The Oxford Tearoom Mysteries Box Set Collection I

My Favorite Series! Earns 5+/5 Posts of Fun!

Murder Seems Better with an English Accent! Deliciously Fun!

H.Y. Hanna is my all-time favorite author of my all-time favorite series! I’ve enjoyed connecting with her down under and being part of her advanced reader team. It is very entertaining joining Gemma Rose and the ‘bloody’ delightful mysteries H.Y. Hanna has created. She delivers clever murder mysteries often with an entertaining British flair, fun and some quirky characters, and Gemma always seems to find some danger before the killer is brought to justice. Romance? Yes, it starts out as a big question to whom Gemma will give her heart, but I enjoy the romantic dance of ups and downs, wading in slowly or jumping into the deep end. This series satisfies my Anglophile appetite as I learned how to make traditional scones to serve with a perfect pot of tea. Cornish or Devon? I decided I’ll have my cream tea the Devonshire way…clothed cream, first, then jam! And in the back of the book there is a Glossary of British terms and an easy to follow recipe that has a connection to that book. Which English recipe will be your favorite?

Pearl Hewitt is the delightful voice of H.Y. Hanna’s Oxford Tearoom and earns my personal stamp as Narrator Extraordinaire. Her voice artistry enriched my enjoyment, and has stuck in my head enough that when I read one of H.Y. Hanna’s books, I hear Pearl’s voice. Her British accent is the perfect dialect for Gemma's educated manner, and the tone changes helped add to the emotions and personality of the other characters: proper English for the 'old biddies" and the Oxford Dons, street English for the pub owner and some questionable villagers, and she mastered a few Americans, too. She kept me totally engaged, eager to listen again, and giggling at the British tone I so enjoy...even murder sounds great with an English accent!
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“All-Butter ShortDead” earns 5+/5 Cups of Earl Gray with Lemon!
We join Gemma Rose on her long flight having made the decision to quit her high paying job in Sydney and move back to Meadowford-on-Smythe to open a traditional English tearoom. She engages a woman in conversation to pass the time, but when the woman leaves a beautiful scarf behind, she questions whether to get involved. She should have reconsidered. Returning the scarf she is met with the woman, who had indulged in too many double vodka martinis. Gemma assists the woman back to her hotel room safely, then…is unwittingly dragged into her first murder investigation when the woman ends up dead. She is having some obstacles finalizing the details for her tearoom, but this casual friend does deserve justice. This was an excellent prequel! Since most fans have read the other full-length novels, going back in time is an entertaining look into Gemma’s first arrival home and getting ready to embark on her new venture with the tearoom. For those just starting off on the Oxford Tearoom Mystery journey, the prequel is a great place to get introductions to Gemma, her BFF Cassie, her mother (OMG, her mother!), the ‘Old Biddies” (stewed prunes and all), and the engaging style of H.Y. Hanna. The only thing missing in this book is a recipe…how do I make traditional English shortbread biscuits—rich and crumbly?

"Scone to Die For” earns 5+/5 Traditional Scones with Clotted Cream and Jam!
It is not important to start with book one, but the story moves forward with Gemma Rose opening her Little Stables Tearoom offering traditional English fare. She becomes a popular destination for tourists who desire to experience a proper English Tea, but, a nasty American causes a ‘kerfuffle’ in the tearoom and later ends up dead with a scone stuffed down his throat. The supporting characters become more developed as Gemma relies heavily on her BFF Cassie, a very bossy mother, my favorite octogenarians dubbed the “Four Ol’ Biddies,’ handsome former college flame turned detective Devilin O’Conner, and Museli her cat. Gemma’s investigation techniques consist of tracking down clues at her Oxford University alma mater, local pubs, and even finds herself fibbing a bit to get the key piece of evidence. H.Y. Hanna kept me engaged with a truly delightful story with more than a few quirky characters, provided marvelous descriptions of the village that I almost felt like an ex-pat residing alongside the locals, and gave me a bit of a lesson in Oxford University etiquette. With a few unforeseen twists and a reference to my favorite detective dramas—Morse and Midsomer Murders—I was hooked! And the recipe for the Traditional English Scones was the perfect little extra.

“Tea With Milk and Murder” earns 5+/5 Slices of Velvety Cheesecake!
The journey continues, and I'm thrilled it does. However, Gemma Rose is not thrilled about the art exhibition she is attending. BFF Cassie Jenkins is having her first exhibition courtesy of gallery owner and new boyfriend, and although Gemma is not a fan, friends will do almost anything for a friend. Her opinion of him seems validated when she overhears him plotting in the shadows, and his self-proclaimed girlfriend shows up causing a scene, flails, and collapses on the ground…dead. Gemma once again meets up with CID Detective Devilin O’Conner (sparks fly, but not sure if that's good or bad), and the "Old Biddies” add their own insights with a few covert explorations finding hidden flats, lacy thongs, and more suspicions. This ranks right at the top of my favorite list with another tantalizing story to challenge my inner ‘Sherlock.’ Gemma Rose is a strong female character delightfully clever, and even though she has some confidence issues, I find her quite entertaining. There’s a bit of a romantic triangle, cat antics, interesting mother-daughter dynamic (No, I didn’t order that!), and four octogenarians who steal the scene. The recipe in this second book is for Gemma’s mother’s Velvety Cheesecake…delicious!
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Many know I've always been a fan of all things British, so I am in ‘seventh heaven' with all the references to Oxford University and the local haunts, Meadowford-on-Smythe, traditional fare for tea and treats, and an easy-to-follow recipe included for my own afternoon tea menu. It is 'jolly good’ fun!

