Great Escapes Blog Tour, Review, and Giveaway: Vanilla Chai and a Vanishing Victim by Victoria Tait

 

Today I'm participating in the Vanilla Chai and a Vanishing Victim Blog Tour. In this post you'll find book and author information along with my review. Be sure to enter the giveaway contest below.

About the book . . . 

Vanilla Chai and a Vanishing Victim

A Waterwheel Cafe Mystery

Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting – Cotswold, England
Kanga Press (January 5, 2024)
Number of Pages c. 240
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0C4V4CCGT

Synopsis . . . A missing child. A half-baked ransom demand. Can a community cop sift through clues and rescue the tot before teatime?

Sergeant Keya Varma’s culinary dreams come true as she joyfully opens her own café. And attending her sister’s wedding is the cherry on the cake. But her excitement sinks like a souffle when a customer’s little boy disappears.

Shaken as well as stirred into action, the part-time police officer joins the search, but she’s shattered when even a ransom payment doesn’t bring the rug rat back home.

For Keya, justice is served with a side of scones, but can she save the child before the clotted cream turns sour?

Indulge in the Waterwheel Café cozy mystery series, where Keya Varma mixes crime with coffee and crêpes. If you crave appetizing characters, a dash of humor, and a dollop of English charm, you’ll devour Victoria Tait’s delicious tale.

Bake your way into intrigue with Vanilla Chai and a Vanishing Victim today!

My review . . . The smashing success of Keya's recently opened Waterwheel Cafe challenges her to find the right balance between the demands of running a busy restaurant and performing her part-time police work. Fortunately, she has a supportive team of family and friends that help her keep the cafe humming along. But her latest police case has Keya stretching herself to the limit. . .

After young Zaad Bartlett disappears from a local playground he was visiting with his nanny, Keya feels a deep personal connection because of her interactions with Zaad and his parents at her cafe in the days before the incident. As part of the team tasked with investigating Zaad's disappearance, Keya must quickly find the missing boy by figuring out exactly what happened and who is responsible. Will she be able to locate the child and reunite him with his distraught parents in a timely manner? Can she identify and prosecute the kidnapper?

Vanilla Chai and a Vanishing Victim takes readers back to the charming Cotswolds region of England, with its picturesque landscape and cozy atmosphere. The plot of the story is solidly constructed with a satisfying number of red herrings and unexpected twists that keep readers guessing whodunit until the book's final chapters. Beyond the mystery, author Victoria Tait has created an inviting setting and cast of characters that readers will enjoy visiting again and again whilst enjoying a variety of teas and other delicacies. Each installment in the series introduces a new tea to savor and crime to solve. I can hardly wait to discover both a new brew and Keya's next case in book four.

About the author . . . Victoria Tait was born and raised in Yorkshire, England. After following her military husband around the world, she drew on her life’s experiences and a love of Agatha Christie, Father Brown, and Murder She Wrote, to write British-based cozy mysteries.

Her determined female sleuths are joined by colorful and quirky teams of helpers, and her settings are vivid and realistic. As you’re compelled to keep turning the pages, you’ll be irresistibly drawn into a world where you’ll experience surprises, humor and sometimes, a tug on your heartstrings.

Do you like tea, mysteries, and books? Then why not join Victoria’s TeaCozy Club for regular news and updates, and download the free prequel to the Dotty Sayers Antique Mysteries series as a gift by visiting VictoriaTait.com

Who doesn’t like tea, cake, and a slice of murder?

Giveaway . . . Enter the giveaway contest by clicking here.

Purchase links . . .   Books2Read    Amazon 

Author Links . . .

Website: https://victoriatait.com/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/victoria-tait

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoriataitauthor/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/VictoriaTaitAuthor/_saved/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20373879.Victoria_Tait

Tour participants . . .

January 8 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST

January 8 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

January 9 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – AUTHOR GUEST POST

January 9 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read -REVIEW

January 10 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

January 10 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT

January 11 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

January 11 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

January 12 – Book Club Librarian – REVIEW*

January 13 – Eskimo Princess Book Reviews – RECIPE POST

January 13 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

January 14 – StoreyBook Reviews – CHARACTER GUEST POST

January 14 – Diane’s Book Journal – SPOTLIGHT

January 15 – Angel’s Book Nook – SPOTLIGHT

January 15 – CelticLady Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

January 16 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT

January 17 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

Note . . . I received a complimentary copy of Vanilla Chai and a Vanishing Victim from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

 

This Blog Tour, Review, and Giveaway post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the Book Club Librarian blog. It cannot be republished without attribution.

Friday Focus: Book Beginnings

 

It's Friday . . . time to share book excerpts via Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires. 

Today I'm featuring Vanilla Chai and a Vanishing Victim by Victoria Tait. The excerpts shared are from an advanced eBook version provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Book Beginning . . . Thirty-three year old Sergeant Keya Varma slumped into her office chair in her team's room on the ground floor of Cirencester Police Station, t he English Cotswolds.

**********************

My thoughts . . . Thus begins the third installment of The Waterwheel Cafe cozy mystery series by Victoria Tait. Vanilla Chai and a Vanishing Victim is a delightful return to the charming Cotswolds region of England, with its picturesque landscape and cozy atmosphere. Each book in the series is a new chapter in the life of unflappable and extremely competent Keya Varma, a part-time police officer, that  introduces a new tea to savor and crime to solve

**********************

Synopsis:  A missing child. A half-baked ransom demand. Can a community cop sift through clues and rescue the tot before teatime?

Sergeant Keya Varma’s culinary dreams come true as she joyfully opens her own café. And attending her sister’s wedding is the cherry on the cake. But her excitement sinks like a souffle when a customer’s little boy disappears.

