There is a whole new life awaiting after retirement - even if it does involve murder. And cake.

Murder at the Teashop is the third in Alice Castle’s cosy mystery series featuring retired widowed GP Sarah Vane, and sees more bodies appearing in the little seaside town of Merstairs.

Trying to distract herself following her involvement in previous murder cases, Sarah Vane joins an art class, and is concerned when the elderly model doesn’t appear. Being a concerned neighbour, she calls by to check, and finds herself involved in yet another case, unveiling sordid secrets of her neighbours.

I love this series as the characters grow with each instalment, and while Sarah is becoming more embedded in her new seaside retirement environment, she remains a pillar of sanity surrounded by chaos. The chaos is led of course by her friend and neighbour Daphne Roux. Daphne on the surface is a ditsy whirlwind of chaos, but she’s more than a one dimensional caricature - she has heart, and her insights are all the more striking as they come out of the blue. It’s lovely that her thoughts aren’t discounted, despite not always being the most logical. Daphne and Sarah may be chalk and cheese, but their friendship is deep.

Sarah’s relationship with local antiques store owner Charles shows the awkwardness of new relationships isn’t limited to teens as she and her potential love interest navigate their own recent returns to singledom and potentially return to the dating pool. Awkwardness has no age limit.

This is a lovely novel full of characters that are big, but believable, and it’s very easy to get sucked in and read the novel in one sitting.

Thank you to Bookouture and Netgalley for the advance digital copy.

This was a strong third entry in the Sarah Vane Mystery series, it had that feel that I was expecting from the previous books in this series. The characters worked in this story perfectly and was engaged with figuring out what was happening. Alice Castle left me wanting to read more in this series and from the author.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read "Murder at the Tea Shop" in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was book 3 in the wonderful Sarah Vane series. Ms. Castle has crafted characters that are interesting, fun and the reader wants to know more about. Sarah Vane is a retired doctor who lives with her black Scottie Hamish - who is my favourite character! I especially enjoy when Ms. Castle writes what Hamish might be thinking about his owner! Next door to Sarah lives her best friend Daphne Roux who owns the Tarot and Tea Leaves. Her daughter Mariella is the town's police detective who is saddled with Constables Dumbarton and Deeside (aka Tweedledum and Tweedledee.) Charles Diggory owns the secondhand clothes shop and is an antiques expert. He might finally be getting his divorce from Francesca the town's mayor. Perhaps there might be a romance in the future for Charles and Sarah.

Sarah has solved a few murder in Merstairs since she moved there. This book is no different as she happens upon a few more. Since someone is using cakes to murder people, that means our favourite trio spends a lot of time testing cakes in this story to find exactly where the cakes might have been purchased. Someone has also been pinching knickers off lines but why?

Sarah once again places herself in danger to solve these crimes but vows to continue investigating when things happen to make sure that her fellow citizens are safe. There are many possibilities for future books and I'm looking forward to reading them.

In "Murder at the Tea Shop", Alice Castle crafts a delightful cozy mystery that combines the charm of a cozy seaside village with the intrigue of a well-plotted crime.

Set against the backdrop of a beloved tea shop, the novel follows the amateur sleuths Sarah, Daphne and Charles, which fans of the genre will find both relatable and endearing. Very much Miss Marple meets Thursday Murder Club.

I loved our main character Sarah and her personality and way of thinking makes her very likable. Daphne on the other hand is quite annoying and Sarah's friendship with her sometimes seems a bit toxic. I loved her relationship with Charles and it shows that you a never too old to start a new romance.

The ending was a bit disappointing in my opinion and the motive for the murders felt a little bit out of the blue for me. Also, although there are a lot of murders, there is non in the tea shop, so the title doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

Although this is the third book in the Sarah Vane series, but you can perfectly read this as a stand alone. Nevertheless, it would be nice to also read the previous books to get a little bit more background on the characters.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for sending me the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

After moving to the town of Merstairs, Sarah joins a drawing class. When the usual model doesn’t turn up she goes to his cottage to check on him and finds him slumped over a table with a bite taken out of a piece of cake. Then another resident is found the same way. Sarah needs to find out who is killing these people and why.

This was a light-hearted cozy mystery with a bunch of murders thrown in. Honestly, about six chapters of eating Victoria sponges, followed by a murder. I must say I skimmed through the last half just so I could say I finished it. No more in this series for me.

I do thanks NetGalley for an advance copy.

After the trauma of her last murder investigation retired doctor, Sarah Vane decided to find some other hobbies instead! So far, she and her best friend, Daphne, have joined a book club and an art group together. She isn't a fan of drawing fruit, however, and so, when their usual model doesn't turn up and is replaced by a banana, Sarah pops round to check on him.

Having once again found herself in the thick of a murder case, Sarah, Daphne, Scotty Dog, Hamish, and possible new beau Charles begin looking into the reasons for the unexpected death. As they make a little headway, tragedy strikes once again, and with danger far too close for comfort, will Sarah get the chance to regret her decision to help the local police once again?

