Customer Reviews

Chamomile Mourning

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Will love this book. Laura Childs has created a world with some mystery, plenty of good friends, lots of good recipes, a little love and some mystery. This was my first book by Ms. Childs and I was throughly engrossed in it from beginning to end. It kept me wondering who really did it the whole time.

The book leaves you with a lot of questions, so I look forward to the next.

I like to drink sweet tea, and I like a cup of hot tea every once in awhile but this gave me such a warm feeling that I have started checking out teas online. I look forward to reading others in the series and hope you do too!

In Charleston, South Carolina, Theodosia Browning's Indigo Tea Shop is a smashing success and is now very much one of the in places. Theodora's contribution to the first Poet's Tea is moved indoors to the Heritage Society when the weather turns nasty. During a presentation given by Drayton Conneley, a shot rings out and a man falls off the balcony and lands on Theodosia's cake. The killer escapes and the gala obviously ended early.

She was the last person to see auction house owner Roger Crispin alive when she brought him a cup of tea in the balcony. The police question her and Gracie Venable who is just about to open a millenary story near the Indigo Tea Shop. Haley another co-worker of Theodosia's is friendly with the woman and is upset that the police are looking at her as a suspect because she was having an affair with the much married Roger. His wife, a mover and Shaker in Charleston, is putting pressure on the police to look at Grace as the killer, leaving it to Theodosia and company to find the real killer just like they have five times before.

The protagonist is one of the most realistic and likeable characters to grace the pages of a mystery novel. Her investigative techniques are all within the realm of possibility so readers feel that anyone could do what Theodosia is doing. This delightful amateur sleuth mystery is entertaining and keeps the audience interested from the time the victim falls into the heroine's cake. Laura Childs knows how to create the ambience that makes this series so special because one of the main characters is the city of Charleston.

Harriet Klausner

I can't resist saying that if you like cozy mysteries, this will probably be your cup of tea! The "detective" in this series owns a tea shop in Charleston, SC -- upscale and inventive, with luncheons and some catering activities, etc. The murder victim that begins the book lands on her tea table at a special event, so naturally she gets involved in trying to solve the murder, particularly since the police suspect someone she believes is innocent -- or is she.

There's a LOT of stuff about tea in this book, which I like, but it does slow the pace down. If you like your mysteries fast-paced, this might be a problem for you.

I intend to read more by this author -- this was my first. But I'm unlikely to get on a waiting list for her next book, if you understand the distinction.

Theodosia Browning's Indigo Tea Shop in Charleston, South Carolina, is a great success. The Poet's Tea is forced inside. Auction house owner Roger Crispin falls off the balcony and onto Theodosia's cake when a shot rang out during a presentation given by Drayton Conneley.

Since Theodosia was the last one to see Roger alive when she took a cup of tea to him up in the balcony, she is questioned. The police also question Grace Venable who is opening a store near the tea shop. Haley, a co-worker of Theodosia's, is friendly with Grace and is upset when Grace becomes a suspect because she had been having an affair with Roger who was married.

Theodosia and friends begin investigating as Roger's wife is putting lots of pressure on the police to look at Grace. Theodosia does not believe Grace did it, but she isn't positive.

The investigation leads her into the swamps of South Carolina where she uncovers art forgery, fraud, and murder. Can she escape with her life to be able to alert the authorities.

This was the first I have read in this delightful series. It won't be the last. Even though I'm not a tea drinker, I really enjoyed this book. I found the information about tea enjoyable. The author didn't describe it in such depth that non-tea drinkers would be bored.

I really like Theodosia and her friends. They are great characters and having it set in Charleston was great. I have visited there once. She really has the ambiance down.

I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more.

"Chamomile Mourning" is the sixth installment in Laura Child's Tea Shop Mystery series. While Childs has certainly created a unique blend of mystery and recipe in her series, no improvements have been made in the way she approaches her subject matter. While some have praised this as the strongest installment in the series, it is littered with amateur mistakes that slow down the plot and aggravate the reader.

As usual, Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop, finds herself sniffing out clues in another murder mystery. When the body of Roger Crispin falls onto her tea table during the annual Spoletto arts festival, Theodosia instantly sets out to find his killer and clear a newfound friend from a charge of murder. Intermingled with Theodosia's snopping efforts are the usual scenes at the tea shop, which make one want to eat more than read, and relationship problems with her long-time beau. And also as usual, Theodosia manages to solve the crime ahead of the police, putting herself in danger as she always does. Yet the denouement is rather rushed and incredible, offering a too quick wrap-up to the wayward clues that came before.

