Blood Orange Brewing (A Tea Shop Mystery) [Hardcover]

Laura Childs (Author)

Book Description

Series: A Tea Shop Mystery | Publication Date: April 4, 2006

The new mystery in the bestselling series that's growing by leaps and bounds-and serves up "just the right blend of cozy fun and clever plotting."*

Social darling Delaine Dish is throwing a lavish Candlelight Concert to raise funds to restore a run-down Victorian home-and Theodosia Browning is more than happy to help out with tea and tasty treats from the Indigo Tea Shop.

Unfortunately, the unveiling of Theo's opulent spread proves to be far from grand after retired CEO and beloved politico Duke Wilkes falls to the floor with a jagged piece of metal protruding from his neck. When the Widow Wilkes begs Theo to apply her sleuthing skills, she can't refuse. But her investigation opens up a simmering pot of shady politics and personal payback, and Theo soon finds herself in a situation stickier than any jam she's ever served.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

If Southern cozies are your cup of tea, you'll enjoy curling up with the seventh installment of Theodosia Browning's sleuthing adventures (after 2005's Chamomile Mourning). Theodosia, owner of Charleston's Indigo Tea Shop, is catering a fund-raiser for the local Heritage Society. The food is great, and all of Charleston's bigwigs are enjoying themselves, until a retired businessman and politico, Duke Wilkes, is murdered. Maybe Wilkes was offed by a greedy property developer who disliked Wilkes's zeal for historic preservation, or maybe an entrepreneur his venture capital firm turned down was out for revenge. Childs has a great eye for local color—the book is filled with depictions of stately historic homes and Confederate re-enactors, and the luscious descriptions of Lowcountry cuisine will make your mouth water. Several recipes and Childs's "Teatime Tips" round out this delightful read. (Apr.)
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About the Author

Laura Childs is a pseudonym for an advertising guru in Minneapolis. She is also the author of the popular Scrapbooking mystery series.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Hardcover; 1ST edition (April 4, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425208079
• ISBN-13: 978-0425208076
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #548,299 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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 fund raising 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 take 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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pleasant, April 2, 2006

By 

Sharon (Grove City, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blood Orange Brewing (A Tea Shop Mystery) (Hardcover)

Blood Orange Brewing was a pleasant comfortable outing with Theodosia and friends. Although the murder occurred at the very beginning of the book, the sleuthing seemed to fall flat. I did not find the solution very satisfying. It seemed to be randomly selected because it was time to end the book. I missed the explanation of the why behind the plot development concerning Earl Grey even after rereading the end of the book looking for the answer. I found that loose end troublesome. I did enjoy the interactions between Theodosia, Drayton and Haley. And as usual, the descriptions of the food and teas were mouth-watering as well as the included recipes. The tea shop mysteries are still engaging and a recommended read however I would not consider this its best outing.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, April 9, 2006

By 

mysfan "mysfan" - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Blood Orange Brewing (A Tea Shop Mystery) (Hardcover)

This book seems to miss the mark in an otherwise enjoyable series. While the descriptions of the teas and food are good, the mystery falls short. Throughout the whole story, Theo moans that she's having trouble finding clues and solving the murder; then suddenly at the end it comes to her and she goes racing off to find the proof. There is never any mention as to how the murder was done in that house during a concert with numerous people or how the secret rooms played into it. It was not a satisfying conclusion at all. The characters seem to be acting as they normally do, and Haley's manic character has been toned down at last, although she has some expressions that don't really ring true: "Pop a chill pill, Drayton!" Who talks like that? In general, the characters are likable, but they're not enough to carry this poorly planned mystery.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not the best of series, April 3, 2006

By 

Coppertop (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blood Orange Brewing (A Tea Shop Mystery) (Hardcover)

This was a solid addition to Childs' tea series, but not the best. The plot was somewhat slow and almost plodding at times. While I don't mind slow, this just didn't have the punch of some of the earlier books. We lost Theodosia's romantic interest in the last book and this one seems to be unsure where to go with that. I really thought she might develop something with the detective, but this book seemed to leaning towards Parker...not though with any major changes. I think some additional story on Drayton and Haley would be a nice addition to future books...Haley is working on a recipe book in this book and that adds to her character somewhat, but should continue to build. This book is more of a stagnation in the series than a continuation on the ladder. Definitely something to read if you have read the rest of the series, but not a good place to start if you are just joining the series.