In Trouble Is Brewing by Vicki Delany, Lily Roberts’s tearoom, Tea by the Sea, hosts a bridal shower that takes a sinister turn when a beheaded Raggedy Ann doll, reminiscent of a gift from the bride’s deceased father, causes panic. With tensions rising among the Greenhaugh and Hill families and a bribe attempt adding to the chaos, things go from bad to worse when a guest is found dead under suspicious circumstances. Unravel this gripping mystery while enjoying Maple-Pecan Squares for the perfect pairing.
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup plus ⅓ cup packed light brown sugar, divided
- 2 cups coarsely chopped pecans, divided
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt, divided
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan and line with parchment paper, letting excess hang over sides of pan.
- In the work bowl of a food processor, pulse together flour, ⅓ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup pecans, ½ teaspoon salt, baking powder, and cinnamon until combined. Add room temperature butter and pulse until mixture is crumbly. Press mixture into bottom of prepared pan.
- Bake crust until lightly brown around edges, approximately 20 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together melted butter, remaining ½ cup brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla extract, remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, and egg until smooth. Stir in remaining 1¾ cups pecans. Pour mixture over crust in pan.
- Bake until bubbling around edges, 22 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting into squares.
Lily Roberts’s Cape Cod tearoom is hosting a bridal shower—until a gruesome gift sends the guest of honor running in fear.
Members of the Greenhaugh and Hill families are staying at Lily’s grandmother’s bed-and-breakfast, and now they’ve gathered at Tea by the Sea to sip some delicious blends while they shower bride-to-be Hannah Hill with presents. But the last package Hannah unwraps contains a beheaded Raggedy Ann doll and triggers a bloodcurdling scream. A doll like this was the last gift from her father before he died long ago, and she’s chilled to the bone.
Lily senses that the shocking anonymous gift just might be related to other tensions she’s picking up on. The mothers-in-law have been sniping at each other—and then Lily, out walking her dog, overhears the groom’s father, Ralph, offering his son a very sizable bribe to call off the wedding. She’s relieved when Greg angrily turns him down, but with so many people steamed at each other, can this event possibly go smoothly?
The answer is no. It suddenly has to be postponed—when Ralph is found dead in his bed, a bottle of whiskey beside him. When tests indicate the booze was infused with a lethal substance, it becomes a murder case and, of course, accusations are flying wildly with the guests all too willing to believe the worst about each other. Now, to find out whether all this family drama led to a fatality, Lily will have to turn up the heat.
Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers and a national bestseller in the US. She is currently writing four cozy mystery series: The Tea by the Sea mysteries, the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series, the Year-Round Christmas mysteries, and as Eva Gates, the Lighthouse Library series. A past president of the Crime Writers of Canada and a co-organizer of Women Killing It, a crime-writing festival, her work has been nominated for the Derringer, the Bony Blithe, the Ontario Library Association Golden Oak, and the Arthur Ellis Awards. She is the recipient of the 2019 Derrick Murdoch Award for contributions to Canadian crime writing. Vicki lives and writes in bucolic Prince Edward County, Ontario, and can be found online at VickiDelany.com. You can also keep up with Vicki by following her on Facebook and Instagram.
