Murder In Wating by Lynn Cahoon

I am thrilled and most relieved to be writing about a book I just finished, Murder in Waiting by Lynn Cahoon.  Relieved mostly because I lost my kindle for more than a month, finding it finally as it had fallen behind the book shelf and I was a day away from ordering a new one. I have to say in these trying times it is wonderful to have a series like The Tourist Trap Mystery Series to give some much needed relief and escape. A visit to South Cove was exactly what I needed to fores back into the land of reading. Not enough words to describe the delight of just how much Lynn's series has brought me over the years. I love being able to go back and "check in" with the characters, and find its like a welcome home.  In Murder in Waiting Lynn doesn't disappoint with twists I did not see coming and the most wonderful unexpected turn near the end. I love it, cozy, tidy, comforting and just plain fun!

In the latest Tourist Trap mystery from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Lynn Cahoon, bookshop café owner Jill Gardner contends with a best friend-turned-bridezilla while trying to solve a local historian’s untimely date with death . . . At Coffee, Books, & More, Jill’s the boss. But as Amy’s maid-of-honor, she can barely keep up with marching orders--and now she’s in charge of organizing an epic bachelorette! Adding to Jill’s party-planning panic, the South Cove Heritage Society just unceremoniously dumped her historic landmark bid. While vying proposals rush in from a loaded land developer and a pushy travel guide company, Jill finds an unexpected ally in Heritage Society expert, Frank Gleason. But their happy union is cut short when Frank is mowed down in a suspicious hit-and-run. With Amy’s big day on the horizon, Jill vows to catch the killer before she has to catch a bouquet.

Murder in Waiting came out June 30th! Click here for the Amazon listing. 
Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and a cozy mystery review, I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

What I have been working on...

Hello dear readers, I have been absent working on my tea trailer and hope you will indulge me for today's post. I had my trailer professionally painted and got her back on July 1st.  She went from Hunter green, to sparkling red, a thin line of robins egg blue and white on top. I was so excited to get her back after ten days in the shop.

The Wet West Coast, has lived up to it's reputation this summer but even in the rain I think she is a beauty!

July 4th, I invited the design team for a trial run of our tea and craft party, something I hope to incorporate with our mobile tea room, our trial run was a great success.

I have so many ideas and projects to do before we can get her up and running for local events and parties, but so far everything is coming along beautifully.  A good time, great treats, tea and the promise of a better tomorrow has been helping me get through these trying times. I truly wish I could bring our Timeless Tea Trailer to you, and we could sit and chat, craft and read.

Thank you for allowing me to share this journey with all of you. I hope to have more updates, crafts, tea times and book reviews for you soon.
I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

A Design to Die For Party and You are Invited!

I am really excited to be hosting a virtual party all day long On Thursday July 2nd on my Beyond The Bookmarks Facebook Page, in celebration of Kathleen Bridge's Newest book in the Hamptons Home and Garden Series.

 Discerning cozy mystery fans who delight in well-developed characters, rich detail, and a smart plotline will find that Kathleen Bridge’s A Design to Die For is their cup of tea!” —Ellery Adams, New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author

Montauk’s first annual Designer Showhouse was meant to be a collaborative event, so decorator Meg Barrett can only despair at the group of cutthroat designers scheming to sabotage each other on the project, not to mention the oddball collection of ghost hunters slinking around to investigate a supposedly haunted cottage. But when one of the owners of the showhouse is found murdered on the rocky beach below, Meg suddenly finds herself clashing with local police because of evidence that points to her as a prime suspect.

Desperate to clear her name and track down the real culprit, Meg discovers that many of her fellow designers despised the victim for his unscrupulous business dealings, while others were speculating about his extramarital affairs. And as more secrets emerge about both the deceased and the many outsiders who have come together for the showhouse, Meg realizes she’ll have to decipher a murky pattern of clues to escape the killer’s deadly designs on her . . .

Includes scrumptious recipes and vintage decorating tips!

Just like in the series the Facebook party, will have recipes, design tips, crafts and so much more. Posts will be happening often and you can check out throughout the day to help us celebrate this fun series. I hope you will join us on the Beyond The Bookmarks Page by clicking here. 

Thank you for joining me here today for this fun announcement and I look forward to seeing you on Facebook! I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com 

Cherry Cobbler From Back Yard to Table

For the last week I have been watching the tree in the yard produce the most plump, sour cherries and I simply could not resist picking a few from the yard to make some Cherry Cobbler for my afternoon tea. It is recipes like this one that make me miss my dad so very much, I know he would have loved this in his hay day. The tart cherries, made the most delicious cobbler and while I could not share it with him, I did take one of the pans to my upstairs neighbor.

I harvested only the ripe ones and only about 1/3 of the tree. I washed &pulled out the pits, and then made a simple syrup with water and sugar, and placed the cherries in the pan to boil and reduce in the syrup for about 5 mins.

I assembled the other ingredients and in under an hour, the most fragrant and bubbly cherry goodness came out of my oven, mind the mess I think tomorrow will be the clean out the oven day...

Here is the recipe if you would like to try to make your own. It can also be easily done with a tin of fruit.


