by H. Y. Hanna
“Be with you in a minute!” I called.
I glanced at the figure again as I walked past and my heart sank as I recognised those heavy-set shoulders and square-shaped head with the large, prominent ears. It was the American from yesterday. I had been hoping that he would have changed his mind about coming back here for breakfast. Still, a customer was a customer.
I hurried into the tearoom and bustled about, putting on my apron, pulling back the curtains, re-arranging some tables and chairs. Fletcher wasn’t in yet, which was a bit odd. Normally, he would be here already to get an early start on the day’s baking. Never mind, I could offer the American some coffee while he was waiting. Grabbing a menu, I let myself out the back door and into the courtyard.
“You can come and sit inside the tearoom now, if you like, sir. It’s a bit chilly out here.…”
I trailed off as I walked around his chair and turned to face him.
The American was leaning back, his eyes staring and his face a strange mottled colour. There was something wedged in his mouth—a scone, I realised—and his face was contorted painfully around it, with crumbs littering the front of his shirt.
My first thought was: “Oh my God, he’s choking!” and I sprang forward to help him, even as my brain finally made sense of what I was seeing. My fingers brushed the clammy skin of his neck and I jerked back.
He wasn’t choking.
He was dead.
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BOOKS IN THE OXFORD TEAROOM MYSTERIES
A Scone To Die For
(Oxford Tearoom Mysteries ~ Book 1)
When an American tourist is murdered with a scone in Gemma Rose’s quaint Oxfordshire tearoom, she suddenly finds herself apron-deep in a mystery involving long-buried secrets from Oxford’s past.
Armed with her insider knowledge of the University and with the help of four nosy old ladies from the village (not to mention a cheeky little tabby cat named Muesli), Gemma sets out to solve the mystery—all while looking for her mother’s iPad password and dealing with the return of her old college love, Devlin O’Connor, now a dashing CID detective.
But with the body count rising and her business going bust, can Gemma find the killer before things turn to custard?
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Tea with Milk and Murder
(Oxford Tearoom Mysteries ~ Book 2)
While at an Oxford cocktail party, tearoom owner Gemma Rose overhears a sinister conversation minutes before a University student is fatally poisoned. Could there be a connection? And could her best friend Cassie’s new boyfriend have anything to do with the murder?
Gemma decides to start her own investigation, helped by the nosy ladies from her Oxfordshire village and her old college flame, CID detective Devlin O’Connor. But her mother is causing havoc at Gemma’s quaint English tearoom and her best friend is furious at her snooping… and this mystery is turning out to have more twists than a chocolate pretzel!
Too late, Gemma realises that she could be the next item on the killer’s menu. Or will her little tabby cat, Muesli, save the day?
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Two Down, Bun To Go
(Oxford Tearoom Mysteries ~ Book 3)
A sinister phone call in the middle of the night throws tearoom owner, Gemma Rose, straight into the heart of a new murder mystery—this time with her friend, Seth, arrested as the key suspect! The grisly killing in the cloisters of an old Oxford college points to a bitter feud within the University—but Gemma finds unexpected clues popping up in her tiny Cotswolds village.
Meanwhile, her love life is in turmoil as Gemma struggles to decide between eminent doctor, Lincoln Green, and sexy CID detective, Devlin O’Connor… whilst her quaint English tearoom is in hot water as she struggles to find a new baker.
With her exasperating mother and her mischievous little tabby cat, Muesli, driving her nutty as a fruitcake—and the nosy Old Biddies at her heels—Gemma must crack her toughest case yet if she is to save her friend from a life behind bars.
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Till Death Do Us Tart
(Oxford Tearoom Mysteries ~ Book 4)
When Oxfordshire tearoom owner, Gemma Rose, enters her little tabby, Muesli, in the cat show at the local village fair, the last thing she expects is to stumble across a murder.
