Title: Lemon Curd Killer

Series: Tea Shop Mystery #25

Author: Laura Childs

Publisher: Berkley

Format: I read the e-book

Published On: March 7, 2023

Set in: Charleston, South Carolina

Buy it at: Amazon Barnes and Noble

The highlight of the postcard perfect Limón Tea Party was suppose to be a fashion show. But the models never had the chance to show off the season’s fashions.

Shortly after Indigo Tea Shop owner, Theodosia Browning, interrupts the argument of two sisters: Delaine and Nadine, does she find Nadine dead in the cooler.

When the sheriff and crime scene team pull up, Drayton, Theo’s tea sommelier, informs her that Nadine had a fight with film director Eddie Fox. Also, that those working on the Lemon Squeeze Couture project were not happy with how she treated them. The project included a new line of work-out clothing and this event was the kick-off for Charleston Fashion Week.

At the tea shop on Monday morning, Theo learns from Delaine that she gave her sister the money to invest in Lemon Squeeze Couture. Delaine seemed more concerned about her investment, than her sister’s death.

Of course, Theo agrees to help Nadine’s daughter, Bettina, find the truth about who actually killed her mother. As always, Drayton assists Theo on her mission.

Who are the suspects: Nadine’s former boyfriend, Simon Nardwell, who specializes in antique firearms. Eddie Fox, a film director. Harv & Marv – Nadine’s two business partners. Harv is the money man in the Lemon Squeeze organization and set up the key partner insurance. Mark Devlin, who created the line, wanted more money. Whoever had cocaine in the parlor when Nadine’s body was found is also a suspect.

What I love: a Laura Child’s mystery. That I get to check in with the characters I love. Theo runs the tea shop and juggles cases on the side. Drayton knows everything about tea and he’s quite a character. I loved the fashion angle and the themed tea parties and I wasn’t able to tell who the killer was until the end.

What bothered me: that Delaine didn’t grieve right after her sister was killed. She was more concerned about the business arrangement.

Hallmark needs to make movies out of Laura’s books.

4 tea parties out of 5

Denise Fleischer

gottawritenetwork.wordpress.com

June 20, 2023

Another fun installment in the A Tea Shop Mystery series. I love the home that Theo has built for Drayton and the tea shop team. I am not a huge fan of teas other than black tea but the detail that Laura Childs uses when describing the afternoon teas, event teas, and all the accoutrements make me want to try a fancy tea service one day. This mystery managed to keep me guessing right to the end and I am looking forward to reading Murder in the Tea Leaves when it is released in the new year.

Fashion Week in Charleston and a high tea in a lemon orchard results in a murder. The Tea Shop Mystery series by Laura Childs are entertaining reads. Theodosia and Dayton are fun characters. The author provides a good sense of place and I feel like I know the Charleston area even though I’ve never been there.

I am always so excited to read a new book in the tea shop mystery series.
Theodosia, Haley and Drayton find themselves in the middle of another murder mystery and have to identify the killer using their wiles and tea!

The review of Lemon Curd Killers by Laura Childs is in the June 2023 issue of GumshoeReview.com and is exclusive to them until July 1, 2023. Here's the link to the review:
<https://www.gumshoereview.com/php/Review-id.php?id=7050>

It’s Fashion Week in Charleston and that raises the anxiety level of designers for everything from sportswear to bridal gowns. Tea shop owner Theodosia Browning is catering a showing for her fashionista friend Delaine, who is always high strung but who takes that to a new level when the newest in fashion is on display. Sales depend on it.

Sixty of Charleston’s wealthiest women are invited to a Limon Tea Party in South Carolina’s only lemon grove. A perfect setting with lemon tea and lemon scones as a first course.

With the scones popular enough for requests of seconds, of course, the ladies need more lemon curd as well. Theo volunteers to go inside to fetch more from the cooler. That’s when the whole day fell apart.
Finding a dead body, face down in a bowl of lemon curd, will do that.

When someone’s been shot, it’s a good guess it’s murder. As the police arrive on the scene, they agree. Being first on the scene, so close to the time of death, Theo’s practically a witness. While death stops the lemon tea party, it would take a lot more to put a halt to Fashion Week.

Theo’s once again chasing clues among the designers, business partners, film crew, models, and makeup crews. Will she be able to find the killer before the last dress makes its debut on the runway?

