Customer Reviews

The Silver Needle Murder (Wheeler Hardcover)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Silver Needle Murder is a solid addition to the tea shop mystery series by Laura Childs. Although I figured out who did it fairly early into it, I did not find guessing distracted from my enjoyment. I read this series more for the descriptions of Charleston and the wonderful food served at the Indigo Tea Shop as well as the interaction between Theo, Drayton, and Haley. You sometimes wonder how they manage to run that tea shop and have a finger in every pot of Charleston activities! The mystery itself tends to take a back burner to everything else. I thought the events leading to the denouement were a little over the top and the reason behind the murderer's actions a little mediocre but that isn't why I read this series. A welcome diversion to a snow filled weekend. 3.5 stars

SPOILERS FOLLOW:

As much as I usually enjoy this light reading series, for some reason this particular book just annoyed me.

Yes, fashion, tea history tidbits, and Charleston society doings are mildly interesting, but the 'mystery' was lost this time and the characters acted stupid!

I knew 'who done it' early in the book and am sure most readers figured it out, too. The usually well written heroine needs to get back to some semblance of reality and I'm truly beginning to dislike these gossipy, snoopy people.

We had way, way, way too much description of clothing, jewelry, shoes, table settings, glassware, crystal, wine, & antique furniture. It's like the author is going overboard to let readers know these people have good taste, are wealthy, and, supposedly, are well-bred.

It felt like the author needed to get the length of the novel up and increase the word count, so readers wouldn't feel cheated.

But, what bothered me the most this time was that the character of Theodosia acted like a stupid heroine from a B-rated horror movie.

More than once she went, alone, into the empty theater, scene of the murder, without letting anyone know where she was going. Like a female horror movie character going alone down to the cellar or up to the attic where you KNOW something awful is going to happen. If this book had sound track it would be a slasher-type theme.

Then, Theodosia, wearing 3" high heels, **runs**, with her dog on leash, away from someone who's following her home down the darkest, loneliest street in Charleston. Running in high heels. Sure!

Toward the (very bad, unbelievable) end, again, wearing Prada slides with 3-1/2 heels, she follows a wooded path off a dirt road. Only after walking quite a way, with no light, does she remove her shoes.

Come on! Any woman who wears heels knows there is no way you can easily walk on non-pavement without twisting your ankle. And slides -- no backs, no straps, no support! Just totally unreal.

Maybe it's time for a good editor to step in. Perhaps the author has run out of ideas for murders. If so, that's OK. Start a new series with new characters and let this one die a well deserved death.

Laura Childs continues to provide pleasure with her latest Indigo Tea Shop mystery. Theodosia Browning is a very likable main character, for she is beautiful, smart, gutsy, talented and a true friend. Theo is what we always look for in keeping good company. To our delight, the author entertains us with not only a cute who-done-it - but also a wealth of knowledge about teas and provacative menus. She includes recipes, (good thing), for her most special foods and in this volume, suggests a variety of tea occasions one might consider.

Mostly, Laura Childs does a wonderful job with all of her characters. The little bit crazy ones, dignified, older Drayton, her tea master and her hard-working, creative clever chef (I have advanced her position) Haley. Of course, the love interest, Parker, also increases the pace of the book.

My recommendation, always, would be start with the first "tea" book, Death by Darjeeling and work your way thru the next 8, ending with this great rendition.

I absolutely loved this book. This is my favorite cozy mystery series. The writing is wonderful, the plot is fun. I love the characters and can picture them vividly. I look forward to each new book with great anticiptation. I haven't had so much fun with a book series since I was a teenager with my Nancy Drews. I hope Ms. Childs that you will continue to grace us with many more Tea Shop Mysteries in the future!
70's Girl

