Tempest in the Tea Room

Solid 'meh.' The concept is lovely, but the execution left something to be desired. The multiple plots don't quite hang together and the culprit in the main mystery was painfully obvious. Most of the characters are fairly flat, and the Judaism of the characters and the community was heavy-handed with......more

Tempest in the Tea Room is an entertaining read--a mystery set in London in the early 1800's, and written in a style that captures the flavor (or should I say "flavour") of the time. Replete with well-researched historical details and colorful characters, the book takes the reader into the heart of......more

Ezra Melamed is a Jewish detective in London of the 1800s. In Libi Astaire’s Tempest in the Tea Room, Melamed must discover why otherwise healthy orphans are becoming deathly ill. In this tale, set against the backdrop of London’s Jewish community, complete with jealousy, revenge, unrequited love, a......more

I enjoyed the last 15% the best, and I don’t know if I’ll read any more of this series. I just didn't find it captivating. I wanted to! I wanted fantastic Jewish historical fiction! But I didn't find most of the characters that charming (except for the little criminal scamps, who make me want to rea......more