16 of 16 people found this review helpful

A nice little mystery bundle

Where does The Oxford Tearoom Mysteries Box Set Collection I rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

What a great collection, you get 3 stories in this bundle and all are fun and enjoyable.

All Butter ShortDead
This is the first and start of the oxford tea room mysteries so is a great book to start with as
it explains how Gemma ends up with the tea room, but she also has to solve her very first mystery where she is the number one suspect. It is shorter than the other stories but is a good start as to what the listener is in store with these mysteries, lots of laughs, suspects and red herrings

Book 1 A Scone to Die For
I enjoyed this, with all the cosy mysteries set in America it was a nice pace to listen to a story set in England. Even though it was set in Oxford you could picture it happening in any country village and imagine the local busybodies poking there noses in, in order to help solve the mystery resulting in some humour sprinkled tho the book.

Book 2 Tea with Milk and Murder
There were lots of suspects and even though I had guessed the killer about mid way through the book is was still fun listening to Gemma trying to work out who the culprit was and keep her friendship, love life and sanity in one piece.

I love the extra characters namely her mum (who loves Gemma and instead of telling her that, she shows it buying things....normally with things THAT nobody wants) and the old ladies (who know everybody and try to help Gemma by solving the crime first and getting in trouble) as they add a humours side to the stories.

It is the same narrator through out the books which is a plus as she is very good, having different voices and tones for the characters .

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review,

13 of 13 people found this review helpful

Talk about stating the bleeding obvious!!

I like the narrator, but the author’s main character is pretty obtuse sometimes. She gets a little hard to take and her “boyfriend”, whose the policeman, just tells her about everything he finds out in his investigations, which is hard to believe. But she doesn’t always reciprocate.
The “Old Biddies”, though, are pretty funny and grow on you. And the little cat is cute and acts like many cats we’ve had through the years.
One more thing— I really don’t like the way the author disses Agatha Christie. There will never be another Agatha, so don’t even go there!!

12 of 12 people found this review helpful

Nice cozies and a good value

This is a cute cozy series with engaging characters and decent plotting. It largely avoids the more annoying tropes of many modern cozies (really dumb main characters, stupid local cops, etc). I enjoyed them.

Be aware, though, the first book in this bundle is the weakest. Don't judge the series on it. They do get better.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Nancy Drew & Encyclopedia Brown

British mystery, but I kept feeling reminded of the mystery stories I read in 5th grade. Our civilian detective Gemma solves mysteries by being in the right (or wrong) place at the right time, and picking up on a clue that everyone else misses.
Narration is excellent. Plot lines are a bit thin, as is character development. However, the stories move along and end well. Exactly what I needed - a light mystery with an adorable cat.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Charming, Entertaining, Scrumptious!

My favorite new book series, H. Y. Hanna is an excellent writer! Quirky interesting characters, gorgeous historical setting of Oxford and the Cotswolds, a mischievous and lovable cat, a strong and endearing Community of women! And of course a love interest! I absolutely love these books! Highly recommended!

And the narration is also superlative! One of the best audible narrators I've heard!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Great!

Unreserved praise
Sweet funny interesting clever piece.

good character development ...
I love what Ms Hannah has done with the mother-daughter relationship and the best friend and love interests)
PGrated...
I LOVE it when an author keeps graphic details out of their narrative and lets the mystery be spotlighted.
After all, I did not buy a true crime, horror, or bodice ripper novel. I bought a cozy mystery, you know?
Very good purchase.
I will look for more from this author.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Struck out for me

In the prequel: protagonist is the main suspect, but only by virtue of seriously deficient police work and stupidity on her part. Most of the rest was ok, though the relationship with the mother began to grate, but couldn’t hack the mystery part itself, so skipped to the end.
Book 1: slow start. Relationship with mother got worse. Ugly American victim grated (full disclosure—I’m American). Bodice-ripper style romantic tropes made me gag and start skipping forward. Killer was the obvious one, though I never learned the motive because I couldn’t bear listening to that much of the rest. And I had liked the character and am mildly pissed that he was made to be the killer. Hoping Audible will let me send it back, because I won’t be able to handle Book 2 either, I suspect.
Which is a shame, because at the level of basic writing, she’s pretty good, and the narrator is good. Oh well. Back to looking for my next book.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Where it all began!

This is my favourite series, I loved reading the books when I originally purchased them for my Kindle and jumped at the chance to switch over to Audible to revisit them. The spoken word truly brings the stories to life and enhances them I appreciate that the author has used the same narrator, Pearl, for the entire series so the character voices are always consistent. I really enjoyed going back and revisiting my old favourites. The prequel sets some groundwork for the series and is only available as part of the boxed set. I can't say enough about how much I enjoy listening to this series.

Disclosure: A review copy of this book was sent to me by the author. All of the above opinions are my own.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Perfect English Cozy Mystery

I am a fan of good, cozy, British mysteries. This one satisfies a lot. Many cozy mysteries are, well, too cozy or cute for me. Yes, there is a cat in the plot of most of the H. Y. Hannah stories, which seems gratuitous in other cozy Bristish mysteries. But this cat gets wound into the plot and solving the mystery in ways those other cats in those other books don't. And there is a good mystery at the core of each book. The solution to the mystery lies in the characters' personalities and their history, so the books satisfy as a mystery -- always appreciated in a mystery story, but not always achieved. I'm glad there is a whole series of books, because I plan to read them all.