Theodosia Browning serves tea and solves crimes in
Charleston, a city steeped in tradition and treachery in the
latest Tea Shop Mystery from New York Times
bestselling author Laura Childs.
It is Sunday afternoon, and Theodosia and Drayton are
catering a formal tea at a hot-air balloon rally. The view
aloft is not only stunning, they are also surrounded by a
dozen other colorful hot-air balloons. But as the sky turns
gray and the clouds start to boil up, a strange object zooms
out of nowhere. It is a drone, and it appears to be buzzing
around the balloons, checking them out.
As Theodosia and Drayton watch, the drone, hovering like
some angry, mechanized insect, deliberately crashes into the
balloon next to them. An enormous, fiery explosion erupts,
and everyone watches in horror as the balloon plummets to
the earth, killing all three of its passengers.
Sirens scream, first responders arrive, and Theodosia is
interviewed by the police. During the interview she learns
that one of the downed occupants was Don Kingsley, the CEO
of a local software company, SyncSoft. Not only do the
police suspect Kingsley as the primary target, they learn
that he possessed a rare Revolutionary War Union Jack flag
that several people were rabidly bidding on.
Intrigued, Theodosia begins her own investigation. Was it
the CEO's soon-to-be ex-wife, who is restoring an enormous
mansion at no expense? The CEO's personal assistant, who
also functioned as curator of his prized collection of
Americana? Two rival antiques' dealers known for dirty
dealing? Or was the killer the fiancée of one of Theodosia's
dear friends, who turns out to be an employee—and
whistle-blower—at SyncSoft?