Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Murder in the Tea Leaves (A Tea Shop Mystery) by Laura Childs! Today we are featuring a review of book 27 in this cozy mystery series. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews, and more! It’s a great way to add books to your TBR! There is also a Rafflecopter Giveaway for print copies of the book – three lucky winners!
Murder in the Tea Leaves (A Tea Shop Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
27th in Series
Setting – South Carolina
Publisher : Berkley (March 5, 2024)
Hardcover : 304 pages
ISBN-10 : 0593200985
ISBN-13 : 978-0593200988
Digital ASIN : B0C777ZCXN
My Review:
Theodosia, her lovable dog Earl Grey and her delightful group of friends are back in the 27th entry into Laura Childs’ Tea Shop Mystery series–Murder in the Tea Leaves! Readers can easily pick this cozy mystery up as a standalone, but I encourage everyone to dive into the backlist for even more charming reading.
Hollywood has come to historic Charleston, South Carolina with the filming of the movie Dark Fortunes at the old Brittlebank Manor. Theo has agreed to stock the craft services with her delicious baked goods and of course tea. Only days into the filming and there is an electrical accident that kills the film’s director. But was it an accident? It’s hard for the police to know since everyone on set claims to have not seen a thing.
Upon further investigation, the police determine foul play and one of Theo’s friends, Delaine, finds herself on the list of suspects. Theodosia, being the true sleuth that she is, begins to hunt down clues to ferret out the truth. Things get even more complicated when a Charleston Film Board member is also murdered.
The fast build of the mystery, the second murder and list of suspects and clues had me turning pages so quickly. I inhaled this mystery in a day and a half. In addition to the pacing, I adored all the characters–each so unique and loveable. Theo is especially fearless as a sleuth, unafraid to ask the hard questions or go where she’s not allowed just to find the truth.
The descriptions of the historic city and buildings within felt like arm-chair travel. The special tea parties that Theo hosts at her shop added a whimsical touch to the story, and as a tea lover myself, I found these details fascinating. I wish so much I could attend a tea party at Theo’s shop. The recipes included at the end are mouth-watering, and I appreciated the author’s inclusion of information about tea and South Carolina as additional resources.
No spoilers here, but the ending of this mystery was a lot of fun to read. I could easily picture the breath-taking escape from the bad-guys and their pretty funny capture. So looking forward to book 28!
About the Book:
It’s Lights, Action, Murder as tea maven Theodosia Browning scrambles for clues in this latest installment of the New York Times bestselling series.
When Theodosia Browning reads the tea leaves on the set of the movie, Dark Fortunes, things go from spooky to worse. Lights are dimmed, the camera rolls, and red hot sparks fly as the film’s director is murdered in a tricky electrical accident.
Or was it an accident? Though the cast and crew are stunned beyond belief, nobody admits to seeing a thing. And when Theodosia’s friend, Delaine, becomes the prime suspect, Theodosia begins her own shadow investigation. But who among this Hollywood cast and crew had murder on their mind? The screenwriter is a self-centered pot head, the leading actress is trying to wiggle out of her contract, the brand new director seems indifferent, and nobody trusts the slippery-when-dry Hollywood agent.
Between hosting a Breakfast at Tiffany’s Tea, a Poetry Tea, and trying to launch her own chocolate line, Theodosia doggedly hunts down clues and explores the seemingly haunted Brittlebank Manor where the murder took place. And just when she’s ready to pounce, a Charleston Film Board member is also murdered, throwing everything into total disarray. But this clever killer will go to any lengths to hide his misdeeds as Theodosia soon finds out when she and her tea sommelier, Drayton, get caught up in a dangerous stakeout.
INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS!
About The Author:
Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbook Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fundraising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.
Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:
The Tea Shop Mysteries – set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.
The Scrapbooking Mysteries – a slightly edgier series that takes place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!
The Cackleberry Club Mysteries – set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy café even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.
Author Links:
Purchase Links:
Amazon – B&N – Kobo – Bookshop.org – PenguinRandomHouse
TOUR PARTICIPANTS:
- March 5 – Mystery, Thrillers & Suspense – SPOTLIGHT
- March 5 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT
- March 6 – Angel’s Book Nook – SPOTLIGHT
- March 6 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – SPOTLIGHT
- March 7 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
- March 7 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT
- March 8 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR GUEST POST
- March 8 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
- March 9 – Sarah Can’t Stop Reading Books – REVIEW
- March 10 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
- March 11 – The Plain-Spoken Pen – REVIEW
- March 11 – Baroness Book Trove – REVIEW
- March 12 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW
- March 12 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
- March 13 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – AUTHOR GUEST POST
- March 13 – Cassidy’s Bookshelves – SPOTLIGHT
- March 14 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT
- March 15 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW
- March 16 – The Mystery of Writing – SPOTLIGHT
- March 17 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW
- March 18 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT
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