Occupation: Tea Shop Maven

When life hands me lemons, I try to make lemonade. Except when I’m hosting a fanciful Limón Tea Party. Let me introduce myself. I’m Theodosia Browning – yes, that Theodosia, the one who owns the Indigo Tea Shop in Charleston, South Carolina and always seems to be in trouble.

Picture this if you will: Five dozen Southern ladies dressed in gauzy floral dresses and wearing hats and gloves. All seated at elegant tea tables in the fairytale setting of an actual lemon grove strung with hundreds of white twinkle lights. Postcard perfect, yes?

Well, no.

The thing is, a terrible murder takes place just as the Lemon Squeeze Couture Fashion Show is about kick off. And the poor victim is none other than one of the designers. Of course, I was the one who found the poor victim. She’d been shot and dragged into a walk-in cooler for safe keeping – which isn’t exactly an auspicious start for Charleston Fashion Week. Anyway, now a gaggle of high-strung models, designers, investors, and tea party guests are in hysterics while the police and medical examiner deal with the body. And Bettina, the murdered woman’s daughter, tearfully begs me (me!) to help solve her mother’s murder. Sure, I’ve been blessed with a natural curiosity gene as well as a few amateur sleuthing skills, but I’ve also got a week of fancy event teas stretching ahead of me.

Still, against the advice of my boyfriend, Detective Pete Riley, I decide to run my own shadow investigation with the help of Drayton Conneley, my tea sommelier. And I quickly discover a trifecta of suspects, all of whom wanted the somewhat arrogant designer dead.

But which one could it be? The dead woman’s former boyfriend who just happens to own a shop selling antique firearms? Or the dilettante film producer with a nose for cocaine? Then there’s a resentful intern, arrogant sketch artist, and a pair of mean-as-cat-pee business partners.

I’m trying to surreptitiously question everyone while also playing genial hostess at my tea shop. Because this is the week I’ve scheduled a Sterling Silver Tea, Crepes Luncheon, an Irish Tea Party, and a catering gig at the Councours d’Carolina classic car show.

But things take an ugly twist when I take an evening jaunt out to a country dogtrot house. There, while tree frogs sing and mourning doves coo, I discover the mangled, murdered body of the film producer.

That’s one suspect crossed off my list, but another nasty murder to worry about. And little do I know that I’m squarely in the killer’s squinty little eyes when the Tea Trolley Tour rolls into town! Oh my, I do need a cup of chamomile tea.

Lemon Curd Killer, A Tea Shop Mystery Book #25
Genre: Cozy
Release: March 2023
Format: Print, Digital, and Audio
Purchase Link

High tea and high fashion turn deadly in this latest installment of the New York Times bestselling series.

Tea shop entrepreneur Theodosia Browning has been tapped to host a fancy Limón Tea in a genuine lemon orchard as a rousing kickoff to Charleston Fashion Week. But as fairy lights twinkle and the scent of lemon wafts among the tea tables, the deadly murder of a fashion designer puts the squeeze on things.

As the lemon curd begins to sour, the murdered woman’s daughter begs Theodosia to help find the killer. Tea events and fashion shows must go on, however, which puts Theodosia and her tea sommelier, Drayton Conneley, right in the thick of squabbling business partners, crazed clothing designers, irate film producers, drug deals, and a disastrous Tea Trolley Tour.

Includes Delicious Recipes And Tea Time Tips!

About the author
Laura Childs, Queen of the Cozy, is the author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbook Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. All have been on the New York Times, USA Today, and Publisher’s Weekly bestseller lists. Recently, Book Riot named her mysteries to their list of “25 of the All Time Best Cozy Mystery Series.” In her previous life Laura was CEO of her own marketing firm, authored several screenplays, and produced a reality TV show. She is married to Dr. Bob, a professor of Chinese art history, and has a Chinese Shar-Pei named Lotus.

All comments are welcomed.