Author: Ron Benrey & Janet Benrey
Title: Dead As A Scone
Publisher: Barbour Publishing
Publish Date: Nov 1, 2004
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb: When Dame Elspeth falls over dead, presumably poisoned by a suspect creme brulee, can two pretentious prima donnas work together to solve this classically English crime--or will they end up victims of a tainted high tea themselves?
Review: This is a great example of a cozy mystery. Dead As A Scone starts out a little slow, but once it finds its footing it really takes off. Nigel and Flick are at odds with each other during the regular workday, but when Elspeth is murdered, the two seemingly unusual pairing get together to solve the crime and keep the Tunbridge Wells Tea Museum's collection.
It takes a little longer than necessary for the two of them to start really investigating the murder, but the appearance of a MI5 agent gets the ball rolling and from there on, things get moving. There's also a little hint of romance brewing (pun intended) between Nigel and Flick as the story moves on. Flick even gets him drinking tea, something Nigel doesn't really care for, even though he works at a tea musuem.
What really makes this mystery so fun, is that it is really two mysteries in one. There is the mystery of who poisoned Elspeth...and then the mystery of the stolen antiquities. It is obvious that the two are connected, but as we learn about Elspeth's ancestors, it comes into question who really owns the antiquities.
Discovering the history of Elspeth's family was half the fun of this story.
Ron and Janet created a wonderful whodunit, because I wasn't able to pinpoint the killer until it was revealed in the story. That is something that seldom happens for me in a cozy mystery.
I can't wait to find The Final Crumpet.
Rating: 4 flowers
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