Review: Bookshop Detectives: Tea and Cake and Death
The Bookshop Detectives return with another bookshop-based mystery, featuring legendary storyteller Dame Fiona Kidman amongst other real-life and fictional Kiwi novelists, as Garth and Eloise tackle a spate of mysterious poisonings.
The authors’ deep love for the world of books seeps from the pages of this intriguing co-written cosy mystery. From the staff and setting of the fictional Havelock North bookshop that stands in for Wardini Books, their own 'wondrous book emporium in Hawkes Bay' (in the words of past Ngaios winner Steve Braunias), to various author events, book talks, and writing workshops that provide key scenes in the novel. There are also nods to local and overseas writers included, and an array of booklovers that span victims, suspects, and sleuths.
After getting caught up in a decades-old cold case in last year’s The Bookshop Detectives: Dead Girl Gone, this time Garth and Eloise – and their beloved Stevie, who’s more slumber-dog than guard-dog – find themselves entwined in a very warm case that hits dangerously close to home. Could the series of local poisonings somehow be connected to Arthur Pinter, a literary agent and serial killer whose past violence gave Eloise PTSD, and who now seems determined to do even worse, despite being imprisoned in the UK?
While (spoiler alert) Dame Fiona Kidman is not the culprit, she plays a key role alongside other Kiwi authors like Adele Broadbent and the fictional Faith Saxon (whose gruesome thrillers are 'giving Paul Cleave a run for his money'). Dame Fiona’s unavailability to appear at the annual Battle of the Book Clubs fundraiser in Havelock North (she's won an overseas honour to add to her mantle alongside the Acorn Prize for Fiction, Ngaio Marsh Award, Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement, etc) pushes an early domino.
Eloise and Garth are scrambling to find a crowd-pleasing replacement, while dealing with all the usual pressures of running a small town bookshop. Then there’s news from old British police colleagues about monitoring the game-playing Pinter in Belmarsh – not to mention Garth being at odds with his fellow staff about a rodent addition to the Sherlock Tomes family. Meanwhile, a few attendees at local book events begin ending up in the hospital. Or the morgue.
Given the age of many in the audience, natural causes can’t be ruled out. At first. But surely it’s more than a coincidence, or bad luck? And even if Eloise and Garth aren’t being targeted themselves, the people in the community they care about seem to be.
Tea and Cake and Death are all flowing in this warm-hearted tale. Modern crime writing is certainly a very big tent – far broader and more diverse in scope, setting and styles than the ‘Golden Age’ heydays of Dames Agatha and Ngaio – and the Wards have crafted a delightful mystery that nestles well into the cosier corner of the genre, alongside Richard Osman or classic TV shows like Murder, She Wrote. There’s charm, warmth, and humanity in among the dark deeds, and while the book may not delve as deeply into the psychological or sociological as some grittier #yeahnoir tales, it's an entertaining read, full of characters that are fun to spend time with.
The banter between Eloise and Garth, who come across not just as protagonists but author avatars or roman-à-clef, along with the sense of community, adds a richness and lovely tone to the mystery storyline.
In a way, reading Tea and Cake and Death reminded me of when I first began watching The Brokenwood Mysteries several years ago. I usually lean darker or grittier in my crime dramas, loving shows like Luther, created by Wellingtonian Neil Cross, or Sons of Anarchy, Criminal Minds, Bosch, etc. So at first Brokenwood seemed a little light or perhaps – if I was feeling cynical – even twee. But within an episode or two I was hooked: on the characters and their interplay, the setting, tone, Kiwi sense of humour, community, and more. It’s now one of my absolute favourite shows.
Similarly, while the Bookshop Detectives escapades may be less dark than many others on modern-day crime and thriller bookshelves, they’re likely to delight not only cosy mystery fans, but win over other readers thanks to people and place, as much as the mystery plotlines.
Craig Sisterson is a lawyer turned writer, editor, and podcast host. Among many hats, he’s the founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards and editor of the Dark Deeds Down Under crime and thriller anthologies. Craig grew up in Te Tau Ihu o Te Waka a Māui/The Top of the South, and currently lives in London.