Fruit Cobbler
Preheat the oven to 350
1/2 cup of butter
1 cup of flour
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of milk
1 tablespoon of Vanilla Extract
1 1/4 tsp of baking powder
1 can of fruit or Two cups of fresh fruit brought to a boil in one cup of simple syrup

In your baking dish melt the butter. While it is melting place your flour, sugar and baking powder in a medium sized bowl and mix well. Add your vanilla to your milk and add that to the flour mixture stir until incorporated and pour the batter into the pan over the melted butter. Top with the fruit in the syrup if you are using fresh, or the entire can including the juice over the cake mixture. DO NOT STIR.
Place in the oven and bake for about 50 mins or until golden brown and butter bubbling. Serve it with ice cream if you wish, whip cream or on it's own.
Thank you for joining me for a tea time recipe today. I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Up Date on My Tea Trailer

For those of you who are new here, due to Covid-19 I lost my job, which was in a tea shop, and which I loved. On the day I lost my job, I purchased this 12 foot 1964 Vanguard Trailer. Putting in motion my long had plans of turning it into a mobile tea shop and tea room. I have put years of imagination into making this dream become a reality and while acquiring the trailer was only one part of the plan, phase two has already begun.

I will be changing her colors completely and this is the red I selected for the bottom. A friend commented on the name as "redo20" as in "redo 2020" I think many of us would love a do over. But while I anxiously await her makeover from the shop. Behind the scenes have been even busier.

There were uniforms to consider and purchase....

A young and enthusiastic design team, who came up with the name and the logo, hand drawing then making a computer rendering, and sending me messages with their hard work, which I fell in love with and set out to create the merchandise and uniform tops to compliment the bottoms.

 The test kitchen has been in full swing as well, trying out recipes and menu planing...

Taking advantage of the fruits of the season being available to us we tried out strawberry shortcakes...

and now we wait for the paperwork, the painting, the fun that stands to come, from our Timeless Tea Trailer.
Thank you for joining us for a cup of tea and an update on the tea trailer. We hope to share more goodnews with you again soon.

A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan

Earlier this week the tea shop I used to work at pre covid-19 re opened without me. While the parting has been a bit of a sad one, It did mean that the mail that had been stopped do to the shop shutting down, made its way to me. Among the packages was the book A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan, which was a birthday gift sent to me by my friend Lin.  From the moment I held this book in my hands I was sure it was going to be a special one. Once I started it I hated to put it down. Reading well into the morning hours, far past my bedtime, page after page, devouring a story that I felt so strongly contacted too, one I craved to know more about. This is a book of historical fiction, or at least that is what the author claims, but with such realistic and relatable characters, vivid settings and events that make you feel like you are a part of the story not just reading it, this was a truly special book.

It follows the lives of the Orchard sisters, from the time of their powerful and great Grand-mere Ursule and the five generations that follow from the early 1800's to post world war 2. It is rich in content, vivid in imagination and a book I never wanted to end.
This book came out in 2017 and was the perfect book for me during this covid-19 times. It touches on the hardships we all face in circumstances we cannot control and is a true story of survival, perseverance and hope.  I absolutely loved it.

A sweeping historical saga that traces five generations of fiercely powerful mothers and daughters -- witches whose magical inheritance is both a dangerous threat and an extraordinary gift.
Brittany, 1821. After Grand-mère Ursule gives her life to save her family, their magic seems to die with her.
Even so, the Orchires fight to keep the old ways alive, practicing half-remembered spells and arcane rites in hopes of a revival. And when their youngest daughter comes of age, magic flows anew.
The lineage continues, though new generations struggle not only to master their power, but also to keep it hidden.
But when World War II looms on the horizon, magic is needed more urgently than ever - not for simple potions or visions, but to change the entire course of history.


You can find it on Amazon ( I am not an affiliate) by clicking here. 

I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

A Cup of Tea, An Accident and A Great Centerpiece...

“She is a beautiful piece of broken pottery, put back together by her own hands, and a critical world judges her cracks while missing the beauty of how she made herself whole again.”

-JM Storm 

My tea photo from this morning,  American Beauty is the pattern name, and I bought the mug at a thrift store, brought it home, washed it and then it broke, such a pretty pattern I wanted to do something with it so I decided to make a small center piece planter bowl for my table. This weekend I also found the tray that the scone is on, paying $4.99 for it. I do love how it looks together. 

I thought I would share with you how I made it, on the off chance you might wish to make one too. 

I used stones and the planter tin from Michael's the Craft Store and they were on sale for 60% off, craft foam from the dollar store, along with a succulent (also from the dollar store, my green thumb doesn't work indoors), paper, jute rope and a bit of hot glue. 

I lay the foam down and pressed the broken cup into it. I then pressed the succulent in the cup to see how to arrange it.

I wanted to put the cup towards the bottom of the planter edge, 

I then removed the cup and foam and added just some craft paper, as the plant is fake I wanted to add something on the bottom so I did not use up all the rocks.

 I then put the cup and succulent on the paper and poured the rocks around it. Hiding the craft foam as I went.

My helpful crafting companion...

Lastly I added the jute cord around the planter and glued the bow into place and then on the backside I added another dab of glue to hold the cord in place. 

Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and a look at my tea time craft today. I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com