Trouble is Brewing by Vicki Delany

Item: Trouble Is Brewing
Rating: 5
Author: karenbaron

Posted June 30, 2026 by karenbaron in #BookishRecipe, Mystery, Review, Series / 0 Comments

Trouble Is Brewing

by Vicki Delany

Series: Tea by the Sea Mysteries #5
Series Rating:

Published by Kensington on July 23, 2024
Setting: Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Genres: Cozy Culinary Mystery
Pages: 298
Format: ebook, Hardcover, Kindle
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon
Also in this series: Tea & Treachery , Murder in a Teacup, Murder Spills the Tea, Steeped in Malice

Lily Roberts’s Cape Cod tearoom is hosting a bridal shower—until a gruesome gift sends the guest of honor running in fear . . .

Members of the Reynolds and Hill families are staying at Lily’s grandmother’s bed and breakfast, and now they’ve gathered at Tea by the Sea to sip some delicious blends while they shower bride-to-be Hannah Hill with presents. But the last package Hannah unwraps contains a beheaded Raggedy Ann doll, similar to the last gift from her father before he died long ago, and she’s chilled to the bone.

Lily senses that the shocking anonymous gift just might be related to other tensions she’s picking up on. The mothers-in-law have been sniping at each other—and then Lily overhears the groom’s father, Ralph, offering his son a very sizable bribe to call off the wedding. She’s relieved when Greg angrily turns him down, but with so many people steamed at each other, can this event possibly go smoothly?

The answer is no. It suddenly has to be postponed—when Ralph is found dead in his bed, a bottle of whiskey beside him. When tests indicate the booze was infused with a lethal substance, it becomes a murder case. Now, to find out whether all this family drama led to a fatality, Lily will have to turn up the heat . . .

Trouble is Brewing by Vicki Delany is all about wedding troubles for Lily and Rose at their place of business.

Who would want to kill Ralph Reynolds?

Lily Roberts

Lily Roberts loves being in business with her grandmother and not having to deal with the rush of being a cook in a busy restaurant. I love coming back to Lily’s Tea by the Sea and Rose’s Victoria-on-Sea business on Cape Cod. Another thing I like about Lily is how hard she tries to avoid an investigation. Then her grandma and best friend bring her into it. Lily is an awesome character, and she enjoys her work cooking for both the B&B and her tearoom.

The Victim and his Family

Ralph Reynolds is our victim. Mr. Reynolds and his family all had their fair share of enemies, both within the family and a bit outside it as well. After getting to know them in this book, I can see how all of them rubbed not only each other’s shoulders but also others’ the wrong way. Ralph wasn’t a nice person, and I think part of that has to do with past grudges he had. Did he deserve what happened to him? Probably. I honestly thought it was a bit much, but what do I know?

Five Stars

My rating for Trouble is Brewing by Vicki Delany is five stars. I enjoy coming back to Tea by the Sea Mysteries and how Rose and Bernie rope Lily into investigating whatever mystery they stumble on. The three of them are very funny when they get into an investigation.

Ms. Delany has included three recipes in the back of this book. They are Banana Bread with Walnuts, Egg Salad Sandwiches with Herby Mayonnaise, and Maple Pecan Squares.

Tea by the Sea Mysteries

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Trouble is Brewing by Vicki Delany.

Until the next time,

Happy Reading!

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About Vicki Delany

Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers and a national bestseller in the U.S. She has written more than thirty books: clever cozies to Gothic thrillers to gritty police procedurals, to historical fiction and novellas for adult literacy. She is currently writing four cozy mystery series: the Tea By The Sea mysteries, the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series, the Year Round Christmas mysteries and, as Eva Gates, the Lighthouse Library series.