CHAMOMILE MOURNING by Laura Childs October 9, 2006

Tea Shop owner, Theodosia Browning, is very put out when rain forces her to move her tea table indoors at the Poet's Tea. She is even more put out when one of the guests fall over the balcony above and lands in the middle of her almond tea cake.(Recipe included) So begins the 6th of the Tea Shop Mystery series. This book reminds me why I love to read mysteries by female authors. They are light, funny, and have interesting characters. How can you not enjoy a book whose characters sport such names as Jory Davis, Theodosia's boyfriend, Drayton Connelly, her partner, Earl Grey, her dog, Jester Moody, Delaine Dish, Maribo Pratt, and Gracie Venable? Great names. And it was a good mystery that kept you guessing right up to the end. The story is set in Charleston, adding that city to my list of places to visit. An added bonus is recipes for some of the dishes mentioned: Strawberry biscuits, cranberr-orange bread, raspberry chocolate chip muffins, cinnamon apple scones and blueberry sour cream muffins. To keep you reading, Childs leaves bits of the story untold, such as the fate of Theodosia and Jory's relationship. I definitely plan to read more of this series. And it wasn't hard starting in the middle. Childs also writes a scrapbooking mystery series. Something to look into.
Rating: 4.25

6 Comments:
Joy said...
Hmmmm, sounds interesting. And a scrapbooking mystery series...better yet!
SuziQoregon said...
I've read and enjoyed the first two in this series for many of the same reasons you've mentioned. I'm also familiar with many of the Charleston locations. I visited there several times while my brother was stationed there (Navy) many years ago. I'd love to get back to Charleston for another visit and I've got Shades of Earl Grey (#3) on my 'read pretty soon' list.
Les said...
You've piqued my interest. I don't know if I've ever read a "cozy" but this sounds perfect, especially since I love to cook/bake. It also sounds like one I may want to buy to give to a few friends for Christmas. Thanks for the lovely reveiw.
Framed said...
Les, "Cozy" is a perfect word for this series. It would be great to sit back with this book, wrapped in a quilt on a foggy day, with hot chocolate.
Les said...
Not chamomile tea? ;)
Bookfool said...
I love cozies, although I don't get around to reading many. This one sounds terrific. I particularly love the name Theodosia. Believe it or not, I had an aunt by that name. Everyone called her "Ted". LOL