Book Review (and a Giveaway!): The Mystery of the Tea Cup Quilt by Jodi Allen Brice

Posted September 13, 2022 by meezcarrie in contemporary, cozy mystery, giveaway, Jodi Allen Brice, mystery/suspense / 7 Comments

THE MYSTERY OF THE TEA CUP QUILT by Jodi Allen Brice
SERIES: Harland Creek Mystery Quilters #1
GENRE: Cozy Mystery
PUBLISHER: Guardian Ink LLC
RELEASE DATE: September 5, 2022
PAGES: 216

Hi! I’m Dove Agnew, former successful dress designer who was living the high life in New York, until my sleazy business partner used my business to move his drugs, leaving me to pack my ruined reputation and move back home to the tiny town of Harland Creek.
Despite the setback, all was going relatively well until I found Gertrude Brown’s body on the floor of my mom’s quilt shop. Now, rumors are flying and all eyes are on me. I’m a murder suspect! Even my ex-boyfriend, the current chief of police, is suspicious of me.
Now, it’s up to me to clear my name and find out who the real killer is before someone else gets hurt. But I’m going to need help, and the Harland Creek Quilters, and a goat named Petunia, are just the group to get things done.
Welcome to the new series set in the beloved town of Harland Creek.
With the quilting club ladies and a sidekick, which happens to be a goat, this book will keep you guessing and laughing out loud!

Other Books In This Series

Dove is back in her small hometown of Harland Creek, her once-promising New York designer career & love life both having recently gone spectacularly down the tubes. She’s a likable character with a good heart and a dry sense of humor, and she’s hopeful that her run of bad luck is behind her. A short-lived hope for poor Dove, as she’s soon the prime suspect in the murder of the meanest woman in town. Her high school sweetheart Dean is now the chief of police, so there’s a delightful simmer of romantical tension to appease my kissingbooks heart – just a barely-there simmer for now, but I think it may develop into more in future books. The mystery isn’t overly complicated but it has enough red herrings to keep things interesting.

Even though Dove is the protagonist of this series, her mother’s group of friends (aka the Harland Creek Quilters) are the stars of the show. They provide most of the comic relief in this story, and in fact there were a few scenes when I literally laughed out loud at their well-intentioned antics. Most notably, during the big reveal (“Not today, Satan!” hahahahahahaha) and, earlier in the story, the scene where they are preparing to go snoop around in the murder victim’s house in the dark – a task that becomes abundantly more difficult (and hilarious) when various medical ailments are brought up that disqualify most of the quilters from the stealth mission:

“Everyone who has had a hip replacement or knee replacement, raise your hand.”

LOL! And I can’t forget to mention Petunia the endearing goat who has her own distinctive personality that contributes to the book’s humor.

Bottom Line: If you need a good dose of laughter (and these days, who doesn’t?), then make sure you pick up a copy of The Mystery of the Tea Cup Quilt by Jodi Allen Brice! I enjoyed following along as Dove and the Harland Creek Quilters try to clear Dove’s name, especially when their conversations and/or approach had me chuckling as I read. Her mother’s quilting group reminded me of my own late grandmothers, and I couldn’t help but picture them as part of the antics – something that made the humorous scenes even funnier for me. I’m looking forward to seeing what they get up to next and I’m keeping an eye on that dash of romance potential in future books, too!

(I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book which I purchased for my own collection. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.)

My Rating: 4 stars / lots of fun!

Reviewer’s Note: Readers may want to be aware that there are a couple of mild curse words in this book. Also, while I don’t mention things like this if I’m reading an advanced copy, proofreading errors (definitely more than I usually see in a finished copy) frequently took me out of the story flow.

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Jodi Allen Brice has written numerous books under different pen names. Under Jodi Allen Brice she writes women’s fiction, small town clean sweet romance, and cozy mysteries.

She transitioned away from paranormal romance in the year 2020 when the virus hit. She still writes about lovable characters who overcome the impossible to get what they want. You’ll find yourself laughing and crying when you are reading her books. She is also an avid quilter and loves camping. Sometimes she does both at the same time!

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