Murder Marks the Page by Karen Rose Smith shows us how Jazzi investigates a murder.

Can Jazzi keep her bookstore running?

Jazzi Swanson
Jazzi Swanson is the adopted daughter of Daisy Swanson and is a very reluctant sleuth. She only becomes one when Jazzi feels like the police may need some help. Jazzi tries her hardest not to become like her mom in solving a mystery and focus on her bookstore. I am impressed that Jazzi and her best friend, Dawn, opened up a bookstore that also sells tea. Jazzi wants this business to work since she loves her job and wants to help bring people to love actual copies of books instead of ebooks.

Jazzi is hard to like initially, but she grows on you as you progress.

The Mystery
Another one of Jazzi’s friends finds the dead body of Brie. After that, everything for Jazzi was a bit hard since she felt like she and Brie would’ve been good friends, which made it sad for her. Jazzi tries her best not to become involved. Yet, she ends up trying to solve the mystery. Sadly, the police force also has another mystery to solve. Their case happens to be robberies that were going around. I have to say that I caught on to Whodunit early on in the book.

Four Stars
I am giving Murder Marks the Page by Karen Rose Smith four stars and recommend you try it. This was my first book by this author, and I am willing to give Ms. Jazzi Swanson another try after this one.

Remember to look at the recipes in the back. I can’t name the recipes, as my ARC copy doesn’t provide them.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Murder Marks the Page by Karen Rose Smith.

Until the next time,
Karen the Baroness

If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out Baroness Book Trove.

The latest story from Karen Rose Smith stars Jazzi Swanson who is owner and operator of Tomes and Tea. The first few paragraphs are interesting and I am hooked. This story is set in an idyllic New York small town. There are solid characters like Jazzi and Dawn. I liked their friendship and want to see them do well in this new endeavor. Jazzi has to roll up her sleeves and help solve a murder. I liked the pace of this story and I would recommend it! I am looking forward to more in this series.

I have absolutely loved every book I have read by Karen Rose Smith so I knew this book would be amazing as well. I love that Jazzi is getting her own story, I just wish there was not so much gap in the timeline from the previous series. Maybe we will get one more book in that one to tie up lose ends. There were s many suspects this time around. I totally thought the killer was someone else. Great job in keeping us guessing.

A great beginning to a new series. Jazzi's is the daughter of Daisy from the Tea Garden series. Jazzi's is now a young adult trying to get her tea and bookstore be a success in a tourist town. She helps another woman who is seeking out her birth father. When this woman is found strangled, Jazzi finds herself sucked into the investigation. This was a well plotted story with several suspects but also the growth in Jazzi's life is important to the story. I liked this book and look forward to more in the series.
I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for a review. Thank you, netgalley.

This is the first book in the Tomes and Tea Mysteries series and interestingly it is a spin off from an earlier series which I have not read, called the Daisy's Tea Garden Mysteries. That one is about the mother of the main character in this series and I have added it to my TBR.

Jazzi Swanson is the main character in Murder Marks the Page and she is the owner of a book and tea shop in Belltower Landing, a lakeside resort. When a woman she has recently met is murdered she becomes involved in the investigation and discovers she has inherited some of her mother's skills in detection.

I enjoyed the mystery and very much liked Jazzi and her friends. I shall certainly continue with his series.

This novel is a spinoff from 'Daisy's Tea Garden Mysteries.' In this first book in the 'Tomes & Tea Mysteries', Jazzi Swanson - who saw her amateur sleuth mom solve many murders - shows she's a chip off the old block.

Twenty-five year old Jazzi Swanson met Dawn Fernsby at college, in a group for adoptees. The women became friends, and after graduation they opened 'Tomes & Tea', a combination bookstore/teashop. The store is located in Belltower Landing, a lakeside resort town in upstate New York. Jazzi and Dawn share an apartment above Tomes & Tea, and their place is nicely decorated and convenient for work.

Tomes & Tea is currently struggling financially, and Jazzi and Dawn are pondering ways to increase business. The women workshop ideas with the members of their book club, and get suggestions like: have a virtual reality event; get a visiting country star to stop by the bookstore; encourage people to take selfies in the shop and put them online; organize a book signing for a model who wrote about her runway experiences; and more. With the help of friends, all this happens, and customers come in to buy books, and enjoy tea and pastries.