This is book twenty-five in the series. Theo and her detective, Riley, are still an item. Her business seems to grow every day, with tea soaps, lotions, hand-woven baskets, and much more. Haley and Drayton, Theo’s chef and tea sommelier, are essential to success.

As always, at the back of the book find recipes for lemon cream scones, strawberries with balsamic vinegar, roasted red pepper hummus, lemon bars, lemon curd (dead body not included), English crumpets, butterscotch brownies, muffuletta olive salad sandwiches, chicken an fruit luncheon salad, baked brown sugar salmon, Devonshire cream with mascarpone, and ideas for tea parties like a Silk Road tea or baby reveal tea. Haley also adds ideas for variations of the classic jam and Devonshire cream scone—like maple syrup and cream cheese, fig and cheese, cheese and chutney, Gruyere and bacon, fried egg and hot sauce, and more. There are lists of tea resources, an excerpt of Honey Drop Dead, the next in the series, and a hint about Cadmium Red Dead, the next scrapbooking mystery.

DNF @ 20%

I really want to like this series more then I do. I find the covers to be quite lovely and all the tea descriptions to be delicious. But, I just can’t connect to the story or the characters. I’ve read a couple books in this series and found myself with the same dilemma with each book so I think that’s it for this series for me. However, I would recommend this to other readers of culinary cozies since I could definitely see other readers really enjoying this series.

<i>ARC Provided by NetGalley<i>

Laura Childs continues the Tea Shop Murders in Lemon Curd Killer. Theodosia Browning finds a body at an outside tea party that she catered. She is asked by the deceased's daughter Delaine to look into the murder. Then drug connections started to pop up. Whodunit?

Lemon Curd Killer by Laura Childs has lovely tea, food, and a delicious mystery to solve.

Can Theo deliver on her promise to the victim's daughter to solve her mom's murder?

Theodosia Browning, Drayton, Haley, and Pete Riley are all back to solve this newest mystery that Theo stumbles into unwillingly. All these characters keep improving in each new installment I read. I love how Theo is still into solving these mysteries and all of her tea party ideas. Drayton is perfect for explaining teas that I had no clue about. I learned about dessert teas within this novel. Haley is excellent with her insight on the foods and makes me crave some things that Haley says she is cooking that day for the Indigo Tea Shop. Pete Riley tries his best to keep Theo from getting involved, but he sometimes knows he can't keep her from solving a case and respects her help. These four work incredibly together, along with the other characters as well.

The Mystery
The Indigo Tea Shop was catering for a tea event called Limon Tea to start Charleston's Fashion Week, and Theo walks into the kitchen to get some more scones and lemon curd to find the dead body in a walk-in cooler. The victim wasn't a well-liked person, as everyone that met her ended up not being happy. I must admit that I didn't figure out who killed the victim or the motive. Ms. Childs definitely made it hard this time around.

Five Stars
I am giving five stars to Lemon Curd Killer by Laura Childs and recommending it. I love returning to Charleston, South Carolina, to be with these characters. Ms. Childs has a way of writing that keeps you invested in her characters and their world, making you feel like you are with them. I love the recipes in the back and the tea tips that she also puts back there. The recipes are Killer Lemon Cream Scones, Strawberries with Balsamic Vinegar, Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, Haley's Lemon Bars, Dayton's Favorite Lemon Curd, Honest-to-Goodness English Crumpets, Yummy Butterscotch Brownies, Muffuletta Olive Salad Sandwich, Chicken and Fruit Luncheon Salad, Baked Brown Sugar Salmon, and Devonshire Cream with Mascarpone. Some of these sound awesome, so I might have to convince Jen to have me make some up.

I also highly recommend having tea, let it be iced or hot tea, next to you, and some yummy treats to keep you good while reading so that you don't have to leave the world of Theodosia behind to look for some food to counteract what Haley is making for their daily meals or catering.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Lemon Curd Killer by Laura Childs.

Until the next time,
Karen the Baroness

If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out Baroness Book Trove.

Dollycas's Thoughts

Who knew Charleston Fashion Week could be so deadly?

Theodosia Browning finds another body. This one during the elegant Limón Tea. This was the first event to kick off the weeklong event and before the last cup of tea and lemon scone can even be served the creative director of Lemon Squeeze Couture is found dead in a walk-in cooler with her face "submerged in a bowl of lemon curd".

It isn't long before the woman's daughter begs Theo to find her mother's killer. With all the fashion shows and tea events planned for the rest of the week, Theo and tea sommelier, Drayton will be rubbing shoulders with plenty of suspects so she agrees to do her best. Theo didn't realize where her investigation would take her or who she would "tea" off in the process but her boyfriend Detective Pete Riley is not going to be happy she is getting mixed up in another murder.

