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Love, Danger, Homecomings & Heart β€” Your June Reading Escape Starts Here

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HONEY DROP DEAD

Honey Drop Dead, August 2023
Tea Shop Mystery #26
by Laura Childs

Berkley
320 pages
ISBN: 0593200950
EAN: 9780593200957
Kindle: B0BLTT3TCN
Hardcover / e-Book / audiobook
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"This Long-Running Tea Shop Mystery Series Keeps Getting Better and Better"

Fresh Fiction Review

HONEY DROP DEAD
Laura Childs

Reviewed by Sandra Martin
Posted August 10, 2023

Mystery Culinary | Mystery Cozy

Theodosia, Drayton, and Haley are back in the 26th Tea Shop Mystery buzzing about their tea party guests at their Honeybee Tea being held in the lovely Petigru Park. Holly Burns from the Imago Gallery is hosting the party to drum up more business, but when a nearby beekeeper turns his toxic fumes on the party guests, chaos ensues and Theodosia finds herself in the middle of another murder mystery in HONEY DROP DEAD.

When the fumes settle, Theodosia realizes the beekeepers’ ploy was a diversion tactic to murder a local politician, Osgood Claxton III. Claxton was well known for taking bribes and ruffling a few feathers in the business community. The tea party is ruined and the paintings on display are damaged. Gallery owner, Holly Burns, is devastated and asks Theodosia to solve the mystery and save her gallery’s reputation. As Theodosia starts investigating, she realizes Caxton had more than a few enemies, including an angry ex-wife, a political opponent, an up-and-coming artist, and a former suspected mistress. Theo’s sleuthing takes her on a crazy chase which includes a boat ramming, a shop break-in, a secluded farm, and a showdown with an angry bull. Can Theodosia and the gang solve this latest mystery while pulling off some fabulous tea events and staying safe in the Holy City of Charleston, SC?

This long-running New York Times bestselling mystery series shows no signs of slowing down. HONEY DROP DEAD is the latest installment and includes all the charm, mystery, action, and ambiance readers come to expect from a Laura Childs mystery. Theodosia is one of my favorite sleuths. With an entrepreneurial spirit, she runs a highly successful tea shop where she comes across a myriad of colorful characters who hide their secrets well. Theodosia is whip-smart and resourceful, diving headfirst into mysteries that often land her and Drayton in precarious situations. Set in Charleston, SC,  the mysteries always have great atmosphere, and Childs’ details about food, tea, historical places, and events add a special depth to her mysteries. HONEY DROP DEAD is well-plotted with an interesting set-up for the murder and a fabulous ending where Theodosia and Drayton are facing death at the hands of a maniacal killer. Childs has a formula that works and HONEY DROP DEAD is another highly entertaining mystery that readers can enjoy with a good cup of tea!  Recipes, scone tips, and Tea Time tips are included!

Learn more about HONEY DROP DEAD

SUMMARY

The murder of a political bigwig at a Honey Bee Tea sends Theodosia Browning buzzing for answers in this latest installment of the New York Times bestselling series.Theodosia’s Honey Bee Tea was an elegant affair set in Charleston’s new Petigru Park amid newly planted native grasses and a community beekeeping project. But when a phony beekeeper shows up and sprays toxic smoke at the guests, the party erupts in chaos. Worse yet, a shot rings out and Osgood Claxton III, candidate for state legislature, falls to the ground—dead.Holly Burns, the gallery owner who asked Theodosia to cater the tea, is understandably heartbroken. A man is dead, her guests are angry and injured, and the paintings that were on display are left in tatters. When the police don’t seem to have a clue, when old-line politicos don’t want questions asked, Holly begs Theodosia to run a shadow investigation and help restore her gallery’s good name.Between hosting a Wind in the Willows Tea and a Glam Girl Tea, Theodosia questions everyone that had a bone to pick with Claxton. This includes Booker, an angry outsider artist; Lamar Lucket, Claxton’s political opponent; and Mignon Merriweather, the dead man’s soon-to-be ex-wife. But the investigation becomes a political hot potato following a second murder, the revelation of a messy affair, a chase through a swamp, and a vandalized shop.INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS!

EXCERPT

No excerpt available.

BOOK SERIES

Tea Shop Mysteries

Death by Darjeeling
DEATH BY DARJEELING
#1.0 β€’ May 2001
Gunpowder Green
GUNPOWDER GREEN
#2.0 β€’ March 2002
Shades of Earl Grey
SHADES OF EARL GREY
#3.0 β€’ January 2003
The English Breakfast Murder
THE ENGLISH BREAKFAST MURDER
#4.0 β€’ August 2003
Jasmine Moon Murder
JASMINE MOON MURDER
#5.0 β€’ July 2005
Chamomile Mourning
CHAMOMILE MOURNING
#6.0 β€’ February 2006
Blood Orange Brewing
BLOOD ORANGE BREWING
#7.0 β€’ March 2007
Dragonwell Dead
DRAGONWELL DEAD
#8.0 β€’ March 2007
The Silver Needle Murder
THE SILVER NEEDLE MURDER
#9.0 β€’ March 2008
Oolong Dead
OOLONG DEAD
#10.0 β€’ March 2009
The Teaberry Strangler
THE TEABERRY STRANGLER
#11.0 β€’ March 2010
Scones & Bones
SCONES & BONES
#12.0 β€’ March 2011
Agony Of The Leaves
AGONY OF THE LEAVES
#13.0 β€’ March 2012
Sweet Tea Revenge
SWEET TEA REVENGE
#14.0 β€’ March 2013
Steeped in Evil
STEEPED IN EVIL
#15.0 β€’ March 2014
Ming Tea Murder
MING TEA MURDER
#16.0 β€’ May 2015
Devonshire Scream
DEVONSHIRE SCREAM
#17.0 β€’ March 2016
Pekoe Most Poison
PEKOE MOST POISON
#18.0 β€’ March 2017
Plum Tea Crazy
PLUM TEA CRAZY
#19.0 β€’ March 2018
Broken Bone China
BROKEN BONE CHINA
#20.0 β€’ March 2019
Lavender Blue Murder
LAVENDER BLUE MURDER
#21.0 β€’ March 2020
Haunted Hibiscus
HAUNTED HIBISCUS
#22.0 β€’ March 2021
Twisted Tea Christmas
TWISTED TEA CHRISTMAS
#23.0 β€’ October 2021
A Dark and Stormy Tea
A DARK AND STORMY TEA
#24.0 β€’ August 2022
Lemon Curd Killer
LEMON CURD KILLER
#25.0 β€’ March 2023
Honey Drop Dead
HONEY DROP DEAD
#26.0 β€’ August 2023
Murder in the Tea Leaves
MURDER IN THE TEA LEAVES
#27.0 β€’ March 2024
Peach Tea Smash
PEACH TEA SMASH
#28.0 β€’ August 2024
High Tea and Misdemeanors
HIGH TEA AND MISDEMEANORS
#29.0 β€’ March 2025
Death at a Firefly Tea
DEATH AT A FIREFLY TEA
#30.0 β€’ March 2026

 

 

 

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