Everyone knows Jazzi is an adoptee who met her birth mom, so a book club member called Delaney Fabron asks Jazzi to speak with her friend Brie Frazier. Brie is thinking about meeting her birth dad, and needs advice about the matter. Jazzi agrees, and she and Brie hit it off right away. Thirtysomething Brie tells Jazzi she wants to get married and have a family. To this end, Brie has been going out with men from dating apps. If something works out, Brie wants information about her medical history, which her biological dad can provide. After speaking with Jazzi, Brie meets her birth father, a VERY WEALTHY man named Joseph Covino. Covino lives in a mansion with his wife and two grown stepchildren. Joseph is happy to meet Brie, but the rest of the family is distinctly hostile.

A few days later, Brie is found strangled to death in her apartment. Detective Sergeant Paul Milford is the lead investigator on the case, and he interviews Jazzi and other people who saw Brie in the days before she was killed.

Brie's adoptive mother Estelle, who's completely distraught, looks to Jazzi for information and emotional support. Because of this, Jazzi wants to help the police catch the perpetrator. Though Detective Milford tries to discourage Jazzi, she plows ahead with her 'investigation', which concentrates on the men Brie dated, as well as the family of Brie's biological father, who clearly resented Brie.

As all this is going on, Jazzi gets on with her personal life. Jazzi and Dawn adopt two rescue kittens, and have fun playing with the adorable felines. Jazzi also paddleboards; rides her bike; and is friendly with a handsome Australian restaurateur named Oliver Patel, and a nice-looking software developer called Parker Olsen. Jazzi isn't interested in serious romance though, so these fellows are just friends (so far).

Author Karen Rose Smith likes to describe what everyone is wearing all the time, as well as the features of people's homes. For example: Jazzi is wearing 'lime-green bell bottoms, a yellow spaghetti-strapped tank, and a tie-died bolero jacket'; Oliver sports 'stonewashed jeans with slits at the knees, and a two-toned red and white Henley shirt'; Dawn is dressed in 'navy linen slacks and a pale blue short-sleeved sweater'..... and there's lots more of this. As for home décor, Jazzi's room has 'whitewashed furniture and a colorful lilac and blue patterned bedspread.' And so on. All this gets to be a bit much, but I think some readers like it.

I enjoyed this light cozy mystery and will probably read more of Jazzi's adventures.

Thanks to Netgalley, Karen Rose Smith, and Kensington Books for a copy of the book.

"Daisy’s daughter Jazzi Swanson has opened her own book and tea shop, providing a variety of literature and flavored beverages for a rural New York community. But Jazzi has not only inherited her mother’s gift for brewing tasty drinks—she also has a nose for sniffing out murder."
This is a good mystery. Jazzi just wanted to have her own store. Never did she expect to find a murder in her store.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion of this book.

Congratulations to beloved cozy author Karen Rose Smith on a wonderful new series. This series features her daughter Jazzy from the Daisy Teagarden Series. Jazzy is now a young adult and living in a new small town away from her family. She has opened a books and tea shop with her best friend. Jazzy is using her experience she gained from her Mother's tea shop to build the business. They have challenges making the buisness successful and are exploring marketing techniques together. They are good friends and both love their new business and want it to work. Dawn's parents want her out of the business and pressure her. They do not believe the women can make a success out of the small tea and books shop. Jazzy gained her independence since the Teagarden series and is learning to navigate life on her own. She speaks up for herself and this is a interesting transition from reading her personality in the earlier series. I like that Jazzy is finding her way as a young woman with ambition and her own business. The shop is charming and I hope they are in future books with the shop they love.

When a murder occurs Jazzy and Dawn are on the case. They also help a friend with contacting her birth Mother as Jazzy has experience with finding her own birth Mother. The sleuth kept me guessing to conclusion. The characters are well crafted and the author gave us a glimpse of them as successful business owners and a continued solid friendship. I love how this author's books have a theme of kindness, morals and supporting friends and neighbors. The author always incorporates plants and nature into her books and I enjoyed that aspect of this new series. This was a most enjoyable read that I highly recommend for all cozy readers. I look forward to the next in series.

The first novel in a Daisy Tea Garden spinoff series featuring Daisy's adopted daughter, Jazzi. The MC is the co-owner of a quaint bookshop (with tea) in a small lakeside tourist community. The quirky but loveable supporting characters and the well-written mystery storyline are what will keep readers coming back. A couple chapters dragged a little for me because of the time that was dedicated to the internal struggle with a few topics (relationship with her mother and her issues with dating). I think it was because I am able to relate more to the mom series. This may be for a younger cozy reader audience, say mid-twenty somethings (especially those who like paddleboarding or biking). Coming-of-age fiction meets cozy mystery. I did enjoy it enough to definitely give the next book in the series a try!