Shaken as well as stirred into action, the part-time police officer joins the search, but she’s shattered when even a ransom payment doesn’t bring the rug rat back home.

For Keya, justice is served with a side of scones, but can she save the child before the clotted cream turns sour?

Indulge in the Waterwheel Café cozy mystery series, where Keya Varma mixes crime with coffee and crêpes. If you crave appetizing characters, a dash of humor, and a dollop of English charm, you’ll devour Victoria Tait’s delicious tale.

Bake your way into intrigue with Vanilla Chai and a Vanishing Victim today!

*********************

This Friday Focus: Booki Beginnings post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com. It cannot be republished without attribution.

Great Escapes Blog Tour, Review, and Giveaway: Earl Grey and Shallow Graves by Victoria Tait

Today I'm participating in the Earl Grey and Shallow Graves Blog Tour. In this post you'll find book and author information along with my review.  And be sure to enter the giveaway below. 

 

About the book . . .

Earl Grey and Shallow Graves (A Waterwheel Cafe Mystery)

Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – England
Kanga Press (May 19, 2023)
Number of Pages: 240
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BXQL5YS5 

GoodReads Page 

 

Synopsis . . . A 30-year-old skeleton. A missing girl. Can a community police officer read the tea leaves or will a deadly secret remain buried for ever?

Sergeant Keya Varma is delighted with her new part-time role as the Cotswolds’ Rural Engagement Officer. She’s also fulfilling her dream of opening a small neighbourhood café. But she gets herself into a stew with renovation works when builders unearth a young girl’s remains.

While Keya and her police colleagues gain ground reviewing the unsolved disappearance of a local girl, her brief taste of success turns to dust when a friend is found dead at her tea shop. Confusion over identities threatens to bury the investigation and our junior police officer is worried that justice won’t be served.

Can Keya dig into the mystery and uncover the real culprit?

Earl Grey and Shallow Graves is the first book in The Waterwheel Café series. If you’ve enjoyed the Dotty Sayers Antique Mystery series, then you’ll love meeting some of your favourite characters and making new friends in Victoria Tait’s intriguing British cozy mystery.

 

My review . . .Sergeant Keya Varma of the Gloucester Police is used to dealing with minor incidents while maintaining a reassuring police presence in her placid Cotswold village. All that changes, however, with the discovery of a skeleton on the site of the old flour mill that Keya is renovating into the long-awaited cafe of her dreams . . . 

It seems fairly obvious to residents that the remains are those of a young girl who disappeared without a trace some thirty-odd years ago. But how did she die? Not long after an investigation is opened, the body of a woman who recently returned to the village after years away is found--also at the cafe construction site. Both victims--once childhood friends--were murdered. Are their deaths related? Why were they killed and who is responsible for these shocking acts?

Earl Grey and Shallow Graves is an appealing start to the Waterwheel Cafe cozy mystery series. The story features a complexly interesting plot that weaves together two murders set three decades apart and a dynamic, methodical protagonist who is up to the task of handling the investigation's many twists and turns in stride--all whilst gracefully managing the complicated demands of a major restoration project and an upcoming family wedding.

Spending time in Victoria Tait's quaint English setting with its likeable heroine, eccentric supporting characters, local social landmarks, and endless cups of tea is a delightful reading experience. And, best of all, Keya's life situation creates a keen interest in her future exploits and many directions for series growth. I look forward to what lies ahead in the next installment and beyond.

Giveaway . . . Enter the "Fabulous at 50" giveaway by clicking on this link.  It's your chance to win Earl Grey and Shallow Graves and The Ghost of Glengullion Castle plus a $20 Amazon Gift Card.

Bonus: Download free books and earn extra entries!

 

About the author . . .   Victoria Tait was born and raised in Yorkshire, UK, and never expected to travel the world. She's drawn on her experiences following her military husband to write cozy murder mystery books with vivid and evocative settings. Her determined female sleuths are joined by colourful but realistic teams of helpers, and you’ll experience surprises, humour, and sometimes, a tug on your heartstrings.

After reading Keya’s first book, why not join her and her friends as they solve more mysteries in Tait's  Dotty Sayers Antique Mystery series, also based in the Cotswolds?  Visit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09TMJFL7L

And if you like tea, cakes, and books, you are invited to join the author's TeaCozy Club for regular news and updates. You'll also receive a free book gift by visiting VictoriaTait.com

Who doesn’t like tea, cake, and a slice of murder?

 

Author links . . .

Website:  https://victoriatait.com/

Book Bub:  https://www.bookbub.com/profile/victoria-tait

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/victoriataitauthor/

Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.co.uk/VictoriaTaitAuthor/_saved/

GoodReads:   https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20373879.Victoria_Tait

 

Purchase link . . .  Amazon

 

 

 

Tour participants . . .

May 19 – Angel’s Guilty Pleasures – SPOTLIGHT

May 19 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

May 19 – Book Club Librarian – REVIEW

May 19 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT

May 20 – Reading Is My SuperPower – AUTHOR GUEST POST

May 20 – Indie Author Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

May 21 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

May 21 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

May 22 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT

May 22 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – CHARACTER GUEST POST

May 22 – Nadaness In Motion – REVIEW*

May 23 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

May 23 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW  

May 23 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT

May 24 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

May 24 – CelticLady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

May 24 – Island Confidential – SPOTLIGHT

May 25 – Novels Alive – REVIEW

May 25 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

May 25 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

May 26 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT

May 26 – Jane Reads – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

May 27 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT

May 27 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT

May 28 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – REVIEW

May 28 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

 

 

Note . . . I received a complimentary copy of Earl Grey and Shallow Graves from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

 

This Blog Tour, Review, and Giveaway post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the Book Club Librarian blog. It cannot be republished without attribution.