not a huge fan of cozy mysteries, I like the edgeofyourseat thrillers more, but there is something about a mystery with food, cats, and a bit of romance that's comfortable and a nice change of pace sometimes.
I enjoyed the tea house parts, as well as the Hungarian language and culture, The mystery of who killed Ava wasn't that exciting to me and felt more secondary to the plot, What was really cool was Hana's family's abilities to sense things like danger, sickness, and emotions, I wish I had an extra sense like that!
Hana and Erik were kind of cute, but I agree with Domo that their relationship seemed a bit fast.
At least he seemed on board with the extra senses and was interested in Hana's culture, I don't know that I'll continue the series, but it's an easy, light read,.stars
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review, This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review,
Hana works at her family's Hungarian tea house and loves her job, When the Magyar Women, a group of older Hungarian women, rent out the space for an afternoon tea, she expects it to be gossip, “when you going to meet a nice boy” talk, and friendship sharing, she does not expect murder.
With the reputation of their tea house on the line, Hana and her mother and grandmother work with Detective Wolf to help solve who wanted Ava Novak dead.
Hungarian myths, legends, magic, food, and new and old mysteries swirl around as Hana wonders who could do such a thing and if maybe she should let a Wolf into her heart.
“Theyve got poor Mrs, Kalas out there, looking all deflated and nervous, Can you really picture one of these old ladies committing murder”
“Of course I can, Theyre a scary batch of Old Country women, full of superstition and paprikascented resentment, ”
The first in a new series, Death in a Budapest Butterfly, introduces us to Hana, She's of Hungarian descent and even though she is American, the Hungarian culture plays a big part in her life, She helps her mother and grandmother run Maggie's Tea House, a business that has been in her family for generations, When Hana sees that one of the members of the Magyar Women is drinking from her very rare Butterfly tea cup that was only supposed to be a for looks center piece, she makes a move to rescue it.
When she sees a Hungarian message about a witch written inside the cup, she immediately searches for Ava, the woman drinking from the cup, and discovers her dead in the bathroom.
This starts off the mystery of who could have poisoned a woman in such a public setting and why,
I liked the beginning way the author started off the mystery, the murder happens fairly quickly and then we get relaying of events with each chapter having a specific character giving their account to Detective Wolf.
This helps to introduce us to the characters, set the scene, and engage the reader in who is and isn't telling the truth while shifting through the character's testimony.
While I thought the layout of the murder mystery started off strong, I would have liked to have felt like I knew Hana and her family better.
It is not until the latter half of the story that I finally felt like I “knew” them, cared, and felt settled in their world.
The murder mystery is obviously the highlight of the story but I like to care about the main characters we are following along with.
“Youre falling prey to an illusion, Theyre elderly, and they have accents, but theyre not automatically harmless, ”
My stomach felt sick, “Jekyll and Hyde,” I said,
“You bet. And its my job to find Hyde, In everyone. ” His face was solemn.
The relationship between Erik Wolf and Hana was a bit too immediate, Wolf's character was very dry and not fleshed out enough for me he felt like a blank slate, I did like how the author created a plausible excuse for Hana to be somewhat involved in the investigation, her and her family translate Hungarian to English for him and explain some Hungarian cultural
norms and structures.
The story structure reaches out from Hana and her mother and grandmother, this was a matriarchal cozy mystery, There was some supernatural or mystic elements added with Hana inheriting “gifts” or “sight” from the female line in her family, The Jekyll and Hyde theme is threaded throughout with the how could the killer be a “little old woman”
Later, I realized it was because we had innocent hearts, and my grandmother had always told me that the innocent heart cannot see the evil one, but that evil could see evil because “they live in the same darkness, and they learn to see in the dark.
”
I thought the mystery was wrapped up well, the author gave us meaning and backstory for reasons and it wasn't all Scooby Doo dumped at the end.
I did think this had a little bit of a heavier feel than the usual light cozy mystery, The inclusion of recipes at the end was delightful as the author will make you hungry with all the descriptions of food throughout the story.
Detective Wolf was too much of a blank slate for me and his romance with Hana lacked depth in its immediacy, The murder mystery started off strong, lost some steam in the middle, but had a satisfactory explanation, and sad one, Hana's family supernatural abilities added a fun twist and all the Hungarian folklore, food, and culture additives gave this a special feel, A pleasing start to a series where I'll look for more depth to certain characters and relationships when the next mystery pops up, I loved all of the cultural elements of this cozy mystery so much! I was also pleasently surprised that the author included so much Hungarian mythology and folklore! Can't wait to read the rest of the series! This was a very pleasant surprise.
