A DARK AND STORMY TEA
by Laura Childs
In her 23rd outing, tea shop owner Theodosia Browning takes on a serial killer.
Theodosia’s heading home on a dark and stormy night when she sees two people struggling in a graveyard. The man vanishes, leaving behind the body of a young woman Theodosia is sorry to recognize as Cara Chamberlain. The women of Charleston are living in fear of a serial killer: It’s either Fogheel Jack, back after a seven-year hiatus, or a copycat. Cara was working as an intern for Channel 8, whose star reporter, Monica Garber, faints when she sees the body. Theodosia and her tea sommelier, Drayton Conneley, have a long history of helping Theodosia’s boyfriend, Pete Riley, and his police colleagues solve crimes. So when Cara’s mother, who owns a bookshop near the Indigo Tea Shop, begs for help, they plunge into the investigation. Theodosia is suspicious of the boyfriend Cara just broke up with and a true-crime writer who’s living next door, but there’s another possibility: a ruthless realtor who’s trying to get Cara’s mother out of the building where her five-year lease is thwarting his plans. Whether the motive is money or mania, her snooping puts Theodosia in mortal danger.
A delight for mystery mavens and foodies, with Charleston providing the suitably spooky background.