A Tomes & Teas Mystery

New York State's Belltower Landing is a lakeside resort town where tourists spend their summer days boating, floating, and paddle-boarding on the water. It's also the perfect place to cuddle up with a good book and enjoy a cup of tea, courtesy of Tomes & Tea. Owned and operated by Jazzi and her best friend Dawn Fernsby, the book bar is beloved by vacationers and locals alike, but browsers grabbing brews in the off season aren't enough to help them make ends meet.

The Gentleman's Bake-off is not only good for the town's tourism, it's bound to boost business at Tomes & Tea. The celebrity judges of the contest—chefs, bakers, restauranteurs—will all be signing their cookbooks at Jazzi's shop. But with all the big personalities and inflated egos, she's starting to wonder if there are—as the saying goes—too many cooks. The competition is far from killer, with mostly residents and neighbors vying for bragging rights. But when local photographer Finn Yarrow takes first place, someone commits a most ungentlemanly act.

Town librarian Mathilda has a troublesome new employee, and after Jazzi spots the two of them arguing at the ice-sculpture festival, Mathilda asks Jazzi if she'd mind discussing her workplace woes over a cup of tea. During the visit, Jazzi also finds out about Mathilda's top-secret stash of valuable first editions. Soon afterward, those rare books have vanished—and Mathilda is dead. As the police check out suspects and a lawyer searches for the next of kin, Jazzi learns that the librarian's life was as mysterious as any crime thriller.