Customer Reviews

The English Breakfast Murder

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've read four of Laura Childs' books in the Tea Shop series: Death by Darjeeling, Gunpowder Green, Shades of Earl Grey, and The English Breakfast Murder. I purchased the first one in her scrapbook series, but haven't read it yet. So far, Ms. Childs skills as an author are growing decidedly better with each book.

If you are new to the Tea Shop mysteries, Ms. Childs books are refreshing, entertaining mysteries in light of how horrific real-life has become over the past decade.

I prefer mysteries with more substance and greater character development, but I gladly read Ms. Childs' books because I can expect them to be clean, wholesome, and entertaining. To date, Ms. Childs' books are not gruesome or down-right wicked. Again, this is a welcome relief from the majority of mysteries being sold today.

The main character is a young woman who balances her business success and yet makes time for a real life besides. I am not a tea-drinker, but I love to read about the tea shop and wish it were a real place. I'd travel all the way to Charleston just to visit her shop if it were real.

I heartily recommend you try Laura Childs' books.

Theodosia Browning decides to help out with the turtle-hatching project on a Charleston beach. She spots something in the water and when she investigates she discovers to her horror that it's a dead body. The body is that of Harper Fisk, a local art dealer who had a hobby of looking for treasure in some of the many ships which had been sunk in Charleston harbor.

He was also friends with a group of men known as The English Breakfast Club. When Theodosia begins checking, she finds that many of the members of the group have motives for murdering Fisk. Reading this series is like visiting old friends such as Theo's employees, Drayton and Haley, and Delaine, the overly-dramatic owner of a neighboring shop. As usual, this book contains lots of background about Charleston and about the tea which Theo dispenses in her shop. It's a pleasing combination and makes for an enjoyable read.

I love these books. They are wholesome, entertaining and I love all the tea and food talk. The recipes are to die for and I can't stop picking up copy after copy of these books.

Once again our heroine gets caught up in a murder, and tries to solve it. Who is it and did they want something that Mr Fisk was on to, or what was their motive? All kinds of other things happen to throw you off, but could you guess it without reading the ending? I couldn't!

Way to go Ms Childs and please don't quit!

I have thoroughly enjoyed all four of the Laura Childs' tea mystery books. The English Breakfast Murder defines the characters to an even greater level.

The plot is intense as always and the subplots ever present. As always, I really enjoyed the recipes.

I have especially loved reading about Charleston and the various bits of information about teas.

I found this book just as good as the previous Indigo Teahop mysteries and read it in two days flat. The characters are nicely drawn and beautifully described, there is the usual information and discussion about tea and the suspense is kept going right to the very end. We are given more of an insight into the characters of Theo, Haley and Drayton as well as Delaine Dish, although I found Delaine a little irritating this time round. The only character I really did not like was Delaine's sister Nadine. The receipes at the end sound just gorgeous and Ms Childs describes the atmosphere and culture of Charleston so well that she has made me want to visit the place. I just wish I could visit the Indigo Teashop!

This was a very disappointing entry in an excellent series. I had to force my way to finish it since the plot was so uninteresting. I didn't care about finding the murderer because there was no sympathy developed for the victim. The major characters in the series, normally fun, were annoying. Drayton moped throughout the book, Haley whined and complained, and Theodosia was too busy running around going to fashion events and hosting teas that solving the murder took a back seat. Even she was apathetic! As for Theo and her boyfriend, this is not exactly the romance of the century. They are more like brother and sister. I doubt that most women would consider being called "kiddo" by their boyfriends a term of endearment. By the time the murder was solved, it was anticlimactic, and I was just glad that the book came to an end. This book did not have the cozy charm that the others in the series did. Those who like this series can skip this entry and hope that the next book gets back on track.

I thought this book was truly exciting, but I was disappointed with the ending as she didn't clarify some of the events that happened. Why did Jory's boat get vandalized? Why was the killer at the house of Harper Fisk's when the killer already had all the information the killer needed? Some of the ending really needed to be clarified. But overall, I wasn't deeply disappointed. The plot kept me guessing right until the end! It was hair raising when Theo found the body, when she swam out to see it and it was hair raising when the killer cornered her and tied her up! And as for the tea part, the recipes and learning how to do the tea dyeing, that was SUCH an added bonus! I can't wait to read her next one, Jasmine Moon Murder. It is worth the time to read this book, that is if you LOVE to be kept in the dark on who the killer is until the end! ENJOY!

This was such a delight to read. The author makes you care about the characters immediately. I had not read any of the others in this series and was able to get involved in the history easily. The murder mystery was interesting and the workings of the tea shop proved fascinating.

I highly recommend this book. This is a delightful mystery. It kept me going until the end guessing who the murderer was and why Harper Fisk was murdered. Laura Childs goes into enough detail about the sea turtles eggs hatching to keep it interesting but doesn't bog the story down with too much details. I love the way she has her charactors interact with each other. The way Drayton and Hayley can fuss at each other can be funny. The way Laura describes Charleston and it's history makes me want to visit it. I just wish there really was Indigo Tea shop. I have learned something new about tea, how it is served and what tasty tidbits that can go with the tea, with each book. I can hardly wait until the next Tea Shop Mystery!

This was my first book to read by Laura Childs. It was a very easy read, interesting and exciting. I could not stop turning the pages as I was intrigued to figure out who was the murderer as well as to see what Haley was going to be whipping up in the kitchen. I will read more Laura Childs books in the future.