Death on the Night of Lost Lizards - Cozy Mystery Review

Goodreads:  Death on the Night of Lost Lizards (A Hungarian Tea Shop Mystery #3) by Julia Buckley

Rating: Really Liked It!
Source:  Publisher

Description:  Hana Keller and her tea-leaf reading grandmother are used to finding the perfect savory treats to pair with a delicious cuppa at her family’s tea house but when a local professor is killed, she uncovers a serving of suspects instead…

Hana Keller is getting ready for a lovely holiday season. She decides to host a tea at her apartment for her closest friends. During the cozy get-together, one of Hana's friends gets a call that a murderer is on the loose and that the women should be careful. Hana soon learns that Sandor Balog, a professor of Hungarian Studies at the local college, has been viciously killed.

Hana gets one of her visions that she is going to be pulled into the professor's death somehow. When Erik, her handsome detective boyfriend, finds several suspects at the Tea House, Hana knows she must now investigate. And when the wrong man is arrested, things come to a boil and Hana finds herself in the path of the real killer.

Genre: Mystery - Cozy

Why I Picked This Book:  I read the 2nd book last year and loved it so there was no way I was passing this one up!

My Impression:  This book series is dangerous in multiple ways!  For one thing I find myself absolutely craving Hungarian food - especially desserts and we don't really have a good Hungarian restaurant in town so I'm pretty much days away from going on a baking binge and then eating all the treats on my own!  The food descriptions are that amazing.  As well, I have a huge weakness for antique porcelain and have quite a collection and there are always mentions of Herend porcelain that make me want to go down that particular rabbit hole which would hit my book budget HARD.  

But those problems aside this book (and the previous one) was just a delight from start to finish.  There are some psychic notes but not so much that the book feels paranormal.  It almost has a magical realism feel but without the magic taking over.  If you're not a fan of paranormal or magical realism it's such a side issue I don't think this would bother you.  The characters are people I'd like to be friends with - especially Hana and her family.   

With all my rambling, you'd think the mystery gets pushed to the side but it never does.  From the beginning the mystery is front and center and really kept me reading.  I loved the dive into the Hungarian community and found the investigation fascinating.  This was a fast read that I was sad to see the end of!  I'm glad that I missed the first book so that I can go back and read that while I wait for the next book in the series.  And I'm going to need to seek out some of the amazing treats Hana talks about.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?  Absolutely!  I've enjoyed everything I've read by this author though this series is my favorite.

Would I Recommend this Book?  Definitely!  This is a fun cozy mystery with a bit of a different feel and makes for a fast light read.

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