_____

Ms. Childs has created such great characters for this series and even in this 25th book in the series they continue to surprise us, engage us, and make us root for them from the first page to the last. Theodosia Browning is a terrific amateur sleuth with a keen mind and strong instincts. Her friend and tea sommelier, Drayton Conneley, tags along with her, even when he doesn't really want to, as she follows clue after clue. He is also a great sounding board. Hayley bakes up a storm and does her best to stay out of the action but sometimes she slams in at just the right time. Riley loves Theo and knows he can't change her but he is scared one of these days he could lose her.

The author also introduces a quirky crew of fashionistas, managers, and directors in this story including a pair of sisters that appear to be in over their heads even before one of them ends up dead. The remaining characters make up the suspect list for an extra twisty mystery. It was really hard to pin the guilty party down for both Theo and this reader. The author did an excellent job of distraction with some nicely placed red herrings. I fell for every one of them and was surprised when the actual Lemon Curd Killer was revealed. The way the scene played out was intense and suspenseful and I enjoyed it very much.

I do love the way Ms. Child sets a scene. From The Orchard Inn where the Limón Tea takes place to Theo's Indigo Tea Shop, to the Featherbed House B&B, and every place in between her descriptions made it so easy to visualize everything. From the tea and treats being served to the china they were served in and on and the silverware used to partake in the delectable delights readers are right there. The only thing better would be if we could jump into the pages and taste everything ourselves. For now, we are provided with several recipes so we can make them on our own. Killer Lemon Cream Scones, Haley's Lemon Bars, and Yummy Butterscotch Brownies to just name a few. Just reading them makes my mouth water.

Lemon Curd Killer is a superb addition to this series. Remarkable characters and a masterful mystery, set in beautiful places all come together to make this book A Perfect Escape.

Don't be put off because this is long-running series. You can read this book all on its own and go back to read earlier stories if you wish. The next book in the series Honey Drop Dead will be released on August 8, 2023. I can't wait to return to Charleston to see what Theodosia gets into next.

Theodosia Browning, who owns a Charleston tea shop, is hosting an event tea in a lemon orchard when she discovers an unpleasant guest has been murdered. She sets about to solve the mystery, with the help of her friend and tea sommelier, Drayton.

I wanted to read this novel because of the Charleston setting, and the tea/foodie emphasis. I have read several books in this series, but not all, but found Lemon Curd Killer worked fine as a standalone mystery.

The thing I love most about this series is how immersive it is. Laura Childs does such a wonderful job at setting the scene in Charleston, and at the tea shop.

If you are a foodie, you will absolutely love the food descriptions in this book, like:

“It’s lovely to see all of you today for our springtime Irish Cream Tea— and I do thank you for coming. Since you’re probably eager for lunch— and to see what our chef has dreamed up— I’m delighted to give you the rundown.” There was a spatter of applause and then Theodosia continued. “Today’s luncheon will begin with Irish soda scones served with Irish creamery butter and your choice of strawberry preserves or orange marmalade. The scones will be followed by a bowl of house -made potato-leek soup. For our main course, we’ll be serving baked brown sugar salmon with sides of caramelized asparagus and heritage tomato salad. And the tea you’re sipping right now is Irish Breakfast Tea from Simpson and Vail.” (eBook location 2633).

Theodosia is a determined amateur detective (and she's very brave, venturing out late at night looking for clues!). There were several strong suspects and I was surprised to see who the killer actually was.

I recommend Lemon Curd Killer and the Tea Shop Mystery series, for fans of cozy mysteries, and especially for anyone who has an interest in Charleston, tea, or wonderful foodie details.

LEMON CURD KILLER by Laura Childs
The Twenty-Fifth Tea Shop Mystery

Fashion is the word in Charleston as the town braces for its own Fashion Week. Delaine's sister, Nadine, has started working for Lemon Squeeze Couture and Theodosia Browning and the gang are catering their first major event. When Theo returns to the kitchen to get more goodies for the masses she finds Nadine dead, face down in the lemon curd.

