84 books like The Tea House on Mulberry Street

By Sharon Owens,

Here are 84 books that The Tea House on Mulberry Street fans have personally recommended if you like The Tea House on Mulberry Street. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop

Jennifer J. Chow Author Of Ill-Fated Fortune: A Magical Fortune Cookie Novel

From my list on books that combine food and magic.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a foodie at heart and grew up working in a family restaurant. I currently live in Los Angeles, where I’m delighted to have access to all sorts of edible goodies. As a writer, I insert food into my books, specifically in my culinary cozy mysteries, which have murder—and recipes! I also adore the idea of the fantastical; as a kid, I often created entire imaginary worlds during playtime. I’m happy to combine both loves in my newest series, the Magical Fortune Cookie books.  

Jennifer's book list on books that combine food and magic

Jennifer J. Chow Why did Jennifer love this book?

I loved the echoes of culture I experienced with this novel, which has a Chinese American protagonist. The cultural expectations and even tidbits of language made me feel represented.

I also admired that Vanessa could tell fortunes through examining the dregs of a teacup; as a tea lover, I wholeheartedly endorsed the notion. I was already familiar with Lim’s storytelling and knew I’d be in for a treat of a read, especially one filled with vivid details of Paris and its excellent culinary ambiance.

By Roselle Lim,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the critically acclaimed author of Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune comes a new delightful novel about exploring all the magical possibilities of life in the most extraordinary city of all: Paris.
 
Vanessa Yu never wanted to see people's fortunes—or misfortunes—in tealeaves.
 
Ever since she can remember, Vanessa has been able to see people's fortunes at the bottom of their teacups. To avoid blurting out their fortunes, she converts to coffee, but somehow fortunes escape and find a way to complicate her life and the ones of those around her. To add to this plight, her romance life…


Book cover of Rosie’s Travelling Tea Shop

Darien Gee Author Of The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society

From my list on feel-good stories that take place in a tea salon.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a well-traveled writer who has lived around the world, I’ve visited a tea salon in almost every city I visit. My favorite places are small communities filled with old-timers and well-wrought customs. Our lives are very fast-paced, and books that celebrate slowing down and a simpler life will always be a draw for me. Since I’m primarily a fiction writer, I also like a little mystery and tension in these otherwise idyllic little towns, not to mention the occasional scone and cup of tea.

Darien's book list on feel-good stories that take place in a tea salon

Darien Gee Why did Darien love this book?

With the advent of food trucks, I can’t think of anything more charming or lovely than a tea shop that hits the road, and in a bright pink van, no less. Raisin’s writing goes straight to the point–we’re on the road with Rosie in no time, and it’s a journey you won’t want to miss. 

By Rebecca Raisin,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Rosie’s Travelling Tea Shop as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The trip of a lifetime!

Rosie Lewis has her life together.

A swanky job as a Michelin-starred Sous Chef, a loving husband and future children scheduled for an exact date.

That's until she comes home one day to find her husband's pre-packed bag and a confession that he's had an affair.

Heartbroken and devastated, Rosie drowns her sorrows in a glass (or three) of wine, only to discover the following morning that she has spontaneously invested in a bright pink campervan to facilitate her grand plans to travel the country.

Now, Rosie is about to embark on the trip of…


Book cover of Tea for Three: The First Three Tea Shop Mysteries

Darien Gee Author Of The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society

From my list on feel-good stories that take place in a tea salon.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a well-traveled writer who has lived around the world, I’ve visited a tea salon in almost every city I visit. My favorite places are small communities filled with old-timers and well-wrought customs. Our lives are very fast-paced, and books that celebrate slowing down and a simpler life will always be a draw for me. Since I’m primarily a fiction writer, I also like a little mystery and tension in these otherwise idyllic little towns, not to mention the occasional scone and cup of tea.

Darien's book list on feel-good stories that take place in a tea salon

Darien Gee Why did Darien love this book?

Laura Childs is the queen of the cozy mystery genre, with over 25 tea shop mysteries and 16 scrapbooking mysteries (my other favorite subject). If you haven’t read Laura Childs before, Tea for Three is her first three books and a great way to fall in love with the series and her protagonist, Theodosia Browning, owner of Charleston's Indigo Tea Shop.

