I really enjoy this series and the latest installment did not disappoint! Laura Childs creates memorable characters and intriguing mysteries. I'm eager to read the next one!

Plum Tea Crazy
Laura Childs
Available: March 6, 2018

Thank you to NetGalley.com for the opportunity to read an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Nineteen books into a series, why don’t I feel like I know my heroine that well? Think about it…her family is rarely mentioned (this book is the exception), she never has any friends from her past/college/past life visit – he life is her tea room and her dog. Theodosia just seems still to be a little formal and closed off. After 19 books you’d think she’d loosen up a little… but she does solve a good mystery!
What I loved: Haley is my favorite character – and the recipies she makes sound truly divine (except the whole plum thing? Not a fan). When I picture Drayton in my mind’s eye – I conjur up Karen’s nemesis from the television show “Will & Grace”. While I forget his name, he’s about 100 years old and always impeccably dressed in slacks, blazer and a bow tie.
What I didn’t love: Delanie is now officially off the rails – with her demands of friendship, actions, and words. Maybe her dramatic, shallow ways are to bring life into a scene – but if anything, I think it draws our heroine more into herself.
What I learned: When will she learn to stop running down alleys at night?
Overall Grade: B

www.FluffSmutandMurder.com

This is the first Tea shop mystery that I have read. I will have to read more !

I have been aware of this series for many years, and always intended to pick up a volume. Starting with volume 19 may not have been the best initiation point, for I was frankly disappointed. 4+ star reviews, gorgeous covers, and my love of tea may have resulted in unrealistic expectations.

The pacing seemed erratic. The protagonist bungee-d back and forth between almost every possible suspect. I had the murderer figured out within a couple of chapters by virtue of the fact they were the only character outside of the series staples that the protagonist liked. The police were portrayed as incompetent caricatures. Throw in a hundred or so cliches and about a dozen random facts and voila, you have enough pages to fill out a book--just not enough for a satisfactory mystery or conclusion (in my opinion).

If you love this series, please don't let my review dissuade you. Certainly it has been proven to have an audience. Read it for the descriptions of tea, Charleston, good food, and some fashion.

However, if you love the works of Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle, or mysteries where the plot develops slowly through careful observations, involved interviews, and character development rather than hasty accusations, strident confrontations, and repartee, you might want to give it a pass.

You absolutely can not go wrong with a Tea Shop Mystery. Laura Childs has created a community that you want to visit again and again, despite (ahem) the number of murders that seem to happen there. In this installment, Theodosia and Drayton, her tea maven, visit a mansion, solve a murder, & plan and (ahem) execute a plum blossom tea. You might guess who the murderer was, but you won't care - it's just lovely to visit this world.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

I continue to enjoy this series and the way it reveals new aspects of the characters and of Charleston!

No matter how bad the weather, no matter how ugly the political climate, I know I can always find respite in one of Laura Childs’ books. This time Theodosia Browning is watching the Gaslights and Galleons Parade from Timothy Neville’s Charleston mansion when a local banker falls over a porch railing to his death. Or so it would appear, Carson Lanier was actually shot with a crossbow. As usual, Theodosia investigates, but the highlight of this series is her interaction with her employees at the Indigo Tea Shop and the yummy recipes. Perfect after a long stressful day