While I read a lot of entertaining books that I really enjoy, every so often a new series comes along that, from the very first page, completely captivates me. Such is the case with ELEMENTARY, SHE READ by Vicki Delaney! From her quirky, endearing protagonist, Gemma Doyle (who may or may not be distantly related to the author of Sherlock Holmes) to the setting of the quaint New England Cape Cod town, I loved it all. And I was especially enthralled with Gemma’s shop, Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium located at 222 Baker Street, adjacent to her best friend’s shop, Mrs. Hudson’s Tea Room. I wish it was a real shop because I could spend hours browsing there! Gemma is a British transplant and brings a unique inflection to the New England setting. She is amazingly perceptive at noticing the smallest of details yet is a bit of a klutz and quite forgetful at times. Gemma is also very outspoken and directly honest, which makes people around her uncomfortable at times, but she has a good heart and never does it with malice.
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While I’ve never read any Sherlock Holmes books (gasp! I can’t believe I’ve overlooked them or am even admitting it!!!) I envision Gemma as a modern day type of Holmes with her best friend, Jayne, a reluctant Watson. The pair complement each other, bringing light humor to the situations they find themselves in. The plot moves along at a fast pace and the author weaves in a priceless magazine that contains the first published Sherlock Holmes story, with a reclusive multi-millionaire, feuding heirs, and a murdered caregiver. There are numerous suspects and Gemma methodically examines them all while dealing with the town’s new detective that seems to have it in for her. The reveal neatly wraps up the threads of the story in an exciting conclusion, leaving me wanting more!
While there aren’t any recipes included with the book, Mrs. Hudson’s Tea Room provides plenty of tempting treats to whet your appetite. Vicki has graciously shared her recipe for Mini Strawberry Tarts. These delectable bites are the combination of flaky, buttery crusts providing the perfect platform for the rich, creamy custard and garnished with juicy, sweet strawberries. A delicious ending to spring and summer dinners while elegant enough to impress both family and guests!
Amazon Synopsis
Gemma Doyle, a transplanted Englishwoman, has returned to the quaint town of West London on Cape Cod to manage her Great Uncle Arthur’s Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium. The shop–located at 222 Baker Street–specializes in the Holmes canon and pastiche, and is also the home of Moriarty the cat. When Gemma finds a rare and potentially valuable magazine containing the first Sherlock Homes story hidden in the bookshop, she and her friend Jayne (who runs the adjoining Mrs. Hudson’s Tea Room) set off to find the owner, only to stumble upon a dead body.
The highly perceptive Gemma is the police’s first suspect, so she puts her consummate powers of deduction to work to clear her name, investigating a handsome rare books expert, the dead woman’s suspiciously unmoved son, and a whole family of greedy characters desperate to cash in on their inheritance. But when Gemma and Jayne accidentally place themselves at a second murder scene, it’s a race to uncover the truth before the detectives lock them up for good.
Fans of Sherlock Holmes will delight in the sleuthing duo of Gemma and Jayne in Elementary, She Read, the clever and captivating series debut by nationally bestselling author Vicki Delany.
A special thanks to Vicki Delaney for providing a hardcover copy of ELEMENTARY, SHE READ for one lucky winner! Contest ends Friday, March 17, 2017 at 11:59 pm PST, and is limited to U.S. residents only. Please use the Rafflecopter box located below the recipe to enter. The winner will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 egg yolks
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 rounded tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup whipping cream
- 1/2 teaspoon confectioners' sugar
- Strawberries to decorate
Instructions
- Mix flour and confectioners' sugar together in a bowl.
- Add butter and rub in gently with your fingertips to make flaky crumbs.
- Add the egg yolk and gently work together with fingertips to form a dough. If the dough is too sticky, gently mix in a teaspoon of flour at a time, until it is easy to handle and forms a ball.
- Very gently knead the dough 2-3 times with your hand to form a ball.
- Flour work surface lightly and dust rolling pin with flour.
- Gently roll out the pastry to 1/8 inch thick.
- Cut into circles to fit tart pans. Use a glass of appropriate size if you don’t have a round cookie cutter.
- Place the circles over the tart tin and gently push them down.
- Prick the pastry cases in several places with a fork.
- Freeze for at least one hour. Can be left overnight.
- Using an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk the egg yolks and 1 tablespoon of the sugar together until the mixture forms ribbons when the beaters are lifted, 3 or 4 minutes.
- Beat in flour to make a thick pale yellow mixture, almost a paste.
- Heat the milk gently with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and add 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract.
- Once the sugar is completely dissolved, bring to the boil.
- Very slowly, pour milk onto the egg yolk mixture, stirring all the time to avoid curdling.
- Pour the mixture back into the pan and heat on low to medium. Keep stirring with a whisk as you heat it. It will quite suddenly become thick and creamy.
- Reduce the heat immediately and cook for a minute or two, but keep whisking all the time.
- Remove from heat and pour straight into a bowl. Cool slightly.
- If not using immediately, cover with plastic wrap to keep skin from forming and refrigerate until needed.
- Pre-heat the oven to 350F.
- Bake pastry shells for 5 minutes.