And when her meddling mother and the nosy Old Biddies decide to start their own investigation, Gemma has no choice but to join in the sleuthing. She soon finds there’s something much more sinister sandwiched between the home-made Victoria sponge cakes and luscious jam tarts …
But murder isn’t the only thing on Gemma’s mind: there’s the desperate house-hunting that’s going nowhere, the freaky kitchen explosions at her quaint English tearoom and an offer from her handsome detective boyfriend that she can’t refuse!
With things about to reach boiling point, can Gemma solve the mystery before the killer strikes again?
.
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MUFFINS AND MOURNING TEA
(Oxford Tearoom Mysteries ~ Book 5)
Cotswolds tearoom owner, Gemma Rose is excited to join the May Day celebrations in Oxford… until the beautiful spring morning ends in murder. Now, she’s embroiled in a deadly mystery —with four nosy old ladies determined to help in the sleuthing! Soon, Gemma finds herself stalking a Russian “princess” while trying to serve delicious cakes and buttery scones in her quaint English tearoom—and keeping up with the Old Biddies in Krav Maga class!
And that’s just the start of her worries: there’s her little tabby, Muesli, who is causing havoc at the local nursing home… and what should she do with the creepy plants that her mother keeps buying for her new cottage?
But the mystery that’s really bothering Gemma is her boyfriend’s odd behaviour. Devlin O’Connor has always been enigmatic but recently, the handsome CID detective has been strangely distant and evasive. Could he be lying to her? But why?
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ALL-Butter ShortDead
(Oxford Tearoom Mysteries Prequel)
Gemma ditches her high-flying job and returns to Oxford to follow her dream: opening a traditional English tearoom serving warm buttery scones with jam and clotted cream... Only problem is--murder is the first thing on the menu and Gemma is the key suspect! And the only people Gemma can turn to for help are four nosy old ladies from her local Cotswolds village - not to mention a cheeky little tabby cat named Muesli. Who was the mysterious woman Gemma met on the flight back from Australia and why was she murdered? Now Gemma must find the killer, solve the mystery and clear her name if she's to have her cake--and serve it too.
This PREQUEL to the OXFORD TEAROOM MYSTERIES is shorter than the rest of the series - which are all full length novels - and can be read as a standalone, before or after any other book in the series.
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OTHER BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR:
See all H.Y. Hanna’s books at:
http://www.hyhanna.com/amazon-authorpage
Have you tried my other mystery series?
TENDER DECEIT (The Tender Mysteries # 1)
It was the phone call she had been dreading. Leah always knew that she would have to go back home one day but she never thought it would be like this. Was her father's death really an accident or was it... murder? And who is the dark, handsome stranger who looks like the boy she once loved? He says he is Toran James... but how can that be when Toran has been reported dead?
As Leah begins to unravel the mystery of her father's death and follow the trail of clues left for her, she finds that the past holds more secrets than she realised. A sinister Asian dagger. A cryptic message in a concealed safe. A beautiful woman with something to hide.And someone is watching her every move. Someone who wants to silence her... Someone who could be the man who was her first love--and who
she is now falling in love with again...
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GLOSSARY OF BRITISH TERMS
** This book follows British conventions of spelling and usage (e.g. “colour, centre, realise, defence, travelling, manoeuvre, tyre, grey,” etc. are not typos but correct British spelling). In British English, the past participle of forget is “forgot”, not “forgotten”, e.g. I had forgot the date. Similarly, we use “disorientated” instead of “disoriented”.
Allotment – a plot of land which can be rented on an individual basis, to grow your own plants and vegetables
Biscuit – small, hard, baked product, either savoury or sweet (American: cookies. What is called a “biscuit” in the U.S. is more similar to the English scone)
Blimey – an expression of astonishment
Bloody – very common adjective used as an intensifier for both positive and negative qualities (e.g. “bloody awful” and “bloody wonderful”), often used to express shock or disbelief (“Bloody Hell!”)
