"All-Butter ShortDead" by H. Y. Hanna a fun prequel!

Back in June, I had the pleasure of reading "A Scone to Die For," the first book in the Oxford Tearoom cozy mystery series by H. Y. Hanna. After reading that book, I had subscribed to Hanna's email newsletter, so last week I was pleased to receive word that she'd written a shorter cozy, a "prequel" to the series, and it was now available as a free download on Amazon.

"All-Butter ShortDead" begins with Gemma Rose flying home to Oxford, England, from Australia, having decided to leave her successful but stressful executive career behind in order to return to her family and follow her dream of opening a tearoom. On the plane, she finds her seatmate is a woman who seems terribly afraid of flying, and Gemma tries to help calm the woman's nerves, even as she finds something about the woman, Jenn, a little odd. When the plane lands, Jenn takes off and leaves a pretty scarf behind in her seat. Gemma remembers the name of the hotel in England where the woman is staying—it's not too far from Gemma—so she rings her up and offers to deliver the scarf. Jenn invites Gemma to join her for a drink at the hotel but ends up getting so drunk that Gemma finds it necessary to help her back to her room before calling it a night.

The next morning, Gemma gets word that Jenna has been murdered, and all fingers seem to point at Gemma. She's in danger of losing her new tearoom before she's even signed the contract on it, and rumors are swirling about her personal life as well.

This book is shorter than the other novel, but it was a fun read, and since it's free for only a limited time, I'd encourage those of you who like cozy mysteries to go here and download it now. The books are perfect reads for tea lovers, and I look forward to reading the entire series!