Tea and Murder!

How tea brings the cozy factor to a murder mystery

My current book: A Fatal Twist of Lemon by Patrice Greenwood. My current tea: Nettle Leaf by Traditional Medicinals

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Dear Cozy Reader,

There’s something so comforting about a warm cup of tea, and if you’re like me, you might start noticing how often it shows up in your cozy mysteries.

There’s the sleuth who sits down to collect her thoughts and noodle over clues with a steaming mug in hand.

The new entrepreneur who opens a tea shop, only to have someone murdered during the grand opening tea party.

The psychic who reads tea leaves—until she becomes the lead suspect in an investigation and must clear her name.

So, what is it about tea that turns a murder into a cozy mystery we want to read on a rainy afternoon, tucked in bed?

I think the thing about tea is that it’s all about comfort. It’s the drink you reach for in times of trouble, whether it’s a bold black tea or a gentle herbal infusion.

The rising steam, the light fragrance, and the warmth in your hands soothes you. It softens you. It slows everything down.

It’s the feeling you get when Jean-Luc Picard says, “Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.”

It says: slow down, breathe, everything will be okay.

So even when a dead body is discovered in the garden, the moment the tea comes out, you—the reader—feel safe, because tea signals warmth and relaxation.

As Earlene Grey wrote, “No matter where you are in the world, you are at home when tea is served.”

Want to make a murder mystery feel cozy? Just add tea.

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Oddly enough, even though I love tea and cozy mysteries, when I sat down to make a list of mysteries where tea is central—in the title, the murder weapon, or the sleuth’s business—I realized I haven’t actually read that many!

I’m remedying that this week by reading A Fatal Twist of Lemon by Patrice Greenwood, but in the meantime, I found a few delightful lists compiled by fellow tea-loving readers. I hope they lead you to something warm and wonderful:

• Top Ten Tea Books - Boulder Tea House

• 5 Tea Mystery Series - Brewed Leaf

• Tea in Agatha Christie - The Home of Agatha Christie

Have you read any cozy mysteries where tea or tea shops take center stage? I’d love to hear about them in the comments so I can add them to my TBR!

—Emma

P.S. “Read a tea cozy” is one of the prompts on the 2025 Cozy Reading Challenge—so if you pick one up this summer, you can check it off your list!

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Hi there! I’m Emma Veritas, your cozy reading enthusiast. I delight in escaping to small towns filled with endearing characters—and a touch of mystery, dragons, or aliens! When I'm not sharing bookish musings here, you’ll find me crafting fictional tales in my notebooks, spending quality time with my adorable pet bunny, or savoring a steaming cup of hot chocolate.

You might also enjoy my other newsletter, Mystics Reading Society, a welcoming space where books, personal growth, and magic intertwine, nurturing your soul one page at a time. Read the most recent post: Mystics Summer Book Bingo