A Dark and Stormy Tea
It was a dark and stormy night, but that was the least of Theodosia Browning’s troubles. As she approaches St. Philips Graveyard, Theodosia sees two figures locked in a strange embrace. Wiping rain from her eyes, Theodosia realizes she has just witnessed a brutal murder and sees a dark-hooded figure slip away into the fog. In the throes of alerting the police, Theodosia recognizes the victim; it is the daughter of her friend, Lois, who owns the Antiquarian Bookshop next door to her Indigo Tea Shop.
Even though this appears to be the work of a serial killer stalking the back alleys of Charleston, Lois begs Theodosia for help. Against the advice of her boyfriend, Detective Pete Riley, and the sage words of Drayton, her tea sommelier, amateur sleuth Theodosia, launches her own shadow investigation. And quickly discovers that suspects abound with the dead girl’s boyfriend, nefarious real estate developer, private-security man, bumbling reporter, and her neighbor who is writing a true-crime book and searching for a big ending.
The Details
Series: A Tea Shop Mystery – Book #24
Author: Laura Childs
Genre/Category: Cozy – Amateur Sleuth/Tea Shop
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
ISBN: 593200896
Page Count: 320
Rating: 
The Review
A Dark and Stormy Tea was not my favorite book in the “Tea Shop Mystery” series. In fact, you might say I truly disliked it! The premise was intriguing, and the idea of a serial killer in a cozy mystery is different. Unfortunately, it didn’t work well. A tea shop is one of my favorite locations for a book, and Theodosia’s shop sounds beautiful, but it wasn’t enough to keep me invested in the story. The book is functionally well written, and the characters were developed long ago; it’s too bad they stopped growing. The location of Charleston should play a bigger role as it is a delightfully beautiful place.
Theodosia’s tea shop is bustling with customers, mainly tourists, out to enjoy a proper English tea. On her way home one foggy evening after a hectic and long day, Theodosia comes across what she thinks are two people dancing in the graveyard, but it turns out it was a murder. It doesn’t take long after discovering the victim for rumors that the victim was killed by a serial killer who had been active in the town several years before to circulate. Theodosia, of course, sticks her nose in and starts an investigation by interviewing everyone she thinks are viable suspects. The killer isn’t happy about Theodosia getting herself involved and decides maybe it’s time to make her his next victim.
On the surface, the murder and the subsequent investigation into the motives of several people connected to the victim are routine. Theodosia jumps in without looking and falls flat on her face. First off, Theodosia comes to conclusions and suspects faster than a diva changes clothes. She has no basis for suspecting anyone and no evidence, only rumor, and supposition. She leaves her tea shop at all hours to look for a killer. She ignores the police’s warning to stay out of the investigation, and considering that they are tracking a serial killer, you would think she might show some restraint. None of the evidence presented in the murder point to any of her suspects. Yet she goes after them as if she has something concrete to base her false accusations on and doesn’t give her safety or anyone else’s a second thought. Who in their right mind would go out after dark jogging knowing that a serial killer is on the loose or sends a young girl off on her own to run an errand? Yet Theodosia does without a second thought. The police let her do whatever she wants and don’t even try to stop her.
Unfortunately, I knew who the killer was when he was introduced. I kept reading A Dark and Stormy Tea, hoping that I was wrong and, like Theodosia, just jumping to conclusions. However, that was not the case, and I was disappointed that the identity was so easy to figure out. To me, Theodosia is far too immature and naive for a woman her age. The love interest, if you can call it that, is non-existent and might as well not be in the books at all. I feel that Drayton, Haley, and Miss Dimple have real substance; a series centered around them would be interesting. Even the serial killer didn’t hold much in the way of fascination. Maybe I have been reading this series too long, or perhaps it has been going on for too long, and maybe I have become too nit-picky. About the only thing I liked in this book was the tea shop. This is not to say that all of the books in this series are bad because most are very enjoyable, and I encourage readers to check them out.
The Author
Laura Childs is a pseudonym for Gerry Schmitt, former owner/CEO/Creative Director of a marketing/advertising firm in Minneapolis. Laura Childs is the bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mystery series and the Scrapbook Mystery series. She is a consummate tea drinker, scrapbooker, and dog lover and frequently travels to China and Japan with Dr. Bob, her professor husband. She 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.
Readers might enjoy another book in the “A Tea Shop Mystery series” such as Lavender Blue Murder. Or another tea shop cozy series like Karen Rose Smith’s “Daisy’s Tea Garden Mystery” series and Murder with Oolong Tea.
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