Sweet Tea and Secrets: A Tea and a Read Mystery

Avon’s pleasant, if flawed, sequel to 2018’s In Peppermint Peril finds former tour guide Callie Aspen undecided whether she wants to live permanently in the lovely seaside town of Heart’s Harbor, Maine, and help her great-aunt Iphy run Book Tea, a book-themed tea shop. Looking for a spectacular historical event to relate at the town’s Independence Day festival, Callie discovers a 30-year-old mystery concerning Monica Walker, a TV star who disappeared while vacationing in Heart’s Harbor. Joe Jamison, the editor of the local paper, seems particularly disturbed by Callie’s investigation, so when Joe is found dead, Callie is certain that the cold case and the present-day murder are connected. Beloved cozy tropes include a plucky young woman starting a new life, a handsome but distant deputy sheriff, a cadre of charming local folks, and a couple of lovable pooches. Too bad the ending feels so contrived. Hopefully, Avon will improve next time out. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary. (June)