By Laura Childs,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Tea for Three as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NOW IN ONE VOLUME—A DEADLY BLEND OF THE FIRST THREE TEA SHOP MYSTERIES FROM NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR LAURA CHILDS

Charleston tea shop owner Theodosia Browning always seems to find herself steeped in mystery and murder.

Death by Darjeeling
Theo is serving tea for two hundred or so at the annual historic homes garden party when one guest is found dead clutching a teacup.

Gunpowder Green
While unveiling her newest flavor of tea at a yacht race, Theo hears the crack of an antique gun and a member of Charleston’s elite falls dead.

Shades of Earl Grey
Theo attends…


Book cover of Fortnum & Mason: Time for Tea

Darien Gee Author Of The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society

From my list on feel-good stories that take place in a tea salon.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a well-traveled writer who has lived around the world, I’ve visited a tea salon in almost every city I visit. My favorite places are small communities filled with old-timers and well-wrought customs. Our lives are very fast-paced, and books that celebrate slowing down and a simpler life will always be a draw for me. Since I’m primarily a fiction writer, I also like a little mystery and tension in these otherwise idyllic little towns, not to mention the occasional scone and cup of tea.

Darien's book list on feel-good stories that take place in a tea salon

Darien Gee Why did Darien love this book?

While this isn’t a novel about tea or tea salons, it’s a great primer on all things tea related. Fortnum & Mason has been in the tea business since 1707, and their expertise will help you brew the perfect pot of tea to pair with your favorite tea salon novel.

By Tom Parker Bowles,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Fortnum & Mason as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Time for Tea is a celebration of Fortnum's passion for tea in its every form. Drawing on over 300 years of experience, you will find the history, geography, seasonality of tea - everything from leaf to cup - as well as 50 delicious recipes.

Fortnum & Mason has nearly as much experience of selling tea as Britain has of drinking it - some three centuries' worth, in fact, since the early eighteenth century.

This fun and deeply authoritative guide whisks you through all the information you need to get the most out of your cuppa. It instructs on how to…


Book cover of A Year in the Merde

Bradt Guides

From my list on inspired us to go travelling.

Who are Bradt Guides?

Founded in 1974, Bradt Guides is now the largest independently-owned guidebook publisher in both the US and UK. We have over 200 titles in print, with a particular focus on lesser-known places overlooked by other travel publishers. We also publish a series of Slow Travel guides to UK regions and a list of travel narratives. There are 15 people in the Bradt team, based (when Covid allows) in an office above a coffee shop in Chesham, Bucks. The following books are very different but all connected to travel in fun ways. The books were selected by Simon Willmore, Claire Strange, Iona Brokenshire, Deborah Gerrard, and Hugh Brune. 

Bradt's book list on inspired us to go travelling

Bradt Guides Why did Bradt love this book?

In A Year in the Merde, Stephen Clarke walks the line perfectly between berating the country he's in and making it clear he is, in truth, really enjoying himself. When I discovered the book, I (a Brit) was living in Grenoble in France so it was particularly relevant. At the time, I was desperately trying to complete my Masters - in engineering! - but Clarke's book opened my eyes to a world where you can earn a living by documenting your travel experiences. 

Within six months, I had completed my Masters (by the skin of my teeth), turned my back on engineering, and enrolled in a post-graduate course in journalism. 11 years later, I've worked on books of my own, including guides to Malaysia, India, Spain, and France - returning to Grenoble, the place where it all began.

By Stephen Clarke,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Year in the Merde as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

What are the French really like?

Paul West, a young Englishman arriving in Paris to start a new job, is about to find out.
_________________

They do eat a lot of cheese, some of which smells like pigs' droppings.

They don't wash their armpits with garlic soap.

Going on strike really is the second national participation sport after petanque.

And, yes, they do use suppositories.

Less quaint than A Year in Provence, less chocolatey than Chocolat, A Year in the Merde will tell you how to get served by the grumpiest Parisian waiter; how to make perfect vinaigrette every time;…


Book cover of Death in a Budapest Butterfly

Catherine Dilts Author Of The Body in the Cattails

From my list on women sleuths and cats solving mysteries.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love escaping into a story I know will have a dependably happy ending. I’m an avid reader of cozy mysteries because life is hard. I don’t need my fiction to be a mirror image of the horrors of the daily news. I like puzzling through the clues, trying to solve the mysteries before the characters reach the solution. Series are fun because you really get to know the protagonist and the people in his or her world. They become old friends. The best cozy mystery authors rise above the formula and create unique characters, plots, and settings. 