Bobby – affectionate slang term for a policeman; derived from the nickname for Sir Robert Peel, the founder of the Metropolitan Police. Often used in the phrase: “village bobby” to refer to the local community police officer who looks after small English villages.
Bollocks! – an exclamation of annoyance
Carpark – a place to park vehicles (American: parking lot)
Chips – thin, long rectangular pieces of deep-fried potato (American: fries)
Cuppa – slang term for “a cup of tea”
Dishy – handsome, attractive (used for men)
Gormless – lacking sense, very foolish
Ladybird – a small beetle with a distinctive red coat covered in white spots (American: ladybug)
Lift – a compartment in a shaft which is used to raise and lower people to different levels (America: elevator)
Plonker – an annoying idiot
Poncy – pretentious, affected
Rotter - someone to be regarded with contempt
Run-in – a confrontation
Sod off – “get lost”, go away, stop bothering me; milder version of the phrase using the F-word.
Stuffed – to be in big trouble, to be “done for”
Tuck into – to eat with great enthusiasm
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Arvo (Australian) – afternoon
Barbie (Australian) – barbecue
Nipper (Australian) – a small child
***
Special terms used in Oxford University:
College - one of thirty or so institutions that make up the University; all students and academic staff have to be affiliated with a college and most of your life revolves around your own college: studying, dining, socialising. You are, in effect, a member of a College much more than a member of the University. College loyalties can be fierce and there is often friendly rivalry between nearby colleges. The colleges also compete with each other in various University sporting events.
Fellow – a member of the academic staff / governing body of a college (equivalent to “faculty member” in the U.S.) – basically refers to a college’s tutors. “Don” comes from the Latin, dominus—meaning lord, master.
Gown – formal black academic robe worn by students and staff, particularly during Formal Hall, Examinations and during Matriculation and Graduation. There are various types of gowns: the simplest is the short, sleeveless Commoner gown which all Freshers start with; if you have shown outstanding achievement in your first year, you then receive a University scholarship and can change to the longer, bat-winged Scholar’s gown.
Porter’s Lodge – a room next to the college gates which holds the porters’ offices and also the “pigeon holes”—cubby holes where the internal University mail is placed and notes for students can be left by their friends.
Sub-fusc – full academic dress worn during all formal University ceremonies, including Examinations, Matriculation and Graduation; consists of your gown, mortar board and for men, a dark suit with a white collared shirt, bow tie and black shoes, for women, a dark skirt with white collared shirt, black ribbon and black shoes and stockings.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
H.Y. Hanna is an award-winning mystery and suspense writer and the author of the bestselling Oxford Tearoom Mysteries. She has also written romantic suspense and sweet romance, as well as a children's middle-grade mystery series. After graduating from Oxford University with a BA in Biological Sciences and a MSt in Social Anthropology, Hsin-Yi tried her hand at a variety of jobs, before returning to her first love: writing.
She worked as a freelance journalist for several years, with articles and short stories published in the UK, Australia and NZ, and has won awards for her novels, poetry, short stories and journalism.
A globe-trotter all her life, Hsin-Yi has lived in a variety of cultures, from Dubai to Auckland, London to New Jersey, but is now happily settled in Perth, Western Australia, with her husband and a rescue kitty named Muesli. You can learn more about her (and the real-life Muesli who inspired the cat character in the story) and her other books at: www.hyhanna.com.
Sign up to her mailing list to be notified about new releases, exclusive giveaways, discounts and other book news: http://www.hyhanna.com/newsletter
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you to Basma Alwesh and Jenn Roseton for their very helpful feedback in beta-reading this story, and a special thanks to Connie Leap for her help with proofreading the manuscript.
And to my wonderful husband—for his encouragement, support, endless patience and humour—from the practical things, like taking care of household chores so that I have more time to write, to always offering a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on. He is one man in a million.
***
Copyright © 2016 by H.Y. Hanna
All rights reserved.
ISBN-13: 978-0-9945272-8-8
www.hyhanna.com
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, business establishments, persons or animals, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the author. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author