Business is good at the Tea by the Sea tearoom in North Augusta, Massachusetts. Owner and chef Lily Roberts is enjoying a busy summer and is especially pleased to be able to cater a wedding shower for a young couple who are deeply in love. 

Alas, their families seem less than thrilled by their impending union. While bride-to-be Hannah Hill and her mom, Jenny, seem like fairly well-adjusted people, the family of Hannah’s intended, Greg Reynolds, is rife with drama. They’re all keeping up an appropriate front, however, at least until the very last wedding shower gift is opened to reveal a decapitated doll. Hannah is distraught, and the shower ends abruptly, with the guests dispersing quickly after.

Fortunately or otherwise, the Reynolds family doesn’t have very far to go, given that the whole clan is staying at the tearoom-adjacent, Victoria-on-Sea B&B run by Lily’s grandmother Rose. Thus, Lily–who also lives on the grounds and provides the breakfasts for the inn–gets an unwitting front-row seat to the family’s dysfunction. Perhaps the most scandalous interaction occurs when she accidentally overhears Greg’s father, Ralph, offering him 100,000 dollars to call off the wedding. Greg angrily refuses, walking away as quickly as Lily does–but not before the latter notices another shadowy figure leaving the scene.

The next morning, Ralph doesn’t come down for breakfast. His wife, Sophia, insists that Rose use her master key to enter his room and rouse him. Lily goes to check in on him for her grandmother, with Sophia and Ralph’s own mother, Regina, hot on her heels. To their horror, they find Ralph upright in bed, fully clothed except for his shoes, clearly dead. Although it looks like he had a heart attack, Regina wastes little time in accusing Sophia of his murder.

When the medical examiner confirms that Ralph was poisoned, Lily, Rose, and their friends are thrust into yet another murder investigation. There are plenty of people who wanted Ralph dead, but who would be so callous–or desperate–as to kill him so soon before his son’s wedding? Our investigators will be pushed to the limits of their deductive powers to find the elusive killer.

This was another fulfilling installment of the Tea by the Sea Mystery series, as Lily gets dragged reluctantly once more into identifying and stopping a murderer. The reckless Rose and equally foolhardy Bernie, Lily’s best friend, make excellent foils for our more-level-headed main character. I was also very excited by the promise of where the next book in the series will take us. I’m only hoping that Bernie can find an excuse to go, too!

Included were three recipes of delicious-sounding dishes served at Lily’s tearoom. I really wanted to try the egg salad sandwich recipe, but baking sweet treats together has been a highlight of this summer vacation for me and my kids, so we decided to make this instead.

Maple Pecan Squares

Ingredients

Shortbread Base

1 cup all-purpose flour

⅓ cup light brown sugar, packed

¼ cup coarsely chopped pecans

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

⅓ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

Topping

¼ cup unsalted butter, melted

½ cup light brown sugar, packed

⅓ cup pure maple syrup

2 tsp vanilla extract

¼ tsp fine salt

1 large egg

1 ¾ cups coarsely chopped pecans

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Grease and line a 9-inch square pan with parchment paper so that it hangs over the sides.

For base, pulse flour, brown sugar, pecans, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon in a food processor to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture is crumbly. Press mixture into prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes, until it just browns around the edges. Cool.

For topping, whisk melted butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, salt, and egg until smooth. Stir in chopped pecans and pour over shortbread base. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, until bubbling around the edges. 

Cool completely before slicing.

I don’t usually care for nuts in my desserts, but pecans are the one consistent exception to my aversion. These squares tasted wonderful–like buttery, handheld helpings of pecan pie only over a shortbread base instead of on a graham cracker crust. I especially loved how easy it was to whip up the base in the food processor. My kids enjoyed this too, though this dessert is, perhaps, a little more sophisticated than their palates are used to, as it actually lasted long enough for me to set aside servings to give to friends.

Next week, we travel south and east to another tea establishment to cook up a savory main dish while investigating a grisly murder that might very well be a case of mistaken identity. Do join me!

See also: Cooking the Books: A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death by Valerie Burns