I didn't really know what it was about, only that my friend had to read it for a cozy group she is in that I got turfed out of and she asked me to read it with her and then she powered it out before me LOL and it was already on my list so I figured why not and there was an audiobook so away I went.
This was absolutely delightful minus the weird romance writing I am not a romance fan, but I have read romance and this was cringeworthy.
I was tempted multiple times to just fast forward through these scenes I hope that she works on that before the next one and filled with some amazing facts, stories and fairytales some which are quite horrifying from Hungary.
The narrator was good and did the Hungarian accents and pronunciations very well and the story was really good because of all these interesting tidbits.
I was surprised by the killer and the why and I cannot say that the reveal is a "happy ending" with this one, It was very well done,
So glad I picked this one up, Well Julia Buckley has done it again! This is a great start to a new series with some fun characters, The main three are a Grandmother, mother and daughter who run a Hungarian tea house with a fantastic pastry chef from France called François, on this day they are hosting a Hungarian Woman's club and as Hana the daughter has just purchased a stunning butterfly cup and saucer they decide to use that as the theme, the cup and saucer themselves will take pride of place on the table where Juliana the Grandmother will read tea leaves.
Everything seems to be going smoothly until Hana sees that her precious butterfly cup is missing, the next thing is the death of one of the ladies and the arrival of the police!
Before Hana knows what has hit her she is dragged into the murder investigation, led by the seriously distracting Erik Wolf, can Erik and Hana find out whodunit before the tea shop goes under or someone else is hurt Series: A Hungarian Tea House Mystery Book
Author: Julia Buckley
Genre: Cozy Mystery/Coffee/Tea Shop/Paranormal
Publisher: Berkley
Page Count:
Publishing Date: July,
The first cozy book Death in a Budapest Butterfly in a new series “A Hungarian Tea House Mystery “from author Julia Buckley hits stores on July,, published by Berkley.
This new series has stout, gifted women, tasty food, exotic teas, a delightful teacup collection, and a look at Hungarian culture, There are plenty of recipes and tasty treats for those who spend time at Maggies Tea House, The main character, Hana, is stubborn, set in her ways and at times naïve, Her mother and grandmother are special and love what they do, Hanas budding relationship with Detective Wolf will be interesting to watch, With just a hint of the paranormal, this cozy book will make readers smile,
Although this is a sweet story and the murder itself intriguing, there was just a bit too much emphasis on the Hungarian side of the womens lives.
There are times when the reader may have to remind themselves that this book is setin modernday America, The cultural aspects are fun but seem to be used more for filler than real background information on the characters, I would like to see the paranormal aspects of the three women more defined and enlarged in future books as I felt this was one of the more engaging inclusions in the storyline.
Ms. Buckley knows how to write a cozy book, Her story is littered with twists and turns, insightful commentary, and heartfelt family values, Death in a Budapest Butterfly is a cozy book that will entertain readers of all types of mysteries,
I am looking forward to seeing the direction this series takes, and the continued development of the characters,
bk. A cute mystery with 'gifted' women in a family of Hungarian Americans, I forget how close in time the Hungarian emigration was's's and this book reminded me of the fairly recent immigration patterns of eastern Europe.
The mystery involves the death of the most recent immigrant in the tight knit community and the discovery that she was poisoned while drinking tea at the main character's tea house, after Hana's grandmother predicts dark things for her.
I found it to be a typical cozy, with another handsome police detective thrown in, It was enjoyable but took me four tries before I finally sat down and finished it, I think I found Hana a little naive and the side piece with her brother's girlfriend who is so introvert that she can't go to a store by herself what was that all about anyway Loved it!
I really enjoyed this one.
I liked Hana and the rest of the characters, Hard to pick out a murderer in a roomful of little old Hungarian women, I dont know much about Hungarian culture and it was fun learning about it, There could have been a little more translating on some of the Hungarian phrases, Cant wait to see what happens next, Another good pick by readforkimberly Three generations of Hungarian women own and manage Maggies Tea House, specializing in the European high tea, Grandmother Juliana is known for her ability to read the future in a persons tea leaves, The tea house is named from Hana Kellers mother, Maggie, The three women are getting ready for a special event for the Magyar Women,
During the high tea, Ana Novaks tea is poisoned, Detective Erik Wolf comes to investigate and through the course of inquiry learns that Hana and Juliana both have special abilities for sensing whats going on around them.