I look forward to each Indigo Teashop mystery's being released.
But I have to admit that this one left me very disappointed. I felt as if I were tripping over all the elitist descriptive words and snobby product-name dropping. Where were the characters we all have come to know and love?
Theodoisa's charm has been that she created a quaint tea shop out of an investment. As her teashop grew and her relationships in her local area of Charleston grew, so did our love for her and her mysteries. Her own personality charm and quirks partnered with Drayton's soft-on-the-inside/society-proper-on-the-outside have been a delight to read about.
The Silver Needle Murder lost that quaintness and charm for me. Instead I was distracted by the consistent references to all the snobbishness and elite of the "tea culture", for example, Theodosia having all the different china tea sets "on hand" to suit the particular tea event? to the inconsistency of concerns over Drayton's cost of something, but at the same time overloading swag bags, for lack of foresight and planning. Even Hayley's cuisine was no longer of the "create something marvelous out of the simple" that it usually has.
I realize the setting of the storyline this time was a film screening event. Maybe that's what went wrong. Theodosia, Hayley, and Drayton have been portrayed as having more genuine class than the "film culture" who turns up. Even the resolution of the murder mystery itself got caught up in the pseudo culture to the point where it was essentially meaningless and detached. (and why not more about Earl Grey and his onstage appearance? I look forward to him in each book.)
I felt like the author just got her degree in 'Tea Culture' and had to tell us how much she knows now. I hope the next release is back to the basics of the charm of this series.

Theo, honey, please act like grown up!! Lots of silly behavior in this latest installment.
I like the descriptions of the locale, foods, and clothing. All of our favorite characters are here again. Haley's cooking makes you hungry! I swear, you can smell the tea brewing! And, the hint of Jory coming back is intriguing, hmmmm.
BUT,the B-movie, girl alone stuff is much too ridiculous for Theo! Even Delanie slips out of character! And the ending...OH PLEASE! Way over the top melodramatic, doesn't tie into the story, no reason for the captive to be taken, why on earth does the killer head where they do? no explanation of HOW the second corpse was hidden where it was, what the heck? And then, no less than FIVE elements in the final killer scene. COME ON! Let's hope the next book is a little more back to tea shop reality.

I had read a few of the earlier books in this series & decided to give it another try. This wasn't really a mystery--more a a stroll through run-on descriptions of interior decorating schemes, clothes, accessories, and food displays. It was a lot like reading an issue of Home Beautiful. The story was tepid at best and the attempt to make the heroine's boyfriend jealous was just sad. It's hard to get excited about a book where you have to wade through things like, "Lynn knelt by the body, being careful not to get the hem of her scoop-necked, sleeveless halter dress dirty in the blood. The rhinestone chips in her black, slingback Jimmy Choos twinkled in the dim light given off by the Louis XIII gold embossed gaslights that had been imported from the Czech Republic at great expense by a major donor. Retrieving her black silk 1940's Chanel handbag from the Irish linen tablecloth covering the magnificent 18th century console table, Lynn turned to the subdued crowd of Charleston's rich & famous, noting as she did that Genevieve de Vandevoort had indeed worn the Empire-waisted purple slip dress that they had looked at in Tiffany's shop on Thursday." There's just so much detail that the story gets buried. It reminds me of those cakes you get from the grocery store that have so much icing on them that you have to scrape half of it off or you'll get sick from the sugar. I really couldn't recommend this, although the premise of the owner of tea shop solving mysteries is a good one.

While I generally enjoy these cozy mysteries, I have found myself more than a little annoyed at the use of so many non-sentences Ms. Child appears to love. In one three-sentence paragraph near the beginning of this book, there was only one true sentence with subject and verb. I sometimes start reading the "sentence" and get lost because there's a subject or verb missing, and I have to go back and re-read just go get the gist of what Ms. Childs is saying. Where are the editors? I had stopped reading this series a couple of years ago and have decided I need to stop again.

I really enjoy Laura Child's writing style. Enough detail to paint the scene but no overkill. Like the settings. Mysteries are believable and keep you guessing. A quick read and enjoyable. Prefer her tea novels to the scrapbooking novels.

I'm a fan of Laura Child's Tea Shop Mystery series and as always this one is a great choice for a quick, fun read. Her characters come to life and you are hard pressed to put the book down. My only complaint is that it takes too long for the next book to be published:-)