Fountaindale Public Library

A dark and stormy tea, Laura Childs

eng

no index present

novels

A dark and stormy tea

1285571090

Laura Childs

Tea shop mystery, book 24

Tea shop entrepreneur Theodosia Browning dashes down Charleston's famed Gateway Walk in an attempt to outrun an oncoming storm. But lightning, thunder, and pelting rain soon overtake her, and the normally picturesque ramble of hedges, statuary, and flowers becomes a twisted labyrinth of fog and driving rain. As she approaches St. Philip's Graveyard, Theodosia sees two figures locked in a strange embrace. Wiping rain from her eyes, Theodosia realizes she has just witnessed a brutal murder and sees a dark-hooded figure slip away into the fog. In the throes of alerting police, Theodosia recognizes the victim - it is the daughter of her friend, Lois, who owns Antiquarian Books, which is next door to her own Indigo Tea Shop. Even though this appears to be the work of a serial killer who is stalking the back alleys of Charleston, Lois begs Theodosia for help. Against the advice of her boyfriend, Detective Pete Riley, and the sage words of Drayton, her tea sommelier, amateur-sleuth Theodosia launches her own shadow investigation. She quickly discovers suspects abound, including the dead girl's boyfriend, a nefarious real estate developer, a private-security man, a bumbling reporter, and her own neighbor, who is writing a true-crime book and searching for a big ending. Between a raging storm, a real-life murder investigation, and her staging of the Murder Mystery Tea at Chillingham Manor, Theodosia worries that she could be the next victim

adult