There is a whole new life awaiting after retirement – even if it does involve murder. And cake.
Murder at the Teashop is the third in Alice Castle’s cosy mystery series featuring retired widowed GP Sarah Vane, and sees more bodies appearing in the little seaside town of Merstairs.
Trying to distract herself following her involvement in previous murder cases, Sarah Vane joins an art class, and is concerned when the elderly model doesn’t appear. Being a concerned neighbour, she calls by to check, and finds herself involved in yet another case.
I love this series as the characters grow with each instalment, and while Sarah is becoming more embedded in her new seaside retirement environment, she remains a pillar of sanity surrounded by chaos. The chaos is led of course by her friend and neighbour Daphne Roux. Daphne on the surface is a ditsy whirlwind of chaos, but she’s more than a one dimensional caricature – she has heart, and her insights are all the more striking as they come out of the blue, and it’s lovely that her thoughts aren’t discounted. Daphne and Sarah may be chalk and cheese, but their friendship is deep.
Sarah’s relationship with local antiques store owner Charles shows the awkwardness of new relationships isn’t limited to teens as she and her potential love interest navigate their own return to singledom and potentially return to the dating pool. Awkwardness has no age limit.
This is a lovely novel full of characters that are big, but believable, and it’s very easy to get sucked in and read the novel in one sitting.
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