Honey Drop Dead (A Tea Shop Mystery) by Laura Childs
About Honey Drop Dead
Honey Drop Dead (A Tea Shop Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
Setting – South Carolina
Berkley (August 8, 2023)
Hardcover : 320 pages
The murder of a political bigwig at a Honey Bee Tea sends Theodosia Browning buzzing for answers in this latest installment of the New York Times bestselling series.
Theodosia’s Honey Bee Tea was an elegant affair set in Charleston’s new Petigru Park amid newly planted native grasses and a community beekeeping project. But when a phony beekeeper shows up and sprays toxic smoke at the guests, the party erupts in chaos. Worse yet, a shot rings out and Osgood Claxton III, candidate for state legislature, falls to the ground—dead. Holly Burns, the gallery owner who asked Theodosia to cater the tea, is understandably heartbroken. A man is dead, her guests are angry and injured, and the paintings that were on display are left in tatters. When the police don’t seem to have a clue, when old-line politicos don’t want questions asked, Holly begs Theodosia to run a shadow investigation and help restore her gallery’s good name. Between hosting a Wind in the Willows Tea and a Glam Girl Tea, Theodosia questions everyone that had a bone to pick with Claxton. This includes Booker, an angry outsider artist; Lamar Lucket, Claxton’s political opponent; and Mignon Merriweather, the dead man’s soon-to-be ex-wife. But the investigation becomes a political hot potato following a second murder, the revelation of a messy affair, a chase through a swamp, and a vandalized shop. INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS!
About Laura Childs
Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries
Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:
The Tea Shop Mysteries 
The Scrapbooking Mysteries
The Cackleberry Club Mysteries
Laura’s Links: Website – Facebook
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| Charleston, South Carolina |
My Thoughts
Honey Drop Dead by Laura Childs is the twenty-sixth A Tea Shop Mystery. This is one of the two series that got me hooked on cozy mysteries. I look forward to each new installment. Honey Drop Dead is well-written with developed characters. Theo, Drayton, and Hayley are busy at the Indigo Tea Shop plus they have several special events including the Honey Bea Tea. Theodosia Browning is a smart, friendly, and caring woman. She has good business instincts plus Theo has a knack for solving crimes. I enjoyed the description of the Honey Bea Tea. It sounded lovely until someone used the event for nefarious purposes. I found myself quickly drawn into the story. The mystery was thought out. The way the murder was carried out was certainly unique. I liked that there was action and suspense throughout. I had fun following Theo and Drayton as they worked to solve the crime. I like that Drayton accompanies Theo on sleuthing forays. I get tired of Riley, Theo’s beau, telling her to keep her nose out of the investigation. He should know by now that Theo has no intention of sitting on the sidelines. I would love to see Theo get a new boyfriend (someone who understands her curious nature). The whodunit had a good wrap up at the end.
I delighted in catching up with Theo,
Drayton, Hayley, Miss Dimple, and Earl Grey.
There are delectable descriptions of Hayley’s creations and Drayton’s
tasty tea blends. Theo comes up with creative ideas for the special tea events. I enjoyed my latest visit to Charleston and
the Indigo Tea Shop (and I look forward to returning soon). While Honey Drop Dead is the twenty-sixth A Tea Shop Mystery, the author does provide the needed background information on
the main characters for new readers. Personally,
I have enjoyed reading the series from the beginning. I like that Honey Drop Dead gave us something
different. Honey Drop Dead is a diverting
tale with a malicious smoker, scrumptious scones, gallery quandaries, tasty
teas, an excess of suspects, and an intrepid Theo.
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| Theo's cozy courtyard at home |
Honey Drop Dead is available at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Bookshop.org, and PenguinRandomHouse. The twenty-seventh A Tea Shop Mystery is Murder in Tea Leaves, and it will be out on March 5, 2024 (I have pre-ordered my copy). You can find Laura Childs' other novels here. I would love for more books, The Scrapbooking Mysteries. Carmela and Ava are a hoot. As part of the tour, the author is hosting a giveaway. Laura Childs is giving away three (3) print copies of Honey Drop Dead (sorry, but US only). You can enter via the Rafflecopter form below, or you can click here. Leave a comment for an extra entry. Good Luck! Thank you for stopping by today. I will return tomorrow to share my thoughts on Berried Grievances by Peg Cochran. It is the eighth A Cranberry Cove Mystery. I hope that you have a honey of a day. Take care and Happy Reading!
Kris
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Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteLove this series! On my TBR list.
ReplyDeletenice cover
ReplyDelete