The Deadly Dispute

When Hazel takes a new job as tea lady at the docks she does not anticipate the crime wave that is about to erupt. On her first day at work a body is found in the water near the docks. Then she learns that a large collection of gold coins have disappeared from a cargo ship. Two more dead bodies associated with the wharves and her boss attacked in the street and Hazel realises this is not a normal work environment.

Betty also has her problems. Disillusioned with her life she becomes involved with a young colleague who introduces her to life as experienced by the younger generation in 1967.

Irene also has worries of her own. As cleaner of a brothel she is concerned when her boss invests in another brothel and Irene notices that the businesses are being targeted by the local mafia.

Meanwhile the Tea Ladies Guild is attempting to raise money to assist the orphanage at the local convent.

In The Deadly Disputes, Amanda Hampson has written written another entertaining crime novel about a group of older ladies who are not afraid of solving crimes in their neighbourhood. Set in 1967 the book also revives memories of living in the 1960s. And when there is a problem, a cup of tea and a biscuit will always help. This is the third book in Tea Ladies Mystery series.

The Cryptic Clue

Hazel, Betty, Irene and friends still meet for a lunch break to discuss their life as tea ladies and life in general. It is 1966 and change is in the air. There is concern among the ladies that they may soon lose their jobs as some firms are replacing tea ladies with machines to dispense hot drinks. The ladies decide to call their friends to organise some direct action to try and save their jobs. In the factory where Hazel works there is also a move for a change of leadership in the firm, making most of the staff uneasy.

Irene learns that her husband died in prison and left her a cryptic message in a book which Hazel manages to decipher. This leads to an expedition to the Blue Mountains to follow the clues.

Meanwhile Hazel has met Oscar who has come from Denmark to Australia to work on the opera house building project and they become friends. Oscar helps the tea ladies when they uncover a mystery at the local church which leads them to discover a plot threatening national security.

The Cryptic Clue is a sequel to The Tea Ladies by Amanda Hampson. It is another cosy crime novel with several mysteries to solve as well as dealing with themes of friendship, dyslexia plus changes occurring in Australia in the mid 1960s.  

The Tea Ladies

The Tea Ladies by Amanda Hampson is set in Sydney in 1965. Hazel Bates is the tea lady for the firm Empire Fashionwear, manufacturers of quality fashion for women. Hazel and a group of friends regularly meet for a cup of tea or something stronger in the local pub. When Hazel briefly notices through an office window a woman who appears to be in distress in the deserted building opposite the factory, she and her friends decide to investigate. 

However life becomes more complicated when in the middle of the night there is a fire in the deserted building. Hazel and Betty, like most of the neighbourhood go to watch. The door to the Empire building is unlocked so Hazel and Betty check inside and discover the body of staff member, Mr McCracken.

The tea ladies now have a number of crimes to investigate. Who was the lady in the deserted factory and who kidnapped her? Who lit the factory fire and why? Who killed Mr McCracken and why? Hazel also has a more private concern to investigate. Her husband, Bob, has been behaving strangely and, when Hazel discovers that a private investigator has been tailing her, she wants to know why.

Empire Fashionwear has other concerns to sort out caused by the publicity that followed the visit of English model, Jean Shrimpton, to a race meeting in Melbourne. Within the factory there is a strict hierarchy of staff with those upstairs wanting to maintain the status quo in fashion design while younger staff members wanting the firm to manufacture more 'with it' garments.

Having worked, in the mid 1960s, in a building that had a tea lady as well as being well aware of the changes in women's fashion that occurred at that time, I enjoyed reading about the day to day activities and concerns faced by the characters in this story. Of course there was also a series of crimes to investigate, especially as the police did not appear to be anxious to find out the cause of the crimes.

Amanda Hampson has written a fun cozy crime novel incorporating a group of interesting and enterprising characters who are determined to investigate these crimes that have occurred in their neighbourhood.