Trouble Is Brewing

Lily Roberts's Cape Cod tearoom is hosting a bridal shower-until a gruesome gift sends the guest of honor running in fear . . .

Lily Roberts's Cape Cod tearoom is hosting a bridal shower-until a gruesome gift sends the guest of honor running in fear . . .

Members of the Reynolds and Hill families are staying at Lily's grandmother's bed and breakfast, and now they've gathered at Tea by the Sea to sip some delicious blends while they shower bride-to-be Hannah Hill with presents. But the last package Hannah unwraps contains a beheaded Raggedy Ann doll, similar to the last gift from her father before he died long ago, and she's chilled to the bone.

Lily senses that the shocking anonymous gift just might be related to other tensions she's picking up on. The mothers-in-law have been sniping at each other-and then Lily overhears the groom's father, Ralph, offering his son a very sizable bribe to call off the wedding. She's relieved when Greg angrily turns him down, but with so many people steamed at each other, can this event possibly go smoothly?

The answer is no. It suddenly has to be postponed-when Ralph is found dead in his bed, a bottle of whiskey beside him. When tests indicate the booze was infused with a lethal substance, it becomes a murder case. Now, to find out whether all this family drama led to a fatality, Lily will have to turn up the heat . . .