Net Galley Feedback

This is the first book in a new series. I think this series will be as good as the one it is a spin off of. The story line was interesting, and the characters are awesome. It’ll be fun to see how some of these lives play out. I love the relationship between Jazzi and Dawn – friends and co-owners of a book and tea shop. How fun is that? They have an interesting take on a book club, one I hadn’t thought of. I’m looking forward to returning to Belltower Landing to see what the next adventure will be. I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley, but my opinion is my own.

This is the first in a new series, Tomes & Tea Mystery. The main character is Jazzi Swanson, who has relocated to Bell Tower Landing in New York after graduation from college. Her life has changed and a friend, Dawn, and she own a book/tea café. Dawn’s parents are not happy with the investment and urge Dawn to get out of the business. That means improve retail sales or sell since neither can buy the other out.

While the two work towards a new marketing program to increase income, someone in the tourist town dies. Daisy tries her skills at solving the crime. There are plenty of people pulling for Jazzi and the bookstore to stay open.

Dawn’s parents are under the impression that Jazzi is pushing their daughter to seek out her birth parents. This may be a cause of the investment friction they present to Dawn.

There were plenty of twist and turns. I can only see the series getting stronger as the main and supporting characters develop.
I was given an advanced readers copy and these are my opinions. I would rate this story 3.5 and will be rounding up as half stars are not part of the rating system.

new-series, first-in-series, bookseller, tea-shop, adopted, small-town, small-business, New-York-state, cozy-mystery, recipes, families, family-dynamics, amateur-sleuth, murder, investigation, local-law-enforcement, local-gossip****

The story is a good one, but the writing is a bit disjointed at times. But. This is only book one and books usually get better as the series progresses, so the next one will be great (I believe). The publisher's blurb is unusually good, so there's no need to repeat it, and spoilers are just wrong. I did enjoy it and am looking forward to the next in this series.
I requested and received a free temporary EARC from Kensington Books/Kensington Cozies via NetGalley. Thank you!
Available 6 Mar 2024 #TomesAndTeaMysteriesBkONE

I was wondering how I was going to feel about this spinoff by Karen Rose Smith, Jazzi was a teenager in the Daisy Teahouse series, but in this new series, she is a young woman of 25. I really enjoyed this debut very much. Daisy has moved to upper New York state to open a business with her college roommate in Dawn's hometown. The ladies have opened Tomes & Tea and are moderately successful but need to ramp things up, so with the help of members of their loyal local bookclub members, they are pulling out all the stops. In the meantime, one of the bookclub members has a friend who was adopted and asks Jazzi and Dawn to meet with her as she tries to decide how to move forward. Since Jazzi and Brie hit it off, and Brie has decided to move forward and meet her biological father the young women become closer until Brie is found dead in her apartment not long after she meets her father. While Jazzi is determined to not become her mother and get involved, her observational skills, social circle and connections to many in town because of her business, and her empathy for Brie's adoptive mother make it almost impossible for her to stay detached. This was an interesting mystery, and I like the older Jazzi, flaws, and all. Can't wait to see what happens next! Thanks to #Netgally and #KensingtonPublishing for the opportunity to read!

Jazzi Swanson opened her own book and tea shop in a rural New York community. Jazzi inherited her mother’s gift for brewing tasty drinks and also a nose for sniffing out murder. Jazzi befriends a woman named Brie who recently made contact with her biological father. As an adopted child herself Jazzi is more than happy to give Brie emotional support since her wealth father’s wife and children see her as a threat. When Brie is found murdered Jazzi finds herself playing detective. The list of suspects ranging from jealousy from half siblings to less than suitable suitors. This was a very enjoyable book I would recommend to everyone.