- While the shells are cooking, beat one egg with a fork.
- Remove the tarts from the oven.
- Gently brush the pastry cases with beaten egg and then put them back in the oven for 5 minutes.
- When done, they should be lightly golden round the edges.
- Cool for five minutes.
- Remove pastry shells from the tin and cool on a baking rack.
- Slice strawberries if they are too large to fit neatly on the tart.
- Whip 1/4 cup of cream with 1/2 teaspoon of confectioners' sugar.
- Whisk pastry cream lightly. Add whipped cream to pastry cream and mix on low speed
- Fill tart shells with cream.
- Top with the fruit and dust with confectioners' sugar.
- Use pre-made frozen tart shells or refrigerated pie dough to simplify this recipe.
- If you don't have mini tart pans, regular-sized or mini muffin tins can be used.
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I received a copy of this book and willingly provided a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I like to visit my local used book store. There are not any independent stores near me so B&N is my other option.
Since there aren’t any book stores in our little town, I think I love every book store I come across. I can always find one that I’ve been dying to read when I get to one. 🙂
The only Mom and POP bookstore near me is a used book store. When I could go to the mall there was a B&N there so I went there.If I could get out more I’d go to the bigger cites to the books stores there
We don’t have a local book store by us. I wish we did, this sounds very good thanks
Penney
I like several independent bookstores in Cincinnati
we don’t have a local bookstore. but wish they did
I wish there were some mom and pop book stores near me, like the ones I read about in cozy mysteries but unfortunately the only practical choice is either Amazon or using my library via Overdrive for some e-books. For a real store I do like to go into B&N at the mall but we live pretty far from any decent shopping. Internet shopping is the easiest. I love finding little out of the way used book stores on vacation though! Fun fun fun!
There isn’t a local book store by me.
Oh great!! Will try recipe. Strawberry season is almost here in Phoenix!!
Oneponychick66@hotmail.com
I’m really excited for another new series that sounds so intriguing. Thanks for the chance to win and the recipe!
Looking forward to reading this. Thanks for the chance to win.
Unfortunately, there are no small, independent bookstores in my town, just a big Books A Million, and they don’t really have a great cozy selection. I tend to shop on Amazon, it’s just easier and they always have what I’m looking for (although if we did have an adorable, small, independent mystery book store in my town, I’m sure I would be one of their very best customers!). Nicole
p.s. Thanks for the delectable recipe, I’m looking forward to making these! 🙂
There’s a small independent bookseller in town called Explore Booksellers – yay!
I love any book store but BarnesandNobleEmail@email.bn.com and Noble is one of my favorites. I could stay there all day.
My fav bookstore in Dubuque, Ia is the library otherwise it would have to be Wal Mart. There are a few bookstores and i have only been in 1 that is due to i am homebound and don’t get to those and when i first moved to Ia 15 yrs ago i brought books with me and then i was teaching so by the time summer came I was starting to get the nerve disease in my legs which makes it now almost impossible to walk. I admire people that can go into a bookstore and spend as much time as they want even if my scooter could take me around my husband wouldn;t take the time to take me there. ptclayton2@aol.com p.s. Sorry the library is across the street from where i go every Wed night my bff whom i call mom comes and gets me and takes me to her house and it is across the street from a new library on Asbury Rd.
There is an independent bookstore here in town but it is diagonally at the farthest point away from where I live. I love Amazon as it has almost everything at a cheaper price and can deliver in 2 days. Very convenient for me as I am a caregiver for my husband and it’s difficult to get out much. I do hit used booksales when they happen and find a lot of great cozies. This book is already on my Amazon wishlist and my Paperbackswap wishlist.
Jan’s Books downtown. She sells new and used. And for the used she will trade 2 for 1. I buy mainly used. And often promise myself I will take in some to trade. I just haven’t had the time to gather up some books. I do stop in from time to time while in the area. Usually leave with 3 or more. so far in the past 22 yrs have intended, but never got around to taking any in.
There is only a used book store near me. But they do have a good selection of cozy mysteries.
We only have one bookstore close by. The strawberry tarts look yummy. Thanks for a chance to win!
I haven’t found any bookstores close to my new rural home in North Central Iowa, but still looking. Love the recipe, now I’m hungry for strawberry cream pie. LOL
I enjoy the local used book store and Barnes and Noble.
This recipe looks good. I am looking forward to this series.
This is a delightful story.
Wish there were a tea shop like this in my town. Well, maybe it’s better that I don’t have the temptation!
I never met a bookstore I didn’t like! My usual is Barnes and Noble in Livingston NJ but I also like the used bookstore in Montclair.
Quail Ridge Books, an independent bookstore in Raleigh, NC is my favorite, but I’ve never met a bookstore that I did not like.
No local book stores anymore. 🙁
No local book stores anymore.
I get all my books from Amazon, so I guess that would be my favorite place to buy books. Thank you for the chance to win a hardcover copy of Elementsry She Read.
Yes I love Mr. K’s, a used book store.
The tart recipe sounds delicious.
I do not have a favorite book store. Being from a small town with no book store any book store is my favorite book store to visit.
