Steeped in Murder: The Tidewater Tearoom Mysteries, Book One

A fog-bound harbor town. A poisoned cup of tea. A newcomer with everything to lose. When Posy Hale trades a failed marriage and a big-city career for her late aunt's struggling seaside tearoom, she's betting her last dollar on a fresh start in Merrow Bay, Maine. Then, at her grand reopening, the town's most hated developer collapses dead after drinking Posy's signature blend, and the whole town decides the new woman did it. With the police building a case against her, her business boarded up by gossip, and a September loan due that could cost her the shop for good, Posy has only one way out: find the real killer herself. Armed with her aunt's mysterious hidden ledger, a gruff retired detective who takes his tea strong and his rules seriously, and a sharp-eyed teenage barista, she starts pulling threads the whole town would rather leave alone. But in a place where everyone is kind to your face and nobody forgets a slight, the most dangerous person in Merrow Bay might be the one pouring the tea. Steeped in Murder is the first book in The Tidewater Tearoom Mysteries, a cozy whodunit series full of small-town secrets, slow-burn romance, and fair-play clues you can follow right alongside the heroine. If you love amateur sleuths, coastal settings, and a mystery with no gore and plenty of heart, pull up a chair and put the kettle on.