and her crew were serving at the Teacher's Appreciation tea?

Not all of it is logical and there may be a few too many red herrings, but it is an enjoyable distraction. Be sure to have a cup of your favorite tea at hand while reading. And for a chuckle, count how many times Daisy gives away freebies to the many customers, not sure how she keeps solvent!

I'd like to thank NetGallery for making this book available to me in exchange for an unbiased review.

Investigating the murder of a school employee no one liked, a visit from her daughter's birth mother, temporarily taking in a teen with family problems and managing the tea shop has Daisy on the run!

The book was a fun read and I enjoyed the pleasant and positive personality of Daisy. A mystery that had "red herrings" and interesting supporting characters, kept me reading. The tea shop was charming and the pastries and read sounded delicious. Be sure and have a snack and a cup of tea while reading!

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the opinions expressed in this review are my.

An entertaining and well written cozy mystery. Good plot and character dynamics. I highly recommend this book. I received an advance ebook from the publisher and Netgalley. This is my unbiased review.