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MURDER IN THE TEA LEAVES

Murder in the Tea Leaves, March 2024
Tea Shop Mystery #27
by Laura Childs

Berkley
Featuring: Theodosia Browning
320 pages
ISBN: 0593200985
EAN: 9780593200988
Kindle: B0C777ZCXN
Hardcover / e-Book / audiobook
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"It's Lights, Camera, Electrocution in the Latest Charleston-Based Tea Shop Mystery"

Fresh Fiction Review

MURDER IN THE TEA LEAVES
Laura Childs

Reviewed by Sandra Martin
Posted March 1, 2024

Mystery Culinary | Mystery Cozy

Grab a seat and a pot of Earl Grey as Theodosia and the gang take readers on another thrilling tea adventure complete with a cursed movie production, a haunted house, a dead director, and all the tea you can drink in Laura Child’s twenty-seventh Tea Shop mystery, MURDER IN THE TEA LEAVES.

Theodosia is providing the refreshment table on the set of the movie “Dark Fortunes," which is being filmed at Charleston’s haunted Brittlebank Manor. Theo gets roped into playing a minor character, but as she’s reading the tea leaves, there’s a metal chair electrocution, causing the director to convulse and die. Theo knows this is no accident and someone with electrical or wiring skills rigged the contraption. Could it have been the reluctant leading actress, the unappreciated scriptwriter, a clueless fiancé, a local love interest, a strange personal assistant, the replacement director, or the film’s investor? Theo and Drayton have plenty of suspects to investigate, and their activities lead them into precarious situations, all ending with a motorcycle chase through the cobblestone streets and narrow alleys of Charleston, SC. 

MURDER IN THE TEA LEAVES proves that Laura Childs is not slowing down in providing fun, flat-out good mysteries with ambiance and atmosphere. The Indigo Tea Shop is the center of the action, with Theodosia, Drayton, and Hayley leading the charge. From Poetry Teas to Breakfast at Tiffany Teas, Theodosia exudes the entrepreneurial spirit as she invents more ways to make her customers happy and keep the tea shop thriving. The mystery is solid and starts with a literal spark and the suspect list is large containing locals and out-of-town movie personnel. Of course, there is more than meets the eye with this mystery. As Theo’s escapades include secret passages, marine artifacts, sliding down roofs, squeezing through fences, and riding a motorcycle to evade the bad guys, we get a front-row seat to the adventurous mystery-solving fun of this Charleston Tea Shop maven. MURDER IN THE TEA LEAVES is another great addition to this New York Times best-selling series. Recipes and Tea Time Tips are included!

Learn more about MURDER IN THE TEA LEAVES

SUMMARY

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!

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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