The Jasmine Moon Murder (A Tea Shop Mystery) [Hardcover]

Laura Childs (Author)

Book Description

Series: A Tea Shop Mystery | Publication Date: September 7, 2004

Indigo Tea Shop owner Theodosia Browning is catering a Charleston benefit, a "Ghost Crawl" through Jasmine Cemetery. But the organizer, Dr. Davis, won't get to enjoy the festivities: during the Crawl's theatrical number, he drops dead. It looks like foul play-but how could such an upstanding citizen have enemies?

With a nose for trouble, Theodosia starts stirring things up with her own investigation to find the do-badder. But before long, chasing down the culprit gets her in hot water up to her neck.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Childs makes a well-deserved shift to hardcover with the fifth installment in her popular Tea Shop mystery series (Death by Darjeeling, etc.). Theodosia Browning, proprietor of the Indigo Tea Shop, and her staff are serving tea and goodies during the first-ever "Ghost Crawl in Charleston's famed Jasmine Cemetery." The event ends abruptly when Dr. Jasper Davis, uncle of Theo's beau, Jory, dies mysteriously and publicly. Det. Burt Tidwell makes Theo promise she won't stick her amateur nose in, but a frazzled Jory pleads with her to use her special abilities as a sleuth to root out the killer. The victim was vice-president in charge of research at a large medical products company, Cardiotech, and Theo suspects Dr. Davis's death is connected with his job. A second murder complicates things, but Theo perseveres and eventually corners the killer using a snazzy bit of up-to-date technology to summon help. Fans will enjoy the rich brew of murder, tea lore and mouth-watering descriptions of food (recipes included). The alluring jacket art—a tea spread out on a blanket in the foreground with ghostly gravestones under a full moon in the background—captures the mood perfectly.
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Review

"Fans will enjoy the rich brew of murder, tea lore, and mouth-watering descriptions of food (recipes included)."
-- Publishers Weekly (Publisher's Weekly ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Hardcover (September 7, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425198138
• ISBN-13: 978-0425198131
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #307,472 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 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars delightful tea and murder mystery., September 7, 2004

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Jasmine Moon Murder (A Tea Shop Mystery) (Hardcover)

Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop in the historic downtown district of Charlotte, South Carolina, agrees to cater the "Ghost Crawl" society tour of the Jasmine cemetery sponsored by Charleston's Medical Triad. The host is Dr. Jasper Davis, the uncle of Theodosia's boyfriend Jory. Uncle Jasper and his team developed the Novalaser, a less invasive way of performing angioplasty. All of a sudden Dr. Davis keels over and is dead; Theodosia finds a syringe near the body.

Jory asks his girlfriend to investigate his uncle's death since she has a history of solving homicides. She plunges into the investigation with plenty of enthusiasm and everyone who knows her believe she is on the trail of the killer. When she is out horseback riding, someone tries to shoot her and shortly thereafter somebody throws a rock through her window warning her to stop her inquiries. Theodosia becomes even more determined to find the killer since she doesn't let her fear interfere with keeping her promise to Jory.

The latest Tea Shop Mystery is a delectable and delicious amateur sleuth mystery with mouth watering recipes that are worth the price of the book. The description of tea and the meals that The Indigo Tea Shop serves will make readers salivate. The heroine out does herself in this homicide investigation because she is investigating homicides without empirical evidence. Laura Childs serves up a delightful tea and murder mystery.

Harriet Klausner

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great read!, November 20, 2004

By 

Coppertop (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Jasmine Moon Murder (A Tea Shop Mystery) (Hardcover)

This was another winner from Laura Childs. Her characters are so likeable and add so much to her great plots! The tea lore is also fascinating! I can't wait for the next installment of the teashop mysteries!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Jasmine Moon Murder (Tea Shop Mystery #5), July 11, 2005

By 

Edwin O. Merwin, Jr. "Ed itor" (Denmark, South Carolina, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Jasmine Moon Murder (A Tea Shop Mystery) (Hardcover)

I have read nearly all of the "Tea Shop Mysteries" and have yet to find the series "predictable". Each new title offers the skills of Theodosia Browning, sleuth/tea shop owner extrordinary and her staff. In addition to a plot that keeps readers guessing until the end, Ms. Childs also takes the opportunity to imerse us in the ambience of historic downtown Charleston and its various historic churches, as well as other landmarks,festivals, and social life.
I very much enjoyed this book, and am already looking forward to Ms Child's next effort in this series.
Sincerely,
Edwin Merwin, Jr.