Sweet Tea Revenge

January 14, 2013
More than rain spoils a June wedding in Childs’s pleasing 14th Tea Shop mystery featuring Theodosia Browning, proprietor of the Indigo Tea Shop in Charleston, S.C. (after 2012’s Agony of the Leaves). On the wedding day of an old friend, maid-of-honor Theodosia finds the lifeless body of the groom, Dougan Granville, “one of Charleston’s top attorneys,” in his suite at the Ravencrest Inn. A glassine envelope and scattered white powder on a table suggest Dougan may have overdosed on cocaine, but subtle signs of a blow to the head point to murder. Since the Ravencrest Inn is rumored to be haunted, two ghost hunters join the investigation. Series fans won’t be surprised when Theodosia’s recklessness (“There’s no time to think! I just have to... do something!”) leads to a climactic confrontation with the killer in an abandoned cemetery. Foodies will appreciate the favorite recipes from the Indigo Tea Shop at the end. Agent: Samuel Pinkus, Philologus Procurator, Inc.