If you love fashion, food, and a fast paced mystery, LEMON CURD KILLER is a fantastic read. If you get frustrated with cozy protagonists who think they're above the law, you might get a bit annoyed by the twenty-fifth Tea Shop Mystery. You see, Theodosia Browning is at it again, insinuating herself in a murder investigation. While her motives are good, Nadine's daughter did ask her to find the murderer, her actions crossed the line for me twice. Police specifically told her to keep a clue quiet. Everyone knows she'll tell Drayton, and that's fine, but she told a suspect! And it wasn't even an accident, blurting out the information. It was a calculated move to check his reaction. Later, after finding something important, instead of giving it to the police she uses it to break in to a suspect's house to snoop! I used to really like Theo, now...

The mystery leads readers on exciting twisty ride with many possible motives and suspects clouding the waters. There's action, suspense, and danger along with details about fashion and delectable descriptions of the food and tea served by the Indigo Tea Shop. As always, Drayton brings style and sensibility to the story while Miss Dimple radiates joy.

With a focus on fashion LEMON CURD KILLER is a mystery both tart and sweet.

This is one of my absolute favorite cozy mystery series. In this entry, Theodosia and her compatriots host a tea during a fashion show. But when she stumbles upon the dead body of a fashion designer, she finds herself promising the murdered woman’s daughter that she will solve the crime. Throwing herself into the world of fashion, and a whole lot of danger, Theodosia is determined to keep her promise.



This is the definition of cozy, particularly the setting, a tea shop full of warm tea and delicious scones and little sandwiches. Coming back to the main characters is always a joy, and the supporting cast is colorful and engaging. I definitely recommend this book.

Theodosia and her sidekick Drayton are back in the 25th Tea Shop mystery series. It’s Charleston Fashion Week, and Theo’s Indigo tea shop is catering a Limon tea in a lemon orchard. All of Charleston society is there, including Nadine, sister of sho owner Delaine.

Unfortunately, Theo finds Nadine’s body and investigates at the request of Nadine’s daughter.
I really enjoyed seeing the familiar characters in a new book. The plot was particularly twisted and I couldn’t ID the murderer until the end.

A very enjoyable cozy mystery, 4 stars.

Theodosia Browning, proprietor of the Indigo Tea Shop, is looking forward to catering a Lìmon Tea Party in an honest to goodness lemon grove. She’s been hired by local fashion brand Lemon Squeeze Couture to serve a thematic afternoon tea to accompany the launch of their inaugural collection, in conjunction with Charleston Fashion Week.

Everything would be smooth sailing for the well-practiced Indigo crew, if it weren’t for the presence of their boutique owner frenemy Delaine Dish. Delaine’s younger sister Nadine has finessed her way into the position of Lemon Squeeze’s creative director, having embellished her resume by quite a bit in order to land the job. Her lack of experience is showing right as the models are preparing to head down the runway, causing tensions to run high among everyone connected to Lemon Squeeze. Delaine’s constant criticism isn’t helping matters either. As a result, Nadine is taking her nerves out on everyone she can, including Theo and her staff.

Used to the Dishes’ high-strung theatrics, Theo, her tea sommelier Drayton and her chef Haley are happy just to keep their heads down and focus on serving an exquisite tea. What should be a lovely day of high tea and high fashion comes to a screeching halt, however, when Theo finds Nadine dead in the venue’s walk-in refrigerator, face down in the lemon curd.

Theo quickly ascertains that Nadine was shot to death, but there are so many people present that narrowing down the suspect list seems almost impossible, never mind finding a plausible motive. Sure Nadine rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, but flubbing a fashion show hardly seems like a reason for murder. When Theo’s police detective boyfriend Pete Riley lets her know later on that traces of cocaine were found at the crime scene, Theo begins to wonder if Nadine’s death was perhaps less intentional than a by-product of other criminal enterprises.

After Nadine’s daughter Bettina begs Theo to help find her mother’s murderer, Theo realizes that she’ll have to delve more deeply into the world of haute couture if she’s to have any hope of tracking down a coldly professional killer. Will her efforts prevent more murders from occurring, or will they place her squarely in an assassin’s sights?

