Murder In A Teacup (A Lysi Weston Mystery) [Kindle Edition]

Nancy Curteman (Author)

Book Description

When Corporate Trainer, Lysi Weston, leaves liberal San Francisco to present a sexual harassment seminar in Big Sky country. She isn’t surprised at resistance from Montana “Marlboro Men,” but the murder of her partner stuns her. She sniffs out a maze of suspects and tracks each one with the single-mindedness of a bloodhound. Cheyenne detective, James Tennyson, tolerates Lysi’s meddling until it jeopardizes his investigation. He orders her to stay out of his case, a directive she ignores.Things get hotter than a Montana heat wave when Weston finds herself immersed in a hostile world that includes a lecherous redneck, a corporate Casanova, a sex-obsessed judo junkie and a terrified gay victim. Somewhere a killer lurks. Weston needs to find the killer before the killer finds her.

Product Details

• File Size: 379 KB
• Print Length: 228 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005LW4GX4
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #631,173 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Light, fast and fun December 4, 2011

By kim

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I like books that capture your attention and keep you reading, and this one certainly did that. I got a bit bogged down in the description at the very beginning, but then it picked up and I was hooked. I sat on my front porch and read the whole thing in one afternoon. If you want an entertaining read and more than a few clever moments, I recommend this book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty big teacup to hold this story! October 5, 2011

By Marcia Applegate

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Murder in a Teacup, by Nancy Curteman . . .Lysi Weston parks her rental car, takes a deep breath, and steps out into the near-triple-digit heat of Sage Deer, Montana, the home of her client's local operations. She's here to conduct a seminar about the costs--financial and legal--of sexual harassment in business. She's led many such seminars; it's a current issue facing many corporations.

Usually she enjoys the travel involved in her job. But today, things aren't going well. There is the awful heat; she is used to San Francisco's cool, foggy days and is unprepared for August in eastern Montana. She's a bit upset and definitely annoyed that she's been unable to reach her seminar partner, Cristin, despite leaving repeated messages on Cristin's cell phone.

Then, as she steps into the client's offices, she finds that a poster announcing her seminar has been defaced in the kind of vulgar terms one would expect, given the subject matter. But Lysi's used to that kind of thing. There were always a couple of knuckle-draggers in every seminar. But that's part of the job she's signed on for, and she knows how to rap those dragging knuckles.

After doing the usual meet and greet that precedes a seminar and checking out the arrangements for the next day, she hurries to the motel where she and Cristin, her coworker, good friend and seminar partner, are registered. Now, Lysi's day goes from bad to unimaginable. She finds Cristin dead in her room. And it gets worse--Cristin has been murdered.

Lysi, a professional who gets the job done come what may--even come the murder of a dear friend--goes ahead with the seminar as planned, despite her grief and shock.... And she knows it's gone well, except of course for the knuckle-draggers, one in particular, who mutter puerile jokes and wisecracks from the back of the room. But Lysi gets through it all, packs up her things and is ready to head back to San Francisco to bury her friend.

Once more, Lysi's plans go awry. Detective James Tennyson of the Sage Deer police department, who is investigating Cristin's murder, tells Lysi she must stay in Sage Deer until some things are clear. That's it, as far as Lysi is concerned. Detective Tennyson, attractive as he is, with dark good looks, part-Cheyenne, part-English, is just a small town cop who doesn't seem up to the job of solving this murder. So, she sets out to figure things out for herself, thinking that will get her away from the heat and back to San Francisco sooner.

Amateur detecting as practiced by Lysi is a recipe for disaster, and disaster ensues in many ways, big and small. In just the few days Lysi has been here, she has sensed tension between some of the players on the scene. Could one of them have killed Cristin? In Lysi's mind, everyone is a suspect, as she desperately tries to make sense out of this awful experience. Curteman provides a robust list of interesting characters that are clearly drawn for the reader:

The chief knuckle-dragger, who seems unable to understand what sexual harassment is, has a local girlfriend, and in the background, an ex-wife and daughter
The ambitious top dog at the local office of the corporation, whose good looks and charm hide what Lysi soon sees as a tendency to womanizing as she watches his treatment of his female employees
The waitress at the local café, who is at constant odds with a lifelong friend who is involved with the chief knuckle-dragger
A young, lovely female employee of the corporation, who offers help and friendship and seems to understand Lysi's grief; she quickly becomes Lysi's on-location confidant
Detective Tennyson's Cheyenne relatives and English mother, who displays an interest in Lysi as a potential mate for her son

There are others, of course, who come in and out of the action, which develops quickly as Lysi continues her parallel investigation with that of Detective Tennyson. The two--Lysi and James--are attracted to one another, but antagonists also, particularly when she ignores James's repeated admonitions to cease and desist with what he considers her interference.