A new series by Karen Rose Smith? Count me in! Murder Marks The Page is a spin-off from the Daisy Tea Garden Mysteries with an adult Jazzi. She and her friend have opened a tea and book shop in a lakeside resort community of New York state.
I think this first book offers the possibility of another great series. The characters are shaping up nicely, the setting could not be better, and this mystery was a 'stumper' in terms of who-done-it, I was surprised.
Though some descriptions are germane to the story, there seemed to be more than usual. That did not detract from my enjoyment of this new cozy.
I always enjoy books by Karen Rose Smith and I can't wait to see what she has instore for the next one in this delightful new Tomes & Tea Mystery series.
A big thank you to #Net Galley #KensingtonBooks #KensingtonCozies #Tomes&TeaMysteries for the ARC that I requested. All opinions and thoughts are my own. I look forward to recommending this book to other readers.
#MurderMarksthePage # NetGalley

This was such a wonderful and enjoyable read!!!! I loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre. Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Murder Marks the Page by Karen Rose Smith is the debut of A Tomes & Tea Mysteries. This series is a spin-off of A Daisy Tea Garden Mysteries. I did not find myself liking Jazzi. She had a mother who loved her and supported her, but Jazzi does not seem to appreciate it. There is the implication that Jazzi has a strained relationship with her mother, but it is not explained. Jazzi wants to do things on her own (she makes that abundantly clear). The main characters need more development (need details on Jazzi for those who have not read A Daisy Tea Garden Mysteries). The pacing is slow which is due to the repetition and detailed descriptions. Character’s outfits are described in detail (especially the type of braid Jazzi was sporting that day) plus we get to learn about every plant Jazzi encounters. As expected, food and tea are itemized as well. I wanted more substance and less filler. Adoption and locating birth parents are a major part of the story, and it overwhelms the whodunit. Jazzi does some investigating by questioning the various men in the victim’s life. There is a good wrap up at the end. While Jazzi makes it abundantly clear that she is not ready for a romantic relationship (mentioned repeatedly), she interprets interactions with men as romantic interest. Jazzi will analyze her feelings for that person (does she like them, does that person have a crush on her, should she step back from this individual, etc.). I liked the community of Belltower Landing. It sounds like a charming town. The kittens are adorable, and we get to know all about them (how they look, their antics, what they eat, the bells on the door, and so much). As you can tell, Murder Marks the Page was not my cup of tea.

I am a big fan of Daisy’s Tea Garden Mystery series by Karen Rose Smith. Tomes & Tea Mystery Mysteries is a spin off with Jazzi Swanson, Daisy’s daughter.

Jazzi and her friend Dawn open up the bookshop/tea shop Tomes & Tea in Belltower Landing. It is described as a very quaint place, some place I would love to frequent.

A murder happens and naturally Jazzi becomes involved, following in the footsteps of her mom. She did learn from the best! She knows what questions to ask and she has a keen eye.

I did not have an idea who the killer was. I thought for sure it was someone else.

There are a lot of characters in the book and I felt they were described very well and I enjoyed the interactions.

This is a great first book in the series and definitely set up for further story development.

Release Date: March 26, 2024
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New York State’s Belltower Landing is a lakeside resort town where tourists spend their summer days boating, floating, and paddle-boarding on the water. It’s also the perfect place to cuddle up with a good book and enjoy a cup of tea, courtesy of Tomes & Tea. Owned and operated by Jazzi and her best friend Dawn Fernsby, the book bar is beloved by vacationers and locals alike, but browsers grabbing brews in the off season aren’t enough to help them make ends meet. Jazzi befriends a woman named Brie who has recently made contact with her biological father. As an adopted child herself, Jazzi is more than happy to give Brie emotional support, especially as her wealthy father’s wife and children see her as a threat. But Brie is also looking to start a family of her own. Unfortunately, all the potential princes she’s met through a dating app turn out to be frogs. Then, when Brie is found murdered, Jazzi finds herself playing detective. With a list of suspects ranging from jealous half-siblings to less-than-suitable suitors, Jazzi may need to consult some of her shop’s bestselling mysteries to help her uncover a killer . . .
This is the first in a spin-off series from #daisysteagardenmysteries with Daisys daughter. I love that this series picks up after Jazzi left Pennsylvania for college and we don’t have to wonder what happened to her down the road. I enjoyed getting to see Jazzi in a new light. Dawn is a great addition as well as some other secondary character to the town of Belltower Landing. I’m looking forward to the next installment!

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

#murdermarksthepage #teaandtomesmystery #daisysteagardenmystery #karenrosesmith
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I mostly enjoyed this book. I did notice that every time the scene changed there is a description of what clothes Jazzi is wearing, which I found unnecessary. I also found that the story wandered in places, particularly about different men. The dialogue implies there’s an attraction or friends are encouraging her to see someone there but nothing is ever done resolved or developed. When they investigate Brie’s life it’s the same thing, just going from man to man. I found it unfulfilling, and frustrating. Just pick an interest and go with it. The murder almost become secondary to all this. I am surprised by who the killer is, I thought that reveal came abruptly. #MurderMarksthePage #NetGalley