How would you describe your family or your childhood?
My early childhood was almost idyllic. I grew up on Cane Ridge Plantation just south of Charleston, South Carolina. I had a horse, dogs, and the freedom to roam the old rice fields and swamps of the low-country. When I was ten, my mother passed away, so my dad and I moved to Charleston proper where he was a practicing attorney.
What was your greatest talent?
Even as a kid I loved solving mysteries. I grew up reading Nancy Drew and watching TV crime drama and was always trying to balance real clues versus red herrings so I could solve whatever baffling mystery came my way.
What do you do for a living?
A half dozen years ago, I quit my crazy 24/7 marketing job and opened the Indigo Tea Shop on Charleston’s famed Church Street. Along with Drayton Connelley, my tea sommelier, and Haley Parker, my baker, we serve tea, scones, and light lunches. Much to my delight we were instantly popular and have expanded to catering tea parties and hosting special event teas. Along the way Drayton has developed a line of proprietary tea blends and I’ve created a line of Church Street Chocolates. Though I thought a tea shop would be a far slower pace than marketing, it’s not. I’m constantly on the go!
Where do you live?
I used to live in the apartment above the Indigo Tea Shop. But thanks to my shop’s profitability, I bought a small cottage in Charleston’s Historic District. It’s tucked in among a few grande dame mansions and has the look of a Hansel and Grettel home. That is, an angled roofline, stucco exterior, cross beams, and a shingled roof that looks almost thatched. It even has a name – Hazelhurst.
Do you have any enemies?
Funny you should ask. Remember my love of mysteries? Well, truth be told, I’ve been dragged into quite a few real life mysteries. Most recently, I was hosting a Firefly Tea on the patio of the Tangled Rose B and B when someone snuck in and murdered one of my guests! So terrible – and of course I felt a teeny bit responsible. So I’ve been snooping around, looking at possible suspects, and trying to solve this somewhat bizarre murder mystery. Along with way I’ve stepped on a few toes and ruffled some feathers, so I’m afraid I might have created a few enemies. Or maybe brushed shoulders with the actual killer? Oh dear, that would be inconvenient for him, wouldn’t it?
Do you have children, pets, both, or neither?
Just one pet – my tea shop dog, Earl Grey. He’s a Dalbrador (part Dalmation, part Labrador) and is also a trained service dog. He and I occasionally visit senior homes and children’s hospitals.
Significant other?
Right now I’m dating Detective Pete Riley. He’s an up-and-coming Detective with Charleston PD’s Robbery-Homicide Division.
Biggest challenge in relationships?
If Riley is tasked to investigate a crime and I’m conducting my own shadow investigation, then we’re obviously going to butt heads. He does NOT want me interfering with the law, even though I’ve proved, time and again, that I’m a perfectly capable amateur investigator. So, a challenge in our relationship? Always.
What do you do to entertain yourself or have fun?
For one thing, Charleston is a foodie town, so there are always new restaurants and wine bars to try. Then there are the tried and true oyster roasts in the low country, our Spoleto Festival in May, sailing in Charleston Harbor, the Blessing of the Fleet, our Candlelight Tour of old homes, and autumn horseback riding and quail hunting.
What is your greatest personal failing, in your view?
Maybe I should have more gratitude for what life has given me? I have so much while others in the world have so little.
What keeps you awake at night?
Probably worrying that everything I’ve built – my Indigo Tea Shop with all my many wonderful customers – can evaporate in an instant. Life is fleeting so I worry about the future and try not to take anything for granted.
What is the most pressing problem you have at the moment?
I’m still nosing around, trying to figure out who killed poor Mrs. Van Courtland at my Firefly Tea. The police are nowhere and I’m feeling uneasy that this killer might just slip away.
Greatest source of joy?
My tea shop and my colleagues who work with me. My friends. My Aunt Libby who still lives at Cane Ridge. My dear dog Earl Grey. And all the readers of the Tea Shop Mysteries. Bless you all.
Tea Shop Mystery #30
A brazen killer sparks Theodosia Browning’s sense of justice in this latest installment of the New York Times bestselling series.
As fireflies dazzle like tiny glowing lanterns, tea maven Theodosia hosts an elegant evening tea on the patio of the Tangled Rose B and B. But in this gentle darkness an intruder has made their way in and slipped deadly drugs into the baked Alaska of Mrs. Van Courtland, one of Charleston’s local grande dames. Shocked by this brazen act, urged on by Mrs. V’s grieving son, Theodosia begins her own shadow investigation. Soon, she finds herself at odds with a greedy developer, the questionable residents of Honey Badger House, a vengeful ex-daughter-in-law, ne’er do well relatives, and a housekeeper who knows all the secrets. As Theodosia hosts a Moulin Rouge Tea and a Queen Victoria Tea, her tea sommelier Drayton is assaulted by a masked stranger and the fiancé of Mrs. V’s son is kidnapped. It’s only at the Starry Starry Night black tie ball that Theodosia stumbles upon the killer and gets pulled into a dramatic life and death chase.
Mystery Cozy [ Berkley, On Sale: March 10, 2026, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9780593815472 / eISBN: 9780593815489 ]
Laura Childs is the author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbook Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. All have been on the New York Times, USA Today, and Publisher’s Weekly bestseller lists. Recently, Book Riot named her mysteries to their list of “25 All Time Best Cozy Mystery Series.” In her previous life Laura was CEO of her own marketing firm and authored three screenplays.
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