Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Crying in the Chapel: A Swinging Sixties Mystery by Teresa Trent! Today we are featuring a review of book five in this cozy mystery series. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews, and more! There is also a Giveaway for $20 Amazon Gift Card and an eBook copy of Crying in the Chapel: A Swinging Sixties Mystery by Teresa Trent. ENTER HERE! ⬅️

Crying in the Chapel: A Swinging Sixties Mystery
Historical Cozy Mystery
5th in Series
Setting – Texas
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Level Best Books
Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 10, 2026
Print length ‏ : ‎ 184 pages
Paperback
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8898201678
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0GS478JPF
Digital
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0GRJQY14G

 About the Book:

It’s August 1965, and Dot Morgan is finally getting married to the dashing reporter Ben Dalton. Her wedding day, August 14th, promises to be perfect—if only it didn’t follow Friday the 13th. What could go wrong? Planning a wedding with the members of the Camden Chapel, Dot thinks she’s overwhelmed, but then it gets worse when a body is found on the church lawn. Dot decides to focus on her wedding to Ben, but when police reveal the victim didn’t jump from the belfry—he was pushed—she can no longer look away. Her suspects aren’t hardened criminals; they’re the same church members who bring casseroles and ask about her family. With her wedding day fast approaching, Dot must unmask a killer hiding in plain sight, or the secrets of Camden Chapel will remain buried in the summer heat.

My Review:

This was such a fun summer read! If you’re new to the series, you can certainly read this as a standalone. I am anxious, though, to read the first four books in the series as I enjoyed this fifth one so much. 

Set in the hot August days of 1965, Dot is deep within the last minute preparations for her upcoming August 14th wedding day. Everything seems to be going smoothly until a body is found on the church lawn and then another member of the church is found dead…now Dot knows something isn’t right! While most characters might be too overwhelmed by wedding planning, Dot seeks to uncover the truth and make sure justice is served.

This is a solid mystery – readers have lots of suspects and clues to consider. The mystery is balanced perfectly with all the details of small town life in the sixties. The church potlucks, the church ladies and push and pull between a woman’s role at home vs outside of the house. This was a page-turning read that I read in just two sittings. For readers who like a little nostalgia mixed in with their cozies!  

About the Author:

Teresa Trent has been writing and publishing mysteries since 2011 starting with the Pecan Bayou Mystery Series and followed by the Piney Woods Mystery Series. She presently writes the Swinging Sixties Mystery Series and the Henry Park Paranormal Series. When Teresa isn’t writing novels and short stories, she spends her time creating narrated excerpts on her podcast, Books to the Ceiling, where she gets to use all that community theater experience from her teens and twenties along with a little audio editing she learned from her daughter. Teresa is a former English teacher, but also spent many years teaching music to preschoolers, working with children of all abilities. Teresa makes her home in Texas with her husband and son.

Author Links: Website ~ Blog/Podcast: Books to the Ceiling ~ Facebook ~ X ~ GoodReads ~ Instagram ~ BookBub ~ Threads 

Purchase Links: Amazon  ~ Barnes and Noble ~ Kobo ~ Bookshop.org ~ Bookbub

TOUR PARTICIPANTS:

• July 15 – Jody’s Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT 
• July 15 – Sarandipity’s – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
• July 16 – Sarah Can’t Stop Reading Books – REVIEW
• July 17 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW
• July 17 – Sarcastically Yours, Jen – REVIEW
• July 18 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
• July 19 – Romance Novel Giveaways – AUTHOR GUEST POST
• July 20 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – SPOTLIGHT
• July 20 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
• July 21 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT 
• July 21 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
• July 22 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT
• July 22 – Book Hookup – REVIEW
• July 23 – Salty Inspirations – AUTHOR GUEST POST  
• July 23 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
• July 24 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – CHARACTER GUEST POST

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