Holiday fun with a twist

I adored this story! I have to say I was totally worried about Gemma ' s relationship at the beginning and am so glad Hanna didn't leave us hanging to see what goes down with Devlin and Gemma. The old biddies on holiday are a hoot! The things those 3,Muesli,and Gemma get up are great! I didn't want to stop listening to this story. I had to find out who the murderer was and if I was right( I wasn't). I also really enjoyed the author 's descriptions of the places that were visited during the story. I was totally googling them to find out more!
I really love how Pearl Hewitt brought the characters to life and am eagerly waiting the next in the series.
*disclaimer*
All the above opinions are my own. I was given this book for free in return for an honest review.

3 people found this helpful

Good but left wanting

I love the Oxford Tea Room series and eagerly listen to each one. They aren’t my usual cup of tea as I gravitate towards steamier novels or ones with a supernatural twist.
So up until now I’ve been patient with the relationship between Jemma and Devlin (though the last book had me shaking my head a few times) but this book really was horribly lack lustre in the romance department.

Spoiler alert

I just don’t understand their relationship at all at this point. It’s like they are just acquaintances. They have as much steam as frozen perogies. Devlin bails on their vacation and she gets mad (rightfully so) but then the novel just skips around and randomly inserts their relationship as if he’s nothing more than a contact she needs. There’s ZERO chemistry now. He doesn’t do anything to redeem himself and at the end she returns home and he’s not there to greet her or pick her up from the airport....like what?! Why are they even together?
There’s nothing likeable to me about their relationship. Neither of them try hard to see each other, they never have fun, they argue more than they kiss and Jemma is a prude.

Again, I know that normally the stories I like are much more romantic but even in real life I don’t know any of my friends that act like this. I’m married and I can tell you that in comparison to Jemma and Devlin my relationship would be a scone with clotted cream and jam and theirs would be a soggy saltine. =_=

I hope there’s more character development. Because as far as I can tell they have a very unhealthy relationship. And each book seems like they are getting closer and closer to ending things. Or at least I hope they do because they are horribly mismatched.

I think though that I’m really just listening to the series for the Old Biddies. They are by far the most interesting and amazing part of this book. And of course muesli, things would be horribly dull without the cat and the old ladies.

I’ll try one more book but I don’t see myself listening to more if things don’t improve with the main characters.

1 person found this helpful

A Bit Absurd - Not my Favorite in the Series

Gemma steps over the line by investigating a murder in a country where she is outside any authority. Then she interferes with a family where she deceives the mother and makes a mess of it.
There are extremely irritating characters: blabber-mouth Jane, and Tiger Mom afraid of all animals. They were truly awful! Muesli’s actions were also unbelievable.
However, the descriptions of Vienna and their desserts and horses were lovely.

1 person found this helpful

An engaging on-location cozy

I am a fan of the Oxford Tearoom Mysteries from my first reading, and Pearl Hewitt does an excellent job bringing the characters to life. Until this book, the setting has been the environs of Oxfordshire, but this book goes on the road, so to speak, to Vienna, Austria along with her cohorts, the "old biddies". These are recurring characters that lend an element of farce, as well as a device where their antics reveal clues to the central mystery.

Emma's love interest, Devlin, plays a minor role in this book, but the descriptions of Vienna, the charming hotel, and the mouth-watering descriptions of Viennese pastry make up for the lack of romance.

The plot was suitably convoluted to keep my interest, with a liberal sprinkling of red herrings. The real charm of the book, though, was the setting, a sub-plot involving a gifted child, and the descriptions and backstory of the famed Lippizaner Stallions.

Disclosure: A review copy of this audiobook was sent to me by the author. All of the above opinions are my own.

1 person found this helpful

Great Cozy Mystery!

A great cozy full of fun, mischief, laughter and mystery. I can't wait for the next book in the series!

1 person found this helpful

So well-written and entertaining

My fourth read/ listen from author H.Y. Hanna. I love the narrator’s British accent & her cat “meows”, I really enjoyed this read. Cozy mysterish, captivating primary characters, I love Mewsley’s increased role over the course of the series. What other blurbs can I use to describe these books? Oh well, buy the book, read the books, get into a good author and some good characters as I have. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).

