Muffins and Mourning Tea

Oxford Tearoom Mysteries, Book 5

By: H.Y. Hanna

Narrated by: Pearl Hewitt

Cotswolds tearoom owner Gemma Rose is excited to join the May Day celebrations in Oxford...until the beautiful spring morning ends in murder. Now, she's embroiled in a deadly mystery - with four nosy old ladies determined to help in the sleuthing! Before she knows it, Gemma finds herself stalking a Russian "princess" and keeping up with the Old Biddies in Krav Maga class, while still trying to serve delicious cakes and buttery scones at her quaint English tearoom.

And that's just the start of her worries: there's her little tabby cat, Muesli, who is causing havoc at the local nursing home...and what should she do with the creepy plants that her mother keeps buying for her new cottage?

But the mystery that's really bothering Gemma is her boyfriend's odd behavior. Devlin O'Connor has always been enigmatic, but, recently, the handsome CID detective has been strangely distant and evasive. Could he be lying to her? But why?

©2016 H.Y. Hanna (P)2017 H.Y. Hanna

Best of the bunch!

Out of the series this one was my favorite! I enjoyed all of them and Pearl Hewitt sounds exactly like Audrey Hepburn! Love it!

Another great listen

With books like this I admit I do get annoyed when the heroine does something obviously stupid. However, it is almost a mandatory part of these type stories, so I don't hold it too much against the author.
Despite that minor annoyance, I really like all the H.Y.Hanna books, narrated by Pearl Hewitt I have listened to, and this one is no exception.

Charming Series, But Not Without Issues

I have listened to the prior four books and the prequel as well. This series charming and lighthearted and the narration really makes this series amazing.

However, the lead character (Gemma) is not just a flawed character — she’s obnoxious and often unlikeable. I wish the Old Biddies and Meusli the cat were the focus of this series and Gemma were a side character who owns the tea room the Biddies meet in. The romance between Gemma and the detective is tired and uninteresting — especially since Gemma acts like she is a teenager rather than someone approaching 30. If Gemma behaved like an adult, a lot of the tedious aspects of this series would melt away. Unfortunately, I don’t think we will get that kind of character development.

Aside from Gemma, this series is so much fun. I look forward to the next installment even if I have to endure the terrible romance and Gemma’s churlish behavior.

A terrific book set in Oxford!

Gemma Rose, owner and proprietor of the Oxford Tea Room, lets her best friend, Cassie, talk her into joining Cassie for Oxford's May Day celebrations in Muffins and Mourning Tea by HY Hanna. This celebration involves meeting at 5 am at the Great Tower to hear the Magdalen College Choir sing to welcome in the spring. With all the jostling by the crowd, Gemma gets separated from Cassie and ends up on the bridge that spans the Thames. Then, with the conclusion to the song, someone splashes into the river, causing everyone to smile over the student hijinks. But when the young man fails to surface, smiles turn to expressions of concern and soon panic as his dead body is brought up from the river. He must have broken his neck in the shallow river.

At least, this is what everyone thinks must be the case until the medical examiner looks over the body. Charlie Foxton has been stabbed with a kitchen skewer. Even more upsetting to Gemma is the fact that the skewer belongs to her chief baker's best friend, Miriam Hopkins, who served as Charlie's scout in Oxford. For the uninitiated (which means most of the world), an Oxford scout takes care of the students living in the dorms, even cleaning up their rooms and vacuuming each week. Sometimes a scout will actually do laundry for her or his students! With Miriam as both Charlie's scout and the owner of the knife, she looks guilty.

So Dora, Gemma's baker, begs Gemma to find the truth in order to free Miriam of suspicion. The four crazy old ladies who love to snoop and whom Gemma privately calls "The Old Biddies," eagerly assume the role of detective once again. They drag Gemma to snoop on the room of Damien Heath, Charlie's roommate, in a potentially disastrous trip to his college. Further, they enlist Gemma in a class in Krav Maga in which these old ladies send Gemma to the emergency room. The four of them and Gemma develop their own list of potential suspects. And in addition, Gemma notices her boyfriend, Devlin, the local Detective Inspector, keeping more and more secrets from her, making her wonder what is happening with her relationship and whether Devlin might be cheating on her. That just adds to Gemma's personal distress.

This book is another fun, enjoyable book in the delightful Oxford Tea Room series. I especially enjoyed that this book had some great scenes with the Old Biddies. They really come to life in this book and made me laugh. And Gemma's mom keeps giving her more exotic plants for her house. Muesli, the cat, even gets her own fun scene. It was fun to spend time with Gemma in Oxford again. The plot moved swiftly and kept me drawn to it. There were a number of Russians involved in the case, a nice addition of another culture to the book.

I liked Pearl Hewitt's performance as narrator of the book. Her gentle voice sounds ideal as belonging to Gemma. Further, she makes the book enjoyable and seem so real.

Muffins and Mourning Tea is a great addition to the Oxford Tea Room series. I found myself worrying with Gemma about her love life and following her concerns about the case. I hope that the next book comes out on audio soon! I give this book five stars!

Highly enjoyable

Muffins and Morning Tea, my fourteenth read/listen from author H.Y. Hanna & the fifth in the Oxford Tearoom mysteries. An enjoyable cozy mystery. My wife & I have taken to listening to the books together. We love the narrator’s British accent; I was impressed and enjoyed the vocal variety & inflections of narrator Pearl Hewitt, especially her oh so cute animal sounds. Cozy Mystery/romance, captivating primary characters, what other blurbs can I use to describe these books? Oh well, buy the book, read the books, get into a good author and some good characters as I have. I was given an Audible copy of this book & am voluntarily reviewing it. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).

Another Fun Mystery

Gemma's day ends in murder and the old biddies are very interested in helping to solve it and are getting in the way. Even sweet little Muesli is getting into trouble. What is going on here!! Everyone is giving Gemma problems. And is this the end for Gemma and her boyfriend? Why is he avoiding her? I just love all the characters in these stories. They are lively and full of mystery and fun. You just know that if you visit the Tearoom and surrounding town, you are going to love talking to them all. And Pearl Hunter, the narrator, just makes these characters and stories come alive with her reading. She makes it sound so charming.

Good Read

I really enjoined tghius installment of the tearoom mysteries. They are well written, humorous, and entertaining. I love the old biddies and Gemma's mother.

Love!

Smitten with this series! I’m already dreading the end. I will miss my friends from Oxford terribly, and of course Müesli :(

Another winner

These books stay very consistent with the storyline and characters. I have enjoyed this book quite a lot. As usual the narrator’s performance is wonderful and enchanting. It is easy to listen to, interesting and humorous.

twists and turns

great series. lots of twists and turns Pearl Hewitt does a great job at telling the story . keeps you guessing. can't wait to go to next book