The Tea Shop Mystery series offers readers a nice escape, offering tea lovers a chance to learn more about tea, and mystery-lovers a chance to solve quaint and rather simple yarns. But what is maddening about the series is that Childs' is not a good writer, and has not improved the stiffness of her descriptions. Her stories are littered with mistakes such as spelling errors, but "Chamomile Mourning" abounds in sentence fragments that are just grammatical errors, not stylistic choices in writing. I cannot believe an editor allowed it to be published in this manner. While I may read another Tea Shop Mystery, I definitely will not be expecting much from the novel.

Laura Childs did it again! This was another great read with her fun gang of characters. Although she left a lot of loose ends with the characters dangling this time - maybe to make sure we came back from the next one. I really liked Jory, so I hope he and Theodosia's break up doesn't last! But I suppose I'll have to read the next to find out!

I have been in love with Charleston, South Carolina for almost 20 years, so I'm surprised that I didn't stumble upon Laura Childs' The Tea Shop Mysteries until recently. Like a cup of tea, I found Chamomile Mourning delightful and refreshing, although a bit light.

Theodosia Browning owns The Indigo Tea Shop in downtown Charleston. She also has a reputation as an amateur sleuth. She is in the middle of a tea party when an art gallery owner, Roger Crispin, plunges over a balcony and crashes on top of her cake--shot dead. When the police start focusing their investigation on Grace Venable (a fellow business owner and friend), Theodosia knows that she's going to have to investigate for herself to discover the real killer and exonerate her friend.

In between her investigation, Theodosia runs her tea shop and hosts tea events. Throughout, Childs regales her readers with lots of information about teas. She also fills Chamomile Mourning with tidbits and trivia about Charleston and the surrounding low country including history, architecture, nature, waterways and wildlife. She even includes recipes in the back of dishes that she mentions, as well as ideas for tea parties. The recipes look surprisingly good, and I intend to try several of them.

Chamomile Mourning is not the first book in this series, so I intend to go back to the beginning and start from there. While not Michael Connelly or James Lee Burke, they are nonetheless entertaining. Plus any book centered in Charleston can't be all bad. Childs also writes a series called The Scrapbooking Mysteries, but I think I'll stick with Charleston and The Tea Shop series.

I greatly enjoy the tea shop mysteries. The characters are likeable, and believable. I am not looking for great literature when I read to relax, nor do I want to be frightened to death. The tea shop mysteries fill the bill. I have read three and enjoyed them all.

Laura Childs' books make for a fun, light read, I'll not deny it. They are great for the bus ride home from work. My one irritation when reading this series is that her books appear to be sponsored by "Jeep" and other products. Ms. Childs can't say "Theo gets in her car" or "she opens her handbag/purse". I feel her publisher must be whichever corporate sponsor is paying her to plug their products. In some cases identifying a product works, but in Chamomile Mourning I was bludgeoned to death with "Jeep". That said, if you read whatever "generic" fits instead of Laura Child's product plugs, the books are quite fun.

In the 6th book in the Tea Shop mystery series, the first-ever Poet's Tea for the Heritage Society becomes a bit of a washout. A huge storm has blown into Charleston and when Theodosia's cake is ruined the rain, she thinks the day could not have been worse for the big event catered by the Indigo Tea Shop. She is wrong. When the first cake she has baked in years is crushed by the weight of a falling dead body, Theodosia becomes determined to put away her baking skills for good.

To top it off, the annual Spring Art Auction is to take place in less than a week, and the Heritage Society scrambles to continue with this tradition after the murder of its chairman. When a new friend of Haley, Drayton, and Theodosia is accused of the murder, they jump in to solve yet another case.

Sprinkled with little bits of tea information, this charming cozy focuses mainly on the relationships between the characters. I read these books for the interactions between the strong characters of Theodosia, Drayton, and Haley. I enjoy how they all work together, and have loved to watch the Indigo Tea Shop evolve into a successful business. If you are not a huge fan of tea, do not let that stop you from reading this great series. It will not disappoint!

The first book in the series is called "Death by Darjeeling". Enjoy!