Happy Book Release Day! The books coming out today are Bitter Harvest by Wendy Tyson, Roux the Day by Linda Wilken, Gone with the Twins by Kyle Logan, Silence of the Flans by Laura Bradford, Bad Debt by Jenna Bennett, Every Trick in the Rook by Marty Wingate, Bel of the Brawl by Maggie McConnon, Two Good Dogs by Susan Wilson, and The Illusionist's Apprentice by Kristy Cambron and Pekoe Most Poison by Laura Childs. I hope you find some new books to read.
Pekoe Most Poison by Laura Childs
is the eighteenth book in A Tea Shop Mystery series. Theodosia Browning and Drayton Conneley have
been invited to a “Rat Tea” by Doreen Briggs.
It gives Theo her first glimpse of Calhoun Mansion owned by Doreen and
her husband, Beau (well, technically Doreen).
Theo is shocked when the door is opened by a man with a rat head on his
head and in a blue velvet Edwardian outfit.
Doreen went all out for her Rat Tea (the history of this tradition is in
the book). Things are progressing
smoothly until one of the servers gets too close to a candle at the head
table. The centerpiece catches fire, and
quick thinking Theo flings tea on the fire.
A short time later, Beau Briggs starts coughing, choking and clutching
at his throat after drinking his orange pekoe tea. It is soon obvious that Beau was poisoned. After giving her statement to Detective Pete
Riley (his boss, Burt Tidwell is away at a conference), Theo heads back to the
Indigo Tea Shop. Theo is happy to leave this investigation with the police
until she gets a call from Drayton. Drayton,
in turn, received a frantic call from Doreen.
She is extremely distraught and wants Beau’s death looked into by
Drayton and Theo. If Drayton does not
get Theo to agree, he will lose the grant money promised to the Heritage
Society (which they desperately need) by Doreen (she wants a little quid pro
quo). Theo admits (to herself) that she
is curious, and agrees to investigate Beau’s death. It does not take long for Theo to be sorry
she ever agreed to help the distressed widow.
Will Theo find the culprit or end up the killer’s next victim?
Pekoe Most Poison was just a
delight to read. I found the book to be
well-crafted, easy to read, and contain engaging characters. It was lovely to revisit the Indigo Tea Shop,
Theo, Drayton, and friends. I started reading Pekoe Most Poison and quickly
found myself engrossed in the story.
This is the type of cozy mystery that I love. The mystery was complex with twists and turns
(and misdirection). If a reader pays
close attention, they will be able to solve the mystery before the killer is
revealed. I liked the new romantic
interest for Theo. It will be interesting
to see how it plays out in future books (for which I hope there are many). I give Pekoe Most Poison 5 out of 5
stars. I wish more authors created cozy
mysteries like Pekoe Most Poison (and the other books in this series). I think that Pekoe Most Poison could be read
alone, but I believe it would be helpful to read the earlier books in A Tea Shop Mystery. Reading Death by Darjeeling
will give you background information on Theodosia, the Indigo Tea Shop, and the
other supporting players (Drayton, Hayley, Burt Tidwell). At the end of the book are recipes, tea tips,
and resources. The only downfall to
Pekoe Most Poison is we must wait a year for another A Tea Shop Mystery.
I hope you found my review today helpful. I will be back tomorrow to review Bel of the Brawl by Maggie McConnon. I have an extremely busy day ahead of me. We are celebrating my daughter's twenty-ninth birthday this evening (and the chicken will not fry itself). Take care and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader
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