Series fans will love this twenty-fifth installment of the Tea Shop mystery books, especially as this one was even better, in my opinion, than the last few. It’s always a pleasure to go on a virtual tour of Charleston with Theo and Drayton, this time with fashion (and fast cars!) as a highlight. As always with this series, there were several bonus sections, including one on getting creative with scones. The tips on hosting tea parties were also terrific, as is the recipe chapter. Lemon Curd Killer has eleven delectable recipes included, all for dishes lusciously described in the text. I decided to try out this one, which seemed remarkably easy for a treat I dearly love:

QUOTE
Haley’s Lemon Bars

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar, divided into ½ cup and 1 ½ cups
2 ½ cups cups all-purpose flour, divided into 2 cups plus one extra ½ cup
4 eggs
2 lemons, juiced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl, blend together butter, ½ cup sugar, and 2 cups flour. Press mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 9-by-13 inch baking pan.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes in oven or until firm and golden. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and lemon juice, then pour over baked crust. Bake for an additional 20 minutes and remove from oven. Bars will firm up as they cool. Yields 12 good-sized bars.
END QUOTE

Not only did this recipe seem remarkably easy, it actually was! I love how unfussy Laura Childs’ recipes consistently are, and how they have such dependably fantastic results. These lemon bars were the perfect balance of sweet and tart, with a delicious cookie base and an almost-meringue like texture to the thin top crust that overlaid the gooey lemon layer. I loved these bars, as did my family.

Next week, we head west to make a tasty breakfast treat while trying to deduce the identity of a killer dead set on putting a halt to the wedding of the season. Do join me!

I enjoy Laura Childs's Tea Shop Mystery books tremendously, and Lemon Curd Killer delighted me just as much as the other books I've read in this series. In this latest installment, Theodosia gets caught up in finding a murderer once again when a woman is murdered at the Limon Tea Theodosia is hosting for a Charleston Fashion Week show.

Since Theodosia has a reputation for finding murderers, the murdered woman's daughter begs Theodosia to find out who could have killed her mom. In spite of the police insisting she stay out of it, Theo can't say no. With Drayton, her tea sommelier at her side, Theodosia follows her instincts and eventually finds out who the killer is. I really love these characters. Drayton is somewhere in his 60s and is very formal and stuffy, yet he would never consider letting Theodosia investigate on her own. Theodosia is very headstrong and at times she'll have you screaming at her to just tell Riley, her police officer boyfriend, what she knows. She worries that he'll tell her to stop. I mean he tells her to stay out of it anyway, so she may as well share with him. He knows she's not going to listen anyway!

I'm sure I've said this before when reviewing the Tea Shop Mysteries, but it bears repeating. I absolutely love the setting. I still haven't made it to Charleston though I hope to one day. The area where the Indigo Tea Room is located is so charming, and I'd love to see the historic homes and take a haunted history tour.

I loved that this mystery was quite hard to solve! It isn't until one particular clue popped up that I knew who the killer was, and that was near the end. There are so many suspects!

I highly recommend Lemon Curd Killer to not only loyal fans of the series, but also those of you who are new to the series! It's got fun characters, a fabulous setting, a mysterious murder, and lots of delicious sounding food! Many of the recipes are included too! I think you'll find it very entertaining.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

It’s the start of Charleston’s Fashion Week, and with the setting in a lemon grove, Theodosia Browning has crafted an upscale Limon Tea Party for the occasion. As the owner of the Indigo Tea Shop, she loves to plan tea parties. With the help of her tea sommelier (and best friend) Drayton and chef Haley, they put the tea in team and create unforgettable events as well serving customers in the tea shop.

And while Theodosia knew that the Limon Tea would be memorable, she was disappointed to find out that the reason it would make the news is because of the murder. Theodosia was the one to find the dead woman, in the catering refrigerator, head first in the lemon curd.

Sadly, she recognized the woman immediately. Nadine was the creative director for Lemon Squeeze Coutoure. She had been seen arguing with her sister Delaine, the owner of Cotton Duck, another fashion line. Although it wasn’t unusual for them to argue, as they did it all the time. But when the sheriff lets Theodosia know that Nadine had been shot in the back of her head, she knows that the killer was serious about removing her from the design world. But who would consider her a threat?

Could Nadine have been killed by her partners in Lemon Squeeze, Marv and Harv, because her abrasive personality was causing problems? Or could one or both of them have killed her for the insurance money? Could it have been the designer who created their new line, when it came to light that Nadine had lied about her design experience? Or was the killing about something else altogether? There were lots of others around the lemon grove that day, models to display the clothes and filmmakers to capture Fashion Week on film.

Theodosia knows that her boyfriend Pete Riley, a detective for Charleston’s Police Department, would want her to leave the investigation to the professionals. But Nadine’s daughter Bettina asks Theodosia specifically to ask around and see if she can find out who killed her mother. Her reputation as an amateur investigator has gotten around Charleston. And by catering some of the Fashion Week events, Theodosia does have an easy way to get close to her top suspects and ask questions. But she also has a way of putting herself in danger as she digs for answers. Will she be able to find answers for Bettina before the killer turns on her?