Book three in this series was, unfortunately, a disappointment for me for a few reasons. The main one is that the motive for the killing didn't ring true for me. Traumatic, yes, but there were definitely other actions that could have been attempted first instead of swinging straight into murder mode. In the first two books, Daphne was annoying but survivable, this time, not so much. This is such a shame as I do love a cosy. As always, I won't dismiss a series after one slip. The main protagonist, Sarah, was, once again, a person I could get behind and enjoy all her thought processes. The location is also easy to imagine, and the warmth of Merstairs was a lovely distraction on a cold autumnal evening. Hopefully, book 4 will return to the earlier successes.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Bookouture, but the opinions expressed are my own. Not for me this time, unfortunately.

retired-doctor, Kent, widow, Scottie-dog, amateur-sleuth, friends, friendship, local-law-enforcement, cozy-mystery, investigation, verbal-humor, situational-humor, small-town, witty, suspense, pet-dog, poisons, over-60, relationships, murders*****

Sarah Vane was a GP in London but retired and is rather recently widowed. She moved to Merstairs to get away from the city and found that her old school chum (daffy) Daphne of the Tarot and Tea Leaves shop has been living there. Daphne is an interesting foil for the more sedate and grounded Sarah and does make for a good bit of the humor.
This episode might have been titled The Case of the Pilfered Knickers. Say what?! No spoilers intended and I love this anti-stress series!
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected advance review copy from Bookouture via NetGalley. Thank you! Avail Nov 07, 2024
#MurderAtTheTeaShop #NetGalley #SarahVaneMysteriesBk3 @AliceMCastle @bookouture

It is so lovely to catch up with Sarah, Hamish the Scottie, her bestie Daphne and her cat Mephisto, Daphne's police daughter Mariella and their friend Charles, his dog Tinkerbell. We catch up with Sarah and Daphne taking an art class. Sarah is wondering where their live model, Mr Williams is, as she prefers a model to fruit. Sarah decides to go to his house and discovers him dead next to a slice of Victoria Sponge. Saran, Daphne and Charles are once again drawn into their amateur sleuthing in Merstairs, a quiet seaside town in Kent, when they being investigations behind the crime much to the horror of Mariella. They really can't help themselves and they discover a second body with a slice of red velvet cake next to it. I love how the characters are written and there are laugh out loud moments especially when they are together. It is an entertaining read and all the twists and turns leads to surprising ending, where I had no idea of the person doing the awful crimes.

My first book from the Sarah Vane series. Sarah is a 60ish old retired GP from London who moved to the quiet seaside town of Merstairs with her dog, Hamish (Scottish Terrier), looking for a fresh start after the death of her husband Peter.

The book easy was read as a standalone and indeed had very cozy vibes. I'm here for Hammish the dog but also the other pets that make an appearance. I was a little uncomfortable with the strange friendship with her neighbour Daphne (Sara obviously thinks very little of her) and I did have to push myself to keep reading on occasion.
Sara's relationship with a soon-to-be-divorced Chales was quite heartwarming. It's never too late ;)

If you are looking for a slower pace cozy murder mystery, this series could be for you. For me it was a little slow and the friendship a little too toxic to keep reading the series however.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture, for eARC in exchange for an honest review.

#NetGalley #MurderattheTeaShop

Lovely coastal cosy mystery with a delightful will they won’t they relationship, a gorgeous dog and the most mismatched pair of best friends you could imagine. Somehow, they find their way to who the killer is, but prepare to be surprised.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A cosy murder mystery set in a quaint village. There's murder afoot and Sarah can't help but investigate along with her best friend Daphne and dog Hamish.

I enjoyed the story and finished it in two days.

It's always enjoyable with the older characters. Daphne was an amusing sidekick and her comments regarding having reached her peak fitness and not needing to go back to the local weight loss club especially as she only ate healthily whilst eating cake had me smiling.

It delivered on its promise, it was a cosy mystery.

🌟🔥Out 7th November🔥🌟

I received this book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Well written characters and a lovely setting.
Not sure if i would have benefitted reading the first two in the series?
A quick and ok read for me.
My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

Book 3 in the series…. Congratulations on an eye-catching cover! It caught my eye and made me read the synopsis.
The characters are just so well written and realistic, the tension is built so effectively and you really do have no idea where the storyline is going or what the outcome is going to be! It has the twist, turns and surprises that you'd expect and the plot is constantly moving forward which I loved!

This didn’t really capture my attention. It felt like the characters are flat. Also none of the murders are at the tea shop. #MurderattheTeaShop. #NetGalley

I love this series. Sarah, Daphne, and Charles…..and, of course, Hamish, are a fun 60 something characters. Sarah has been living by the seaside for a couple months now and has been working to keep the place safe by making herself “useful” at the investigations. This time she happens upon a few dead bodies that has her confused of what the motive is. However, this group won’t stop until they find the truth. Love the setting, the characters, the quirkiness, and the writing. So glad I found this series.