I enjoyed this first in Galenorn’s Chintz ‘n China mysteries. We are introduced to Emerald O’Brien, who owns a small teashop (more like a tea room actually) in northern Washington state. In addition to selling fine china, serving tea and the occasional lunch, she also reads Tarot cards for her customers and is inofficially known as the town Witch. Because of her psychic abilities, she’s also a beacon to the ghost of a recently deceased romance writer who lived nearby.

I found the story engaging enough to hold my interest though I did think the author got a bit overly descriptive at times, but not too much so. Some of that could just be my recent reading of lots of books that either had a lot of action or are young adult reads which usually don’t include overly descriptive paragraphs. Though the mystery part was resolved satisfactorily, the part to do with Emerald’s personal life left me looking forward to the next in the series. :-)

Emerald O’Brian owns a china shop that serves tea where she reads tarot cards for some of her clients. When she walks up one night and sees a ghost at the foot of her bed who says her husband has murdered her, Emerald knows she must solve the case.

This novel was fairly good for a debut in a mystery series. Although their really aren’t that many suspects involved in the murder Emerald is trying to solve, the ending is unexpected. The cast of characters is interesting.