Lemon Curd Murder is book 25 in Laura Childs’s Tea Shop Mysteries. Blending the genteel tea shop with murder makes for a fascinating balance of good and evil. This book also brings layers of Old South, modern fashion, family drama, and high crime. And once the story is complete and the mystery is solved, there are recipes from the various sweet and savory dishes they serve at the tea parties as well as ideas for tea parties. Readers feeling inspired by the tea parties Theodosia and Drayton can plan their own, complete with Killer Lemon Cream Scones, Honest-to-Goodness English Crumpets, and Baked Brown Sugar Salmon.

I devoured Lemon Curd Murder. The setting of Charleston brings such history to these novels, and I so enjoyed the peek into the fashion industry. It’s always fun spending time with Theodosia and Drayton, although I do wish that the tea shop was just down the street from me. I would love to have a place like the Indigo Tea Shop to spend some time, especially when they start talking about the different teas and all those scones. But I think Theodosia is getting smarter with her investigations, and it’s always good to see her put the pieces together and bring justice to the tea party.

Egalleys for Lemon Curd Killer were provided by Berkley through NetGalley, with many thanks.

Murder interrupts a genteel tea party and fashion show in Charleston, South Carolina in the Lemon Curd Killer.

During a catering event, tea shop owner Theodosia finds a fashion show coordinator, Nadine, face down in the lemon curd. It is obvious that Nadine was shot in the back of the head and hidden in the venue’s large fridge. Bettina, Nadine’s daughter, asks Theo, who she describes as the Miss Marple of Charleston, to help find her mother’s killer. Theo is willing to try but the suspects are plentiful: a disgruntled sister, two dissatisfied business partners, a prima donna designer, a possibly cuckolded boyfriend and the rumored lover himself. Theo has a big job ahead of her. Can she solve the crime without being murdered herself?

Another fine cozy mystery in the Tea Shop Mystery series that will make you crave tea and scones while satisfying your armchair detective cravings. The characters within the Lemon Curd Killer feel genuine and make realistic decisions. The mystery itself was a head scratcher that stumped me until the final clue that also gave Theo the killer’s name. The red herrings are plentiful, but looking back, there were clues that I missed earlier.

I must also mention the many tea party recipes (including themed tea party tips), and tea resources located at the end of the book. Who knew there were teas for dogs? How about a sweet tea vodka or wine-flavored teas? There is a whole unseen world of tea and tea parties awaiting discovery.

Overall, the Lemon Curd Killer is an excellent and challenging cozy mystery that is a find for tea drinkers. 5 stars!

Thanks to Berkley Books, Great Escapes Book Tours, and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

Lemon Curd Killer by Laura Childs is a delight to read. A Tea Shop Mysteries was one of two cozy mystery series that got me hooked on the genre. I thought Lemon Curd Killer was well-written with steady pacing. The characters are developed and realistic (that includes Delaine). I just love Theo, Drayton, Hayley, and Miss Dimple as well as Earl Grey. I even like Detective Burt Tidwell. I am on the fence concerning Theo’s beau. The author captured Charleston with her vivid descriptions. She made me feel like I was in Charleston. I like the events that were hosted by Theo, Drayton, and Hayley at the charming Indigo Tea Shop. The descriptions of the delectable delights created by Hayley will have your mouth watering. The mystery was interesting. It was not a simple whodunit. I enjoyed following the clues to solve the crime (I love solving the mysteries). I enjoyed the multifaceted mystery. I like how the victim and her killing tied into the Limon Tea. Delaine’s theatrics were amusing. She is an over-the-top character. Theo asked questions and searched for clues. She even found herself in danger a time or two (need a little suspense). Theo with help from her friends puts the pieces together. Of course, Theo’s detective boyfriend tells her to keep her nose out of the investigation (not a chance). I enjoyed the reveal scene. Lemon Curd Killer can be read as a standalone for those new to the series. I have enjoyed reading all twenty-five books in A Tea Shop Mysteries. I am looking forward to reading Honey Drop Dead when it comes out. Lemon Curd Killer is a tangy treat with a fatal fashion show, a distraught daughter, scrumptious scones, tasty tea, a dapper Drayton, a worried detective, diaphanous fashions, and an inquisitive Theo.

I like the characters and the setting. I liked the mystery as well.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.