Charleston is bustling with shoppers looking for antiques-and, of course, Theodosia Browning's delicious teas. But when the cobblestone alleys clear, Theodosia finds the map store owner strangled to death. Many wanted her shop-but enough to kill? Most alarming, however, is Detective Tidwell's theory: that the killer mistook her for Theodosia.
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About the Author
Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Cackleberry Club, Tea Shop, and Scrapbooking mysteries. In her past life she was a Clio Award–winning advertising writer and CEO of her own marketing firm. She lives in Plymouth, Minnesota.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
35 reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very hesitant 4-star rating
Mar 18 2010
By Holly K
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
"The Teaberry Strangler" is the eleventh installment in Laura Child's Tea Shop Mystery series. I have read each and every one and have largely enjoyed the series. The novels are set in Charleston, South Carolina and truly meet the definition of "cozy" - a beautiful sense of place, interesting characters and a little intrigue thrown in.
Unfortunately, I think this is one of the weaker books in the series. The wonderful descriptions of Charleston (and its society gatherings) are included but the mystery itself is insubstantial. The murder takes place, Theodosia (our main character) lines up a cast of suspects with flimsy motives and then the reader is left hanging since there are no clues as to who actually did it. The murderer is revealed in the final pages and it is totally "sprung" on the reader since new information is given. The mystery definitely feels like an afterthought in this book. I also thought the character development was fairly non-existent as well. Not much has changed in any of the character's lives and Drayton and Hayley continue to exist in order to give Theodosia someone to talk to. To add freshness to a long series, I would love to see a future mystery written focused more on one of those two characters, particularly Drayton (lots of unrealized potential here).
To sum it up - if I were picking up the book as a first time reader, it would rate a 3-star. Since I have come to love the books as a whole and there is some halo effect going on, I would rate it a 4-star for me. Settled on 4 stars with some reservations .....
Unfortunately, I think this is one of the weaker books in the series. The wonderful descriptions of Charleston (and its society gatherings) are included but the mystery itself is insubstantial. The murder takes place, Theodosia (our main character) lines up a cast of suspects with flimsy motives and then the reader is left hanging since there are no clues as to who actually did it. The murderer is revealed in the final pages and it is totally "sprung" on the reader since new information is given. The mystery definitely feels like an afterthought in this book. I also thought the character development was fairly non-existent as well. Not much has changed in any of the character's lives and Drayton and Hayley continue to exist in order to give Theodosia someone to talk to. To add freshness to a long series, I would love to see a future mystery written focused more on one of those two characters, particularly Drayton (lots of unrealized potential here).
To sum it up - if I were picking up the book as a first time reader, it would rate a 3-star. Since I have come to love the books as a whole and there is some halo effect going on, I would rate it a 4-star for me. Settled on 4 stars with some reservations .....
22 of 24 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Mixed Feelings...
Mar 29 2010
By Rick
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
I've read all the books in this series, and I read for one reason alone -- atmosphere. Childs is VERY good at this. I can't tell you how many cozies I've read that have a fabulous setting in a wonderful era or at the perfect time of year, and other than being told once or twice, "It was October in Vermont..." the book could just as easily have been set in February in Flint, Michigan, circa 1979. Not so with Childs. Some (many) would even say she overdoes the atmosphere, but that's fine with me. I object, by the way, to the fashionista aspects of the story -- antiques are fine, "Coco Chanel" blouses are a bit grating. Characters? Eh, okay, I guess. Theo and Haley are cool, Drayton and Tidwell are better. So, for atmosphere, this book gets five stars; character development gets 3.5 or even 4 stars. But... Here's where it gets bad. Plotting. As noted by others, Childs' plotting is almost unimaginably bad, juvenille on a scale that my vocabulary finds difficult to detail. She uncovers zero clues, zero clues are presented to us, and the grand climaxes are so far out of left field as to simply not be believed. Felonious motives and solutions to the crimes are flat out invented in the last two pages. And sometimes, Childs simply loses her mind. In the last of her tea shop books (not this one), Theo restrains the killer by (I am NOT making this up) squirting a tube of glue into said killer's hair after said killer has been knocked to the ground. The glue firmly secures the bad guy/girl to the ground until the cops show up. What more can be said?
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bait
Mar 26 2010
By v. m. hollingsworth
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
First let me say that I love the tea shop series. I love all the characters and the setting. However, it has just occurred to me after reading this last installment that often when Theodosia is solving a "mystery" she really hasn't got a clue who the actual killer is until she is attacked at the end of the book because she's been asking questions and the murderer is fearful of exposure. Sometimes I get the impression that Theo is as surprised as the rest of us with the outcome. This, some readers might find frustrating because a traditional detective story is supposed to give the reader the clues needed to try to solve the mystery. This doesn't particularly bother me since the well-written charm of the series, for me, supercedes the need to figure out the ending.
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