Congratulations Vicki on your new release! I usually shop on Amazon, but I love the Barnes and Noble near me.
I usually just go to my local B&N but there is an independent bookstore in the next town over that I’ve been to. I’ll have to go back soon.
I don’t have any book stores near where I live, I do most of my book shopping online.
My favorite bookstore is the library…cant afford to buy books anymore…
There isn’t any book stores near me, we have to travel about 45 minutes to get to a new or used one. I usually use my local library or I grab books when they are free for my kindle app.
I always stop in Mystery to Me in Madison when we are visiting my son at school. It’s on a great street, fairly near campus, lots of interesting shops surround it!
They’ve closed all but two of the used book stores in our town which is so sad. They even closed the books only Goodwill that was so fun to visit. Nowadays my favorite place to find used books (that I can almost afford to buy!) is the Friends of the Library book sales. They have them 2 to 3 times a year and I can usually find some great cozy mystery to read. I have found several new-to-me authors that way too. I also check out as many books as I can at the library and I get in a lot of reading that way too. I do miss my old used bookstores though but with the library sales, I’m good and quite happy with the books I find.
There is a new and used mystery book store in Minneapolis that I try to go to whenever I get to the big city—it’s called Uncle Edgar’s.
Right now my favorite bookstore is Amazon. But, one of my favorite bookstores that I like to visit when in the area is The BookWorks in Pacific Grove, CA. It is small, filled to the brim with everything you’d want to read, little cubby corners to sample books, and a delightful cafe with coffee and treats. Nice place to browse, sip, and relax.
The only independent bookstore that we have in my small town is a used bookstore. I can travel a few miles in a couple of directions and visit a Barnes & Noble.
There aren’t any local independent book stores in my area. I do frequent a local used book store or B&N. I guess my favorite place to buy books is Amazon, I can pre-order and they have great prices.
I love going to The Frugal Muse in Madison Wisconsin. Great review & recipe btw.
We have a used book store and I go there.
We have a local one I like to visit. Thanks for the chance.
There aren’t a whole lot of options where I live. There is a Books A Million in the next county and that is where I usually go when I buy books. They also have a trading bookstore and I go there ever so often, I’ve found many a new author while looking through their shelves.
I cannot wait to read this book. It sounds exactly like one I would enjoy.
We don’t have any local bookstores any longer. Have to do Amazon or Barnes and Noble.
There is a used bookstore in Nashville, TN called McKay’s. I can and have spent hours in that store. I always come out with at least a bag full if not more every time I visit.
I can’t wait to get my hands on this book. I love Sherlock Holmes. I’ve read many of the stories. And I’ve seen every episode of Sherlock and Elementary. Benedict Cumberbatch will always be my favorite Sherlock.
Rainy Day Pals~ a used bookstore in my town that I love. A mom & pop store–so to speak. Reminds me that I really should make another visit 🙂
Our local book store closed two years ago but I used to go there every week to buy new books.
I have two. I know I am lucky. I have the Poisoned Pen nearby. I go there often for author talks and always walk away with a little something. There is also Changing Hands, an indie bookstore right down the street. I am surrounded!
I have two. I know I am lucky. I have the Poisoned Pen nearby. I go there often for author talks and always walk away with a little something. There is also Changing Hands, an indie bookstore right down the street. I am surrounded!
Sounds great!! The Tarts sound amazing, so I am going to have to experiment with them to make them gluten free (and dairy free). They won’t be as good as the recipe I am sure, but one can always dream!!
Can’t wait to read the book!
I can’t wait to read this book!
Thank you for the great giveaway and my hips thank you for the tart recipe!
I get my books at Amazon.com since there’s no bookstore near me.
We have an independent used bookstore I visit often. They will also order any new books for me. The Book Rack of Murray, KY
Powells bookstore is the best.
These look so delicious. I’m excited for this new series. Love the black cat on the cover
Not any more. My favorite bookstore was Creatures and Crooks, unfortunately, she had to close. Still get together with the book club, though.
I go to a few bookstores in & around Houston. I love Murder By The Book, in the Rice Village area, I have met quite a few of my favorite authors there. Dean James is a favorite, ( used to “hang out” there) haha. I also like Barnes & Noble (the only one close to me).
I used to love going to Barnes & Noble but they closed them all down around here. Now I will go to my library, get a book & go to Starbucls!
Cheers-
Kelly Braun
Would love to get this book to read. They are the best to read.
My favorite book store is Barnes and Nobles, in Sioux Falls, SD. The town I live in does not have a book store. Also I frequent the community library.
Loved this book, such great wit, couldn’t put it down, Thanks
The only bookstores in my area are Barnes & Noble and Half Price Books. Not much choice. I really miss the independent book stores. They’re far and few these days.
Rainy Day Books is a local store and one of the best!
A Novel Idea is my local bookstore it sells new and used books! The store is guarded by two cats who will crawl up on your lap if you choose to sit and read for awhile!
Barnes and Noble but they are carrying less mysteries so I usually order from mystery bookstores.
Aloha Kim! I shop at Barnes and Noble as well as Amazon. Thanks for a chance to win!