Steeped in Evil by Laura Childs is the 15th book in the “Tea Shop” mystery series. Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime, March 2014

In the newest mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Sweet Tea Revenge, Indigo Tea Shop owner Theodosia Browning is about to learn the true meaning of terroir.

Theodosia Browning has never considered herself a wine connoisseur—tea has always been her forte. But that doesn’t mean she’s going to pass up an invitation to a fancy wine-tasting party at the upscale Knighthall Winery, just outside of Charleston, South Carolina.

But a sweet evening takes on a bitter aftertaste when a dead body is discovered in one of the wine barrels. The son of proprietor Jordan Knight has been murdered.

Dissatisfied with the police investigation, Knight turns to Theo for help. She’s heard through the grapevine that there are both family and business problems at Knighthall. They say in vino veritas, but everyone at the winery seems to be lying through their teeth. Sorting through the guest list as well as family and staff, Theo has her pick of suspects. It may look like the killer has her over a barrel, but cracking tough cases is vintage Theodosia Browning.

I like it. How could I have missed this series? This is the first book that I’m reading in this charming series and it was very enjoyable. Theo is a wonderful character and I like how she gathered all the clues that resulted in the apprehension of a killer. This evenly paced tome hit the right spot giving us enough intrigue to keep me drawn to the story. The suspects were plenty and every time I thought I had a handle on the culprit, the author had some tricks up her sleeve to point me in another direction and boy was I surprised when the killer was revealed. This was a well-written whodunit that put me in the middle of all the action and I look forward to more teas with Theo and her friends.

previously posted on the Cozy Chicks blog