ARC Review: In Too Steep by Kate Kingsbury

In to Steep
Author: Kate Kingsbury
Series: Misty Bay Tea Room Mystery (Book 2)
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (August 9, 2022)

Description: The peace and tranquility of the Misty Bay Tearoom is rocked by murder and a long-buried secret hidden in a most unlikely place in bestselling author Kate Kingsbury’s second charming book for fans of Cleo Coyle and Laura Childs

It seemed like a simple case: the murder of Lewis Trenton, a beachcomber who lived alone in a cabin in the Oregon hills. But the newspaper article piques the interest of Vivian Wainwright, owner of the British-style Misty Bay Tearoom. The photo accompanying the article shows Lewis’s cluttered living room, and on the shelf is a replica of Big Ben. Vivian is sure she sold the clock a week before in her shop. Who could have given the replica to Lewis?

Unable to keep from doing a bit of sleuthing, Vivian hunts down the replica in a local thrift shop, noticing that the base is missing, rendering it worthless, but just as Vivian is about to throw it in the trash, a sparkle catches her eye. It’s a diamond, hidden away in a crevice in the clock. Vivian takes the diamond to Detective Tony Messina, who identifies it as part of a jewelry heist in Portland a month earlier. Portland police think Lewis was the fence who sold the jewels, and that he was killed after double-crossing the thieves—but Messina doesn’t believe the story.

What was the true motive behind Lewis’s murder? How did he come upon the diamond? And what secrets can the clock tell—before the killer strikes again?

My Thoughts: This second book in the Misty Bay Tea Room cozy mystery series stars tea shop owner Vivian Wainright. Vivian is in her early 60s and a widow. She's living her dream of owning a tea shop featuring many of her mother's favorite British recipes. 

When Vivian learns of the death of beachcomber Lewis Trenton and sees a souvenir she sold a visitor to her tea shop in the photos the accompany the newspaper article, she becomes determined to find someone who knew him so that they can mourn his death.  

As Vivian and her shop assistants Jenna and Gracie try to track down the purchaser of the souvenir, they discover a number of things including a diamond that was part of a recent jewelry store robbery. As they trace the path the souvenir followed, they find a lot of suspicious people who could be the fence who brokered the jewelry store robbery. Vivian's decision to be sure which one is the prime suspect for the position of fence before informing the police, puts her in a lot of danger. 

The story also includes Vivian's new romantic relationship with Hal who owns the local pet shop and her fears that she might be showing the early signs of dementia because she keeps forgetting where she has left things. The story also includes her new rescue dog Felix who adds the pet component to this cozy mystery.

I enjoyed the story. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.