Death of a Wandering Wolf - Cozy Mystery Review

Goodreads: Death of a Wandering Wolf (A Hungarian Tea House Mystery #2) by Julia Buckley

Rating: Liked It
Source: Publisher

Description: Hana Keller is enjoying a day off from serving up tea and delicious pastries at her family's Hungarian Tea House when her downtime turns deadly....

The only thing Hana loves more than a good cuppa is finding a delicate porcelain treasure to add to her collection. She's usually on the hunt for teacups but when she spots a rare wolf figurine at a local yard sale, she knows it's her lucky day. Hana also knows the wolf is valuable and tells the seller that he's charging too little for it. His reaction is peculiar--he says he received the wolf from someone he doesn't trust and he just wants it out of his life.

Hana is inspecting her new prize when she finds a tiny microchip attached to the bottom of the porcelain wolf. When she shows the figure to her police detective boyfriend, Erik, Hana is shocked to learn that the chip is actually a tracking device. They decide to confront the seller about the sneaky sale but when they arrive at his house, they find him dead. Erik and Hana now must hunt a calculating killer who has no intentions of crying wolf when it comes to murder...

Genre: Mystery - Cozy

Why I Picked This Book:  I've enjoyed other books by this author and this one sounded intriguing.

My Impression:  This was my first time visiting the Hungarian tea house and I'm so glad I did!  I've also learned that I have severely neglected Hungarian cuisine - especially sweets - and desperately need to fix that.  All the food sounded amazing and I was fascinated by all the discussion of life in Hungary and Hungarian culture.  It's not something I remember encountering before in a book and I really enjoyed it.

The mystery was interesting and definitely had me asking questions.  What was with the tracking device and just what was going on with the giver of the wolf?  I did feel that the mystery got put on the back burner at times with the focus on the Hana, her family, and her relationship with Erik.  I enjoyed this and loved the almost fairy tale quality of the writing but I did want more mystery at times because I was enjoying that part so much.  That being said I was satisfied with the ending and I feel very connected to the characters and am looking forward to seeing more of them.

If you're looking for a unique cozy with lots of yummy food, fascinating characters, and an interesting setting this is one not to miss.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?  Absolutely!  I have enjoyed every book I've read by this author and this is a fun series.  

Would I Recommend this Book?  If you enjoy really character based cozy mysteries then I think you would love this series.

* I received this book in exchange for an honest review.  As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *