Murder Spills the Tea is the third of the Tea By The Sea Mystery series. Lily Roberts is the main character and is the owner of the Tea by the Sea Restaurant. Her grandmother, Rose Campbell owns Victoria-on-the-Sea B&B next door in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. There are the regulars from the first book along with the other characters that add to the story, Rose and Lily's best friend, Bernadette (Bernie) Murphy decide to accept to do American Bakes, a bake off contest with six other bakers on the Cape. Allegra Griffin owner of North Augusta Bakery is the other contestant against Lily. They talk Lily into doing it. The show invites people to be in the audience with three judges making comments what they think of the food. It is a reality show that tries to embarrass the contestants. The first day, one of the judges, Tommy Greene, trips one of Lili's workers, Cheryl Wainwright, while serving the tea which spills on him. He makes a scene embarrassing her. Marybeth, the other worker and mother of Cheryl has words with Tommy about his treatment. Tommy is murdered and Marybeth is arrested. This is when the reader is taken on an adventure of whodunit to the exciting and surprising end.

There is a hint of romance between Bernie and Matt Goodman who lives next door to Lili and Simon, the gardener and Lili.. I look forward to the next book to see where this all goes as well as the next adventure.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Publishing Corp, for this ARC.

I adore Vicki Delany's Tea by the Sea books and this third book in the series may well be the best one yet.

In this one, there's a murder during the filming of a cooking competition for a reality TV show. Once again, the recurring characters, including Lily, her grandmother Rose, her dear friend Bernie, Simon the British gardener, and others, truly make these books special.

These books are a real treat and I'd highly recommend them.

Tea on the Sea sounds like a fabulous vacation, and the descriptions of Cape Cod bring that feeling to life, but not for an unlucky competitor in a cooking competition which mixes up this mystery until the end.

I have enjoyed the other books in this series. This one overall was enjoyable as well. There is good interaction among the characters. You can really imagine them as friends. the outsiders ( the film crew) are portrayed as difficult and with enough twists that it could be anyone. I did feel a bit of a letdown at the actual conclusion as it wasn't a solid culprit as it could be.

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley
Man I love this series it's so incredibly and I love the twists and turns.

Murder Spills the Tea by Vicki Delany is a wonderful culinary cozy mystery that is the third book in the charming series: A Tea by the Sea Mystery. I really have enjoyed this new series.

I have now read all three books, and have enjoyed each one. The descriptions of the landscapes, environment, and historic and quaint structures located within this are of Cape Cod is always a treasure. I also love to here about the tea room, the delicious and tasty treats that Lily makes.

This time, Lily has been roped into a reality chef TV competition, and of course a death takes place during the dramatic filming. Lily works with Rose, Bertie, and the gang to solve the mystery, and finish the competition with pride. There were plenty of suspects with the judges, competition, and production crew being involved.

Definitely looking forward to the next book…and hoping for a bit more Lily and Simon togetherness as well.

4/5 stars

Thank you NG and Kensington for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 7/26/22.