**I was provided with a copy of this book by Kensington Publishing via NetGalley in return for an honest, fair review.**

While I love cozy mysteries and prior books in this series, A Catered Tea Party just wasn't my cup of tea.

Why?

I didn't care for the main characters' behavior. Libby spent the entire book whining. And Bernie just came off as rude and loud. Bleck. I'd like the old Libby and Bernie back....sure they have their differences, but in prior books, it worked. In this one....it just had the wrong vibe. More whiny and spoiled rather than two sisters playing off each other.

The plot was slow, and I just never really got "into'' the story. The plot seemed contrived. I didn't find it believable that a man would spend $2 million dollars on a teapot then use it as a prop during a play. Who spends $2 million on a teapot? And wouldn't you keep the silly thing under lock and key after spending that much money? I do realize that in cozy mysteries you have to suspend disbelief at times and just let the plot be fun....but for me, I just couldn't seem to do it this time.

But, it was not entirely a disappointment. When it comes to the sisters' behavior in this book, I think the author was just trying to get across the point that the girls don't like their father's girlfriend. And who wouldn't behave a bit "off'' after watching a billionaire electrocute himself to death with a booby-trapped teapot?

The ending was exciting and I didn't figure out everything before the end. So, the mystery portion of the plot was interesting, and not overly simple.

For me this was just ok. Given my enjoyment of other books in this series, it was a bit of a disappointment. I will be first in line to read the next book though! For readers who haven't read prior books in this series, I highly recommend this mystery series as a whole! Yummy recipes, murderous mystery. and humor. The books are just fun to read! This latest one was just a bit meh for me. It happens sometimes.

A Catered Tea Party is the 12th book in the A Mystery with Recipes series. Isis Crawford is a pen-name used by Barbara Block, author of the Robin Light Mystery Series. Check our her website at: www.isiscrawford.com ( )

This is the 12th book in this series and only the second one that I have read. I think I need to go back to the beginning and start as there were issues in this book that I was not sure about and were probably a continuation of a previous storyline. That being said, I did like the story.

Bernie and Libby have been hired to cater a local theater production of Alice in Wonderland by a wealthy man who wants to feature a two million dollar tea pot in the production. Their business of "A Little Taste of Heaven" has a very good reputation and they are worried after this event, it may be tarnished. As well their father, Sean, a retired police officer who often helps them solve mysteries is seeing a younger woman (Michelle) who not only is romantically interested in their father, but she is opening a competitive bakery and is trying to wangle information and recipes from the sister's shop. Libby and Bernie do not like this woman at all. Libby does not hide her feelings, while Bernie does as she does not want to send her father further into Michelle's clutches.

Meanwhile the wealthy entrepreneur ends up dead before opening night is finished and Bernie and Libby's friend is arrested for the crime. They offer to help and the sleuthing begins. They do not try to hide anything they are doing at all, they are very blunt and I can not imagine why they do not get themselves into major trouble. There are a lot of suspects as Ludvoc is not very well liked and appears to owe everyone money. Enter the Russian family, full of cousins, actors, business owners and liars and Bernie and Libby are having a harder time to solve this one than usual. With the help of their boyfriends and their father, they finally figure it out. The culprit was not someone I had on my radar at all. An interesting story, if a bit convoluted. I am not sure if I like the characters of Libby and Bernie. They seem to argue a lot, tend to be a bit obnoxious and short tempered. Maybe it was just this book, I will have to see when I read a couple more. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley. ( )

Bernie and Libby own A Little Taste of Heaven cafe and bakery and have been hired by Ludvoc Zalinsky to cater his themed tea party, Alice in Wonderland at his new venue The Blue Heron. He's created his version of the story, featuring a Chinese tea pot he paid an exorbitant amount for, but during the play he is electrocuted. When the director is accused of the crime, Bernie and Libby agree to help him find the real killer. As they start investigating it becomes apparent that Zalinsky wasn't the billionaire he claimed to be, and that more than one person had a reason to want him dead...

The murder occurs early in the book, which is always good because we get a head start in trying to identify the murderer. With a plethora of suspects in the running Libby and Bernie have their work cut out for them. It seems everyone who worked for Zalinsky hated him, and no one was sorry to see him departing this life. It also seems that every suspect had a reason to point them toward another suspect, which sends them in a different direction looking for answers.

Although he mystery was done well, being quite interesting; and it never hurts the plot to have many suspects at hand, we were never given enough time to actually 'get to know' any of them, so were never really given any true clues as to who the murderer could be. There were plenty of twists and turns, and it came as a surprise even though the reasons why Zalinsky was killed are age-old. While I have always enjoyed these books, I think that this particular one was the weakest in the series. Hopefully, the next will find Libby and Bernie back to their old selves.

Full Review: http://joannesbooks.blogspot.com/2016/11/a-catered-tea-party-mystery-with-recipe... ( )