Murder in the Tea Leaves - A Review & Giveaway

 Review

MURDER IN THE TEA LEAVES by Laura Childs
The Twenty-Seventh Tea Shop Mystery 

The movies have come to Charleston, South Carolina and Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop, has landed the sweet gig of providing craft services. Josh Morro, the film's director, is disgusted with the actors and the script and Theo soon finds herself on set as a tea leaf reader! The scene is running smoothly until there's a hiss, crack, and sparks, resulting in a dead director. Who had it in for Josh? The scriptwriter he accused of plagiarism?  The new director who was so conveniently available? The electrician with a debt? Even Delaine Dish is a suspect. When Theo finds a member of the Charleston Film Board murdered she's determined to dig even deeper until she finds a killer and justice is served.

Making movies can be murder, as Theodosia Browning discovers in the twenty-seventh Tea Shop Mystery. Theo is at it again, running her tea shop, creating new and inventive tea parties, expanding her catering business, helping friends, and solving murders! I don't know how she manages to cram so much activity into a day. I thoroughly enjoy the tea events and the description of the teas and food, plus the fact that recipes and tips are included at the end of the book. 

In MURDER IN THE TEA LEAVES we also get involved in movie making. I enjoyed the realistic portrayal of the filming of Dark Fortunes and the harsh reality of production. As for the mystery, I loved the misdirection and how everything finally came together. As usual there were fast paced, pulse pounding scenes making the book a quick read. There were also times I shook my head at Theo is disbelief. Why not report the attack to the police? It's not like you were in a restricted place. And the whole breaking into places to snoop. Ugh. 

Cozy teas and thrilling action combine in MURDER IN THE TEA LEAVES making a fun addition to this long running series.

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 Murder in the Tea Leaves (A Tea Shop Mystery) by Laura Childs

About Murder in the Tea Leaves

Murder in the Tea Leaves (A Tea Shop Mystery)
Cozy Mystery 27th in Series
Setting - South Carolina
Publisher: ‎ Berkley (March 5, 2024)
Hardcover: ‎ 304 pages

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!

About Laura Childs

Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbook Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fundraising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.

Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:

The Tea Shop Mysteries – set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.

The Scrapbooking Mysteries – a slightly edgier series that takes place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!

The Cackleberry Club Mysteries – set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.

Laura’s Links: Website – Facebook  

Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – Kobo – Bookshop.org – PenguinRandomHouse – 

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