1 person found this helpful

Another great mystery by H.Y. Hanna

In <strong>Apple Strudel Alibi</strong> by H.Y. Hanna, Gemma Rose is upset to learn that her boyfriend, Devlin, has to work in his job as the top detective for the Oxford CID and can't go on their planned trip to Malta. So she finds herself changing her plans to go to Vienna to receive an award for the best scones in England. When she arrives at the airport, she discovers that the four senior women collectively known as "the Old Biddies" are traveling with her and have reserved a suite with Gemma in the new hotel opened by Sophia, a close childhood friend of Gemma's mother. At the hotel, they meet ? Wagner, a lifestyle critic notorious for his cruel, scathing reviews, and he schedules a dinner date with Glenda, one of the Old Biddies. But when Glenda goes downstairs to meet Wagner, he doesn't show up, causing Glenda to look for him in the music room of the hotel. With a scream, Glenda comes rushing out after having discovered Wagner lying dead on the concrete beneath the balcony of the music room.

The police soon declare the death a suicide after having found what passes as a suicide note. However, when Gemma sneaks into the office where the police are keeping the note, she notices it seems weird and doesn't end with a complete sentence. The Old Biddies especially feel certain that this is a murder and lure Gemma into their crazy schemes to investigate.

<strong>Apple Strudel Alibi</strong> is the eighth book in the Oxford Tea Room series, and Hanna does not disappoint as she continues this incredibly fun and clever series. The plot is creative, though it doesn't have as much depth and twists and turns as the previous seven books. However, the standard set by Hanna was so high that the mystery is still creative and well done. Further, the setting details and fun scenes make the book a great delight. One of the highlights is a visit to an Austrian spa with the Old Biddies, who are as excited about all the coed nudity around them as Gemma is horrified.

The characters continue to come to life as in all of Hanna's books. Besides Gemma, who narrates the book and has a fun personality, especially in the horror she feels at some of the schemes of the Old Biddies. These octogenarians are the highlight of the book, with wild ideas and nosiness in everything that they get into. The "guest characters" provide a lot of fun as well. The Chinese family, consisting of Mr. and Mrs. Chow and their 8-year-old daughter, Mei Mei, seem sadly realistic based upon my own experiences working with Chinese international students. Mrs. Chow does not like her daughter's amazing gift for art and love of animals because she is determined that Mei Mei will become a successful lawyer, and art and animals do not figure into those plans. The other characters have as much flair as the Chow family.

Pearl Hewitt performs the audiobook of <strong>Apple Strudel Alibi</strong> and does another fantastic job that brings the book to life. Her voices for the characters have plenty of diversity, and she handles the accents well. I was especially impressed that the British narrator is so successful with the American accent of Randy, a horse showman from Florida. Few British narrators handle American accents very believable, usually making them Texan. Hewitt further does a good job at voicing the expressions of Muesli, Gemma's mischievous cat, who goes with Gemma to Vienna.

I had a lot of fun listening to <strong>Apple Strudel Alibi</strong>, which has a creative plot and an especially interesting setting. This includes the famous dancing Royal Lipizzaner horses, a spa where men and women mingle sans any clothing, and secret passages in the mansion turned into a hotel. The Old Biddies particularly add to the delightful flavor of the book. I give this fun book five stars.

1 person found this helpful

Time to end this series

I have enjoyed other entries in this series but this one abuses Hanna’s listeners good will. The story is contrived. The author uses extensive descriptions just to fill pages. She offers up Vienna tourist sights eg the Spanish Riding School, Gustav Klimt paintings and numerous places to dine on calorie filled pastries just to fill pages. The howls of the cat become annoying. I would have been happier to here Muesli’s howls described rather than imitated. The cats antics do not occur naturally
but are also awkwardly contrived to keep the cat in the story.

I would advise Hanna that you don’t have a story to tell wait until uou do. This was an insult

1 person found this helpful

Another great Oxford Tearoom Mystery

I have loved each of HY Hanna’s Oxford mysteries. This is one of my favorites thus far. Pearl Hewitt’s narration is perfect.

another delight during a hard year

I loved listening to this book while enduring another hard year of pandemic isolation and my elderly father's health decline. The only downside, I'm dreaming of delicious Viennese pastries. I'll have to make a bakery run!!!!