Catherine's book list on women sleuths and cats solving mysteries

Catherine Dilts Why did Catherine love this book?

I fell immediately in love with the human characters and the setting despite the cat being a minor player in the story. Hana Keller is Hungarian on her mother’s side of the family. She works at the family’s charming tea house. Grandma Juliana reads tea leaves and is steeped in Hungarian mythology—correct that—grandma’s “tales” are often true to life.

I was engaged with the unique ethnic viewpoint and delighted to learn more about Hungarian culture and food. I devoured the series and have moved on to Buckley’s Writer’s Apprentice series.   

By Julia Buckley,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Death in a Budapest Butterfly as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Hana Keller serves up European-style cakes and teas in her family-owned tea house, but when a customer keels over from a poisoned cuppa, Hana and her tea-leaf reading grandmother will have to help catch a killer in the first Hungarian Tea House Mystery from Julia Buckley.

Hana Keller and her family run Maggie's Tea House, an establishment heavily influenced by the family's Hungarian heritage and specializing in a European-style traditional tea service. But one of the shop's largest draws is Hana's eccentric grandmother, Juliana, renowned for her ability to read the future in the leaves at the bottom of customers'…


Book cover of Under the Whispering Door

Maria Vale Author Of Molly Molloy and the Angel of Death

From my list on stories of death personified.

Why am I passionate about this?

The 14th century had it all: the 100 Years' War, near-constant famines, and, of course, the Black Plague. As a medievalist studying the art of the time, I was struck by the representations of Death that emerged from this near-perfect storm of misery. Yes, Death was often portrayed accompanied by demons and devils, lumped willy-nilly with evil. But it was more often portrayed in the Danse Macabre as a skeletal partner, leading everyone—Pope and Emperor, Lord and Laborer—on a merry dance. I know it was meant as a warning, but I found the Danse Macabre to be oddly comforting, a vision of an ultimate democracy, with Death the final partner and companion to us all.

Maria's book list on stories of death personified

Maria Vale Why did Maria love this book?

What’s unique about Klune’s psychopomp, is that he is human.

Hugo Freeman is able to interact with the dead but unlike the usual eternal beings, he is alive, has a backstory, and the ability to empathize with the fears and regrets of his reluctant clients, most recently, the jerk-lawyer, Wallace Price.

The action is circumscribed, taking place entirely within Charon’s Crossing, which serves as a teahouse for the living and a waystation for the dead. And as any fan of Klune’s work will anticipate, the hearth that gathers a found family. 

By TJ Klune,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked Under the Whispering Door as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When a reaper comes to collect Wallace Price from his own funeral, Wallace suspects he really might be dead.
Instead of leading him directly to the afterlife, the reaper takes him to a small village. On the outskirts, off the path through the woods, tucked between mountains, is a particular tea shop, run by a man named Hugo. Hugo is the tea shop's owner to locals and the ferryman to souls who need to cross over.
But Wallace isn't ready to abandon the life he barely lived. With Hugo's help, he finally starts to learn about all the things he…


Book cover of Closely Harbored Secrets

Sherry Lynn Author Of Digging Up Daisy

From my list on beachfront cozy mysteries.

Why am I passionate about this?

The sound of waves rolling to shore. The scent of beach roses and salty air, mixed with suntan lotion. Breezy summer days with no agenda. This is the promised escape when I discover a cozy mystery with a waterfront cover. I’m immediately transported to a journey of respite with a sprinkle of intrigue tucked deep within the pages. The waterfront setting is one that I desire in both to read and to write, and I know I’m not alone. I’ve compiled a list of favorites for you when choosing a book that revolves around seaworthy things. 

Sherry's book list on beachfront cozy mysteries

Sherry Lynn Why did Sherry love this book?

This book is a fun addition to the Seaside Cafe Mystery series, set in Charm on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

The island has a rich history of pirates, treasures, ghosts, and more. Oh, and a mystery to solve! Each of the characters is fun and endearing. The plot is a well-paced whodunit full of amateur sleuthing, red herrings, community, scrumptious treats, and small-town coastal living. Adding up to perfection for cozy mystery lovers.

