Have I ever told you that I like the beach? Well, I do. I like the beach… a lot. I can sit for hours just watching the ocean as it continually changes and yet remains the same. Unfortunately, my husband is not so crazy about the beach (but that is a story for another time). At any rate, any Cozy mystery series that contains a lot of beach and ocean, and a shop in an old house on the boardwalk on the beach has a head start to my affection. The Seaside Café Mystery Series has plenty of sun and sand (the sleuth’s tea café is called “Sun, Sand, and Tea”) and Live and Let Chai, the first book in this series by Bree Baker is the next book that I have read to continue my posts about the most popular and recommended mystery series. 

Everly Swan is a 20 something culinary school dropout who has followed her dream back home to open a tea restaurant in Charm, North Carolina. Charm is just a stone’s throw away from Kitty Hawk and Nags Head. Everly had dropped out of culinary school to follow her cowboy (“Wyatt”) on the rodeo circuit. But, after having her heart broken by her cowboy, Everly decided to return to her hometown and open the tea shop that she had always dreamed of. 

Just as Everly seemed to be getting her life back together, a murder occurs in Charm and Everly becomes a chief suspect! Everly begins her own investigation when she decides that the handsome new detective in town seems to not be working hard enough to find the real culprit. (What else is a girl to do?!)

Charm is, well, charming, and Everly, her family, and friends are just the type of cast of characters that a lot of us like to read about in a good and light Cozy mystery. When I use the word “light” I mean it in the best possible way. Live and Let Chai is a true Cozy. The small town, the characters, and especially the beach are all very inviting. Without a doubt, the Seaside Café Mystery Series is a Cozy series worth all of the recommendations it has gotten.

By the way, Bree Baker also writes as Jacqueline Frost, Julie Chase, and Julie Anne Lindsey.

If you are interested in reading some of the other entries about highly recommended Cozy Mystery series, you can find them at the Most Recommended Cozy Mystery Series page on the site.