Curteman provides lots of interesting background about the culture and traditions of the Cheyennes. James introduces her to his Indian relatives and takes her to some native dances and ceremonies that she--as well as the reader--will find fascinating. The off-again on-again romantic relationship between Lysi and James weaves throughout the story.

As the investigation into Cristin's death continues, one suspect after another turns out to have secrets, some that could have led to murder. There are also some potentially murderous interpersonal relationships among the residents of Sage Deer, and the corporate staff. And, as the two-sided investigation into the murder comes close enough that the evil-doer feels threatened, Lysi finds herself at risk for her own life.

(The murderer may surprise the reader, although there were delicate hints here and there that I might have caught--but didn't.)

Curteman's novel is enjoyable and, as a whodunit, keeps you guessing till the end. The descriptions of the town and its people ring true for anyone who has lived in a small, close-knit community with its tangled and often-surprising relationships. Particularly worth reading are the vignettes that display to good effect the traditions and culture of the Cheyenne people.

Murder in a Teacup is a good read. I would have chosen a different title, but titles are subject to considerable difference of opinion among writers and editors, advertising gurus and book-sellers. I suggest reading the book and deciding for yourself. Read more ›

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Read between the tea leaves December 21, 2011

By LeslieT

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

You won't find the answer to this mystery in the tea leaves. In fact, this well written and very satisfying read will keep you guessing. This is the second Lysi Weston mystery I've read and I'm really enjoying getting to know her. This book is a great combination of likeable characters and some not so much, sensitive but important subject matter, interesting information (i.e. Cheyenne Indian culture), and a great mystery with many suspects. I'm looking forward to more from this author. Highly recommended.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Tea for Two? September 27, 2011

By nrhatch

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Enjoyable read with a great flow and enough suspense to keep readers turning pages from start to finish.

Offering more than a few "laugh out loud" moments, the writing never gets bogged down with unnecessary or extraneous detail.

Characters are painted in vivid colors and Lysi Weston handles their quirks and idiosyncrasies with style and panache.

A perfect balance between clues and false leads will keep readers guessing along with Lysi . . . until the killer is revealed.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Mystery that Challenges the Reader September 26, 2011

By Richard Scott

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Nancy Curteman has published a new novel.

When Lysi Weston was sent to Montana to conduct a Sexual Harassment seminar at a corporation in dire need of an attitude adjustment, she expected it to be tough going. What she did not expect is to find her best friend and seminar parnter had been murdered.

Torn between the grief of her loss, and her company's insistence that she stay the course and teach the seminar, she soon finds herself embroiled in a mystery. Who killed her partner? And why? Was it somehow related to stirring up the issue of sexual harassment?

This novel is filled with unforgettable characters. From the sleazy teenager with an inflated opinion of his sexual attractiveness, to the tall, dark, handsome, and enigmatic police detective, every character you meet seems to have either motive, means, or opportunity to commit the crime.

Can Lysi narrow it down? Can she solve the murder of her friend, and do it without putting herself, or a budding relationship in peril?

The book is a page-turner. The only thing that kept me from reading it through in a single sitting was the need for sleep.

If you like a strong mystery with a female lead, Murder in a Teacup is for you. Filled with twists and turns, the author challenges you to solve the mystery before Lysi does.

I'm delighted that Ms. Curteman made this book available on Kindle.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun Read May 22, 2012

By Mattidw

Format:Kindle Edition

This book follows Lysi Weston who is in Montana to do a sexual harassment seminar at a company there. Her friend ends up getting murdered so she has to stay and the whole book is her trying to figure out who killed her friend along with her falling in love with the detective that is investigating the case. I feel in love with the characters and thought that the author does a great job of explaining things. She doesn't give so many details that it is over done but she gives enough to keep you reading and wondering what is going to happen next.

More About the Author

Mystery writer, Nancy Curteman, is the author of the Lysi Weston Mystery series. Curteman loves to travel and sets her mysteries in locations she has visited in various parts the world. Her most recent novel, "Murder Down Under," is set in Australia. She is currently working on a mystery set in South Africa. One of her novels, "Murder In A teacup," won the California Writers Club Jack London Award.

Curteman's blog, Gobal Mysteries, combines information for mystery writers and practical tips on world travel.

A transplant from Idaho, she now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area where she is working on her fourth Weston novel.

Global Mysteries Blog: http://nancycurteman.wordpress.com
Website: http://www.nancycurteman.com