"Tea Shop Owner Must Solve Murder for Bride/Friend"
Reviewed by Min Jung
Posted September 1, 2013
Mystery Cozy
Theodosia Browning is taking a break from being the owner
and manager of
the Indigo Tea Shop for a day to serve as a bridesmaid for
her friend Delaine
Dish, who is marrying attorney Dougan Granville. The
wedding day, however,
is getting off to a bad start. Delaine's maid of honour is
late, and the city of
Charleston is being battered by an unprecedented storm.
Theodosia does her best to keep Delaine calm and keep the
wedding on track,
but this proves to be an insurmountable task when the groom
turns up dead.
Delaine knows that Theodosia has a knack for successfully
investigating
various issues throughout the years, and she begs her
bridesmaid to solve the
murder of the man who was very nearly her husband. Although
Theodosia is
reluctant to do so at first, she slowly but surely gets
pulled into sleuthing
around, and she finds that there's much more than meets the
eye with this
late attorney.
Dougan's law partner is being less than forthcoming with
Delaine about the
will. Could it be that their business partnership gave him
a motive to kill
Dougan before he got married? Theodosia visits Dougan's ex-
girlfriend (who
attended the almost-wedding) to get some information on
their relationship
and Dougan's former drug use, only to find out that she had
motives for
wanting Dougan dead. And finally, the ATF is investigating
Dougan's cigar
store on suspicion of illegally importing Cuban cigars.
While she's sorting all of this out, Delaine lets Theodosia
know that Dougan's
house was part of a garden tour. As his house is next door
to the Indigo Tea
Shop, Delaine "suggests" that Theodosia can prepare his
house, including
providing refreshments. And to top it all off, a ghost
hunting team from a
reality television show wants to take film Theodosia
visiting the crime scene.
Although the murder took place in the very beginning of the
book, it took
awhile for this book to really grab my attention, which I
think had a lot to do
with both Theodosia's reluctance to get involved with
solving Dougan's
murder and Delaine's bratty behaviour. Although it's
understandable that she
was grieving after Dougan was killed, she was painted in a
very unsympathetic
light from the first pages of the book, and nothing ever
happened to make me
root for her after that. Although I typically appreciate a
book full of suspects
and motives, SWEET TEA REVENGE felt overcrowded with them,
and it felt as if more than
one served as the proverbial red herring. The final piece
of criticism I have is
one I cannot share without revealing a plot spoiler, but it
has to do with the
true culprit and the reveal. I typically enjoy this series, though, and I will continue
to read it in the hopes
that SWEET TEA REVENGE was a minor stumble in what is
usually a very charming series with
warm, inviting characters.
SUMMARY
In the latest novel frNew York Times
bestselling author of The Agony of the Leaves,
Indigo Tea Shop owner Theodosia Browning may always be a
bridesmaid, never a bride, but this groom is never going to
make it to the altar... Theodosia Browning's dear friend, Delaine Dish, has
asked her to be a bridesmaid for her wedding. But when the
big day arrives, everything seems to be going wrong. First,
a massive storm is brewing over Charleston. A bad omen?
Second, Delaine's maid of honor is late for the ceremony.
And finally, the groom not only has cold feet—his
whole body is cold. A murderer has crashed the wedding. As Theodosia comforts a devastated Delaine, she needs to
sort out the suspects on the groom's side from the suspects
on the bride's side. One thing soon becomes
apparent—revenge won't be the only dish served cold at
this wedding. And if Theodosia doesn't watch her step, a
cold-blooded killer may have a rude reception in store for
her... INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS!
ExcerptTheodosia flew down the narrow hallway and rapped on the
door of Dougan Granville’s suite. “Dougan, it’s time,” she
called out. Theodosia knew he was a hard-driving attorney
who was probably working right up until the last millisecond. Nothing. No movement, no answer. Theodosia leaned forward and put an ear to the door.
Maybe he was . . . slightly indisposed? Could it be that he
really was a nervous bridegroom? “Dougan? Mr. Granville? It’s Theodosia. We’re all
waiting for you.” Still nothing. Wondering what protocol she should observe for
something like this, Theodosia hesitated for a few moments.
Then decided it didn’t much matter. Guests were waiting,
the bride was waiting, it was time to get moving. She
gripped the doorknob and turned it, then pushed the door
open a good six inches. “Dougan,” Theodosia called again, trying to inject a
little humor in her voice. “We have an impatient bride
who’s waiting for her handsome groom.” There was no sound, save the monotonous drumming of
rain on the roof and the gurgling of water as it rushed
through the downspouts. Theodosia pushed the door all the way open and stepped
across the threshold. “Dougan?” The room was completely dark and ominously quiet.
Straight ahead, she could just make out a faint outline of
heavy velvet draperies pulled across a bay window. Did Granville fall asleep? He must have. Wow, this is
one relaxed guy on his wedding day. Shadows capered on the walls as she stepped past a
looming wardrobe and pieces of furniture. The room had a
strange electrical smell, as if an outside transformer had
exploded. Theodosia tiptoed across the carpet, her silk
mules whispering softly. When she reached the foot of the
bed, she stared. A tiny bedside lamp shone a small circle
of warmth on a battered bedside table, but there was no one
lying on the bed. Nothing had creased the dusty pink coverlet. What on earth? Flustered, nervous now that they might have a runaway
groom on their hands, Theodosia fumbled with the curtains
and ripped them open. Lightning flashed outside, a sharp
blade cutting through a wall of purple-black clouds.
Still, this is better. A little more light. Just as Theodosia turned, something caught her eye. A
fleeting image that she couldn’t quite process but one that
unnerved her anyway. She slowly retraced her footsteps.
Back to the sitting room area that had been in total
darkness, as thunder boomed like kettle drums in some unholy
symphony. That’s when she saw him. Dougan Granville was sprawled on a brocade fainting
couch. His eyes were squeezed shut, his head had fallen
forward until his chin rested heavily on his chest. On the
small glass table in front of him was an empty glassine
envelope and a scatter of white powder. Theodosia tiptoed closer, her heart hammering in her
chest, her brain shouting screams of protest. An unwanted
shot of adrenaline sparked by surprise and fear had sent her
blood pressure zooming. Still, she was mesmerized,
hypnotized, at what she was seeing. Was Granville just stoned? Or . . . something worse?
Theodosia moved closer and stretched out a tentative
hand. The very tips of her fingers brushed the pulse point
of his neck. Granville felt ice cold and lifeless. There
was no pulse, no respiration. Revulsion and fear rose up inside her like sulfurous
magma from a roiling volcano. Theodosia understood,
logically and viscerally, that Granville hadn’t just fainted
on this fainting couch like genteel ladies of old. This man was seriously, catastrophically, dead.
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