By Bree Baker,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Closely Harbored Secrets as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In the fifth book of the popular Seaside Cafe Mysteries, Closely Harbored Secrets, Everly Swan just wants to make Halloween-themed treats and specialty teas for her customers. But when it seems that she's being haunted by the phantom of a sailor straight out of a ghost story, her plans are capsized. Could this be the bitter end for Everly?
Hitting all the sweet-tea spots, this series is:A delightful Tea Shop and Cafe Culinary MysteryThe ideal cozy beach readPerfect for fans of Laura Childs and Kate CarlisleIt's almost Halloween, and the small island of Charm, North Carolina is decked out for…


Book cover of A Scone To Die For

K.E. O'Connor Author Of Cream Caramel and Murder

From my list on involving muffins and murder.

Why am I passionate about this?

My degree in archaeology taught me life is a giant puzzle. People leave behind fragments, giving hints but never definitive answers. My deductive skills when piecing together broken pottery or looking at renderings of hominid skulls to determine how they lived, evolved my desire to write mysteries. One of the many things I love about cozy mysteries is that everything looks peaceful on the outside, but like real life, you barely need to scratch the surface before you discover dark deeds and secrets. And who doesn’t enjoy that?

K.E.'s book list on involving muffins and murder

K.E. O'Connor Why did K.E. love this book?

The characters make this book fabulous – the Old Biddies are a hoot with their less than subtle comments and snooping. And Gemma’s tea room is divine, set against a charming Oxford backdrop. And there’s a delightful, plump, adorable cat. Muesli is a fluffy angel with a naughty side.

Funny, clever, and the scenes in the café will have you craving a slice of dessert to go with your murder.

By H.Y. Hanna,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked A Scone To Die For as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“They say you have to make sacrifices to follow your dreams. I just didn’t expect the sacrifices to involve an American tourist and a killer scone.” ~ Gemma ditches her high-flying job and returns to Oxford to pursue her dream of opening a traditional English tearoom. It means giving up her savings, moving back with her parents and coping with her bossy, matchmaking mother, but she’s sure it will all be worth it. In fact, business is already booming… that is, until she opens up shop and finds an American tourist murdered by one of her signature scones!

Now Gemma…


Book cover of Taking Tea with Mackintosh: The Story of Miss Cranston's Tea Rooms

Jane Pettigrew Author Of Jane Pettigrew's World of Tea: Discovering Producing Regions and Their Teas

From my list on tea and tea history.

Why am I passionate about this?

I fell into the world of tea by chance in the 1980s when I gave up a career in higher education to open a 1930s style tearoom in southwest London. I grew up in the 1950s in a typical British family that drank tea throughout the day but little did I know, as I baked endless supplies of scones and cakes for the tearoom at 4 am every day, that I would end up writing books and magazine articles, editing a tea magazine for the UK Tea Council, speaking at world tea conferences, training staff in hotels, travelling to almost every major tea producing country, and eventually working today as Director of Studies at the UK Tea Academy.

Jane's book list on tea and tea history

Jane Pettigrew Why did Jane love this book?

The story of Britain’s tearooms is often thought to have begun in London but it was Stuart Cranston and his sister Kate in Glasgow who were responsible for opening Scotland’s first public tearooms. This lovely book explores the very beginnings when Stuart Cranston’s decided to install a few tables and chairs at his tea retail store in 1875 so that customers could taste teas before buying. Kate followed suit but added her own distinctive style by employing Charles Rennie Mackintosh and his wife to design the now world-famous Willow Tea Rooms. The charming story links inextricably with tea, Glasgow, art, design and business and, since the original Willow on Sauchiehall Street has now been totally renovated and refurbished in Mackintosh style, Kinchin’s book is particularly valuable.

By Perilla Kinchin,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Taking Tea with Mackintosh as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In 1896, Kate Cranston, the pioneer of Glasgow tea rooms in the late nineteenth century, commissioned Charles Rennie Mackintosh—who would become one of the Western worlds’ most renowned designers—to design her tea rooms, and over the next two decades he did so with dazzling inventiveness. (Mackintosh’s wife, Margaret, herself an artist, also made important contributions to the interior designs.) Cranston and Mackintosh opened up a unique, avant-garde artistic world to thousands of ordinary people and their tea rooms became internationally famous. Taking Tea with Mackintosh illustrates their exciting collaboration with black-and-white historical photographs of the tea rooms and color photographs…


Book cover of Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop
Book cover of Rosie’s Travelling Tea Shop
Book cover of Tea for Three: The First Three Tea Shop Mysteries

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