Murder with Cucumber Sandwiches is the third installment in the Daisy's Tea Garden Mystery series set in the small Amish town of Willow Creek, PA and featuring Daisy Swanson and her Aunt Iris, partners in Daisy's Tea Garden. Daisy and the staff of the Tea Garden are bracing for a visit from food critic Derek Schumacher. The once popular reality TV Chef has lost his show and has taken to blogging and reviewing Tea Shops, all in a very harsh light and sometimes causing businesses to shutter their doors.

The visit goes better than anticipated and when Derek asks to take some of the delicious cucumber sandwiches home, Daisy is thrilled. Unfortunately it's not long before the police arrive to share the news that Derek has been found dead in his home, poisoned by cucumber sandwiches. The unfriendly Detective Rappaport is anxious to pin the blame on either Daisy or her employees and faced with the possibility of seeing the Tea Garden close, Daisy sets out with the help of her beau, retired Detective Jonas Groft to steep out a killer.

A fast paced plot with likable characters, plenty of suspects including the victims family and co-workers keep the pages turning. The author does a fantastic job of combining a mystery with the continuing development of the main characters. Things are quickly changing for the Swanson girls as Jazzi tries to become closer to her biological mother Portia, Violet and her boyfriend Foster are faced with a life changing event and Daisy struggles to maintain her relationship with Jonas.

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Murder with Cucumber Sandwiches is the third book in A Daisy's Tea Garden Mystery series. I recommend reading the series in order to avoid confusion (there are a number of characters and ongoing personal situations). Karen Rose Smith has a relaxed writing style which makes for an easy to read story. I like the various characters that include the kindly Aunt Iris, the kitchen manager Tessa Miller, Foster Cranshaw, Jazzi, Violet, Daisy's Amish best friend Rachel and various townspeople. While Daisy is busy looking into Derek's death, she is also dealing with personal drama at home and at work. Foster Cranshaw, an employee & her social media expert, is acting unlike himself and needing extra time off. He refuses to tell Daisy what is bothering him. Jazzi, Daisy's teenage daughter, wants to have a close relationship with her biological mother, Portia. First, though, Portia needs to come clean to her husband about Jazzi. Sean, Daisy's father, has concerns and needs some helpful advice. Jonas Croft, Daisy's boyfriend, is not happy when Daisy cancels plans with him for Violet (Daisy's eldest daughter). Daisy wonders if Jonas is the right man for her. Violet has some important news to share with Daisy and it is going to change all of their lives. There is a regular customer interested in dating Iris, but first he needs to work up the nerve to ask her out. Murder with Cucumbers Sandwiches is heavy personal drama and light on mystery. There are multiple suspects for Daisy to question in her attempt to identify Derek's killer. Detective Rappaport wants to keep her nose out of the investigation (as he tells her several times). I do wish the author had put more work into the mystery and had made it the focus of the story. My favorite quote from Murder with Cucumber Sandwiches is âchildren give us hope that a new generation will treat the world more kindly than we didâ. Murder with Cucumber Sandwiches is a light cozy mystery with an unpleasant food critic, a jittery employee, a tearful teen, a hopeful beau, delectable delights, two affectionate felines, tasty tea, and a worried mom with a penchant for sleuthing.

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