Hoping to help catch the killer before their business is ruined, Hana does her own sleuthing, feeding what she finds to Erik,
Julia Buckley incorporates the rich Hungarian culture throughout the story adding layers of interesting background on Hungarian food, art and mystical beliefs.
Ms. Buckley fabricates an imaginative mystery with twists and a suspense driven pace, The first Hungarian Tea House Mystery is truly a treat to be savored,
The first book in the Hungarian Tea Shop mysteries is fun read where it explains family life in a Hungarian family, Hana Keller works alongside with her Mother and Grandmother in the family business, Maggie Tea House, The story is a cozy mystery with a twist of paranormal as the woman in the family have inherited the gift of sight, It is refreshing to read a book will the police are willing to work with the protagonist,
Hana has a collection of teacups which treasures highly, She receives a gift of a Hungarian teacup, a Budapest teacup that is decorated with a butterfly, Hana uses it to decorate the tea room when they are hosting a Hungarian group of ladies, Someone uses the cup, adds tea, a poison, and hands to the victim, Ava Norvak, She drinks some of the tea and collapsed, Hana aids the police providing information on the Hungarian background, The homicide detective is named Wolf, What does the name mean in Hungary I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK,
Recipes from Nana's kitchen are included,
Disclosure: Thanks to Berkley for a copy through NetGalley, The opinions expressed are my own, Dollycass Thoughts
Welcome to Maggies Tea House where Hana, her mother Maggie, and grandmother Juliana, serve cakes and tea focused on the familys Hungarian heritage.
A real treat is that Juliana can read tea leaves and predict the future, The ladies have a vast tea service collection for their customers and Hana has a private collection too, She just added a beautiful butterfly cup, one that she has put on display at their latest event,
With the event well underway Maggie notices her cup is not where she left, but on a table being used by a woman, she doesnt recognize.
Her grandmother is busy reading leaves and Hana overhears some ominous predictions, She looks back to see the woman who was using her cup hurrying off to the bathroom, After a few minutes, Hana heads that way to find the woman dead,
Detective Erik Wolf arrives on the scene, the butterfly cup is bagged as evidence and he and his partner start getting everyones information.
When he does start questioning witnesses he asks for Hana, Maggie, and Julianas help because they are familiar with the woman and the Hungarian language.
With their business labeled as a crime scene, they agree but that doesnt stop them from doing some snooping on their own,
This series is off to a fine start!
Hana Keller isyears old and still single much to her mother and grandmothers dismay.
She lives with her cats Anthony amp Cleopatra and she has a passion for promoting her familys Hungarian culture, Her mother Maggie is the force behind the tea house, but her grandmother is also very involved, I really enjoyed getting to know them, but feel we have just scratched the surface of who they are, There is a thread that purposed that Hana may have a gift similar to her grandmother that seems to have skipped her mothers generation.
I am interested to see how this is featured in future stories,
We are also meet several women/suspects from the neighborhood, the hunky Detective Wolf and his partner, Detective Benton. We are also introduced to pastry chef Francois, Hanas brother Domo, and her dad too, It is a large cast but the author takes time to make each unique and has left plenty of room for growth, There are some sparks between Hana and Detective Wolf but it is very early in the series and hard to classify as a relationship YET, but we know where they are headed.
The mystery was filled with intrigue, I did like that Hana and Detective Wolf stayed in constant communication and she passed on everything she uncovered, I was also pleased that the family was not automatically pegged as suspects and were treated with respect whenever they needed to answer questions.
There were twists and turns too and clues were released in unique ways, The authors detailed writing style played well for this type of plot,
The Hungarian theme and language continued throughout the story, I had known a little about the culture and was happy to learn more, When Detective Wolf was around it was necessary for words to be translated and as a reader, not familiar with the language that was appreciated.
I love that recipes are included in the back of the book, To learn that Grandma Juliana is partly based on the authors grandmother brought me even more joy about this book, What a wonderful to pay tribute to someone important in her life,
I found Death in a Budapest Butterfly to be delightfully entertaining, I want to get to know these characters better and visit the tea room again soon, .
Seize Death In A Budapest Butterfly (A Hungarian Tea House Mystery #1) Generated By Julia Buckley Conveyed As Physical Book
Julia Buckley