They keep everyone’s secrets, until there’s a murder…
Sydney, 1965: After a chance encounter with a stranger, tea ladies Hazel, Betty and Irene become accidental sleuths, stumbling into a world of ruthless crooks and racketeers in search of a young woman believed to be in danger.
In the meantime, Hazel’s job at Empire Fashionwear is in jeopardy. The firm has turned out the same frocks and blouses for the past twenty years and when the mini-skirt bursts onto the scene, it rocks the rag trade to its foundations. War breaks out between departments and it falls to Hazel, the quiet diplomat, to broker peace and save the firm.
When there is a murder in the building, the tea ladies are pushed out of their comfort zone, forced to draw on their wider network and put themselves in danger as they piece together clues that connect the murder to a nearby arson and a kidnapping. But if there’s one thing tea ladies can handle, it’s hot water.
The Tea Ladies is a delightfully intriguing romp, full of twists, turns, shocking discoveries… and scones. It may be crime writing at its cosiest, but it’s not without substance. This is big-hearted fiction, covering important issues that still affect women today. Author Amanda Hampson sheds light on the precarity faced by many older women, who today are the fastest growing group at risk of homelessness in Australia. Even more importantly, she demonstrates how community and camaraderie form the ultimate safety net, and how, with support from friends, life continues to be a journey full of meaning and discovery.
Hazel is an extremely likeable protagonist, with her pragmatism, shrewdness, and ‘built-in lie detector’, which is absolutely infallible… until it’s not. The close bonds she shares with her good friends, her neighbours, her daughter, and her colleagues are a beautiful reflection on the special magic that female companionship holds.
This wickedly witty cosy crime novel is set in Sydney in the swinging sixties; at a time when everything from fashion to attitudes towards women was rapidly evolving. Hampson paints an immersive picture of everyday life at the time. I love the unique framing The Tea Ladies brings to this period: so often, the focus is on the younger generation, impatient to herald a new era. But what about the older women whose lives have been shaped, up until now, by the social structures the young people are so eager to overturn? Hazel’s story provides a fascinating older generational perspective that we don’t often get to experience.
A seasoned author of both fiction and nonfiction, Hampson’s existing fanbase will delight in this new, juicy mystery. But for those of us coming to her fresh, Hampson’s latest is ideal for fans of Richard Osman, Bonnie Garmus and frequent tea breaks. You’ll want to make sure you have a nice hot cuppa and a pack of Arnott’s biscuits on hand before you settle in for this one – it’ll be hard to put down once you start.
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