Death at a Firefly Tea by Laura Childs

 

Death at a Firefly Tea

 

Death at a Firefly Tea (A Tea Shop Mystery) by Laura Childs

About Death at a Firefly Tea

 

Death at a Firefly Tea (A Tea Shop Mystery) 

Cozy Mystery 

30th in Series 

Setting - South Carolina 

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley 

Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 10, 2026 

Print length ‏ : ‎ 336 pages 

 

A brazen killer sparks Theodosia Browning’s sense of justice in this latest installment of the New York Times bestselling series.

As fireflies dazzle like tiny glowing lanterns, tea maven Theodosia hosts an elegant evening tea on the patio of the Tangled Rose B and B. But in this gentle darkness an intruder has made their way in and slipped deadly drugs into the baked Alaska of Mrs. Van Courtland, one of Charleston’s local grande dames. Shocked by this brazen act, urged on by Mrs. V’s grieving son, Theodosia begins her own shadow investigation. Soon, she finds herself at odds with a greedy developer, the questionable residents of Honey Badger House, a vengeful ex-daughter-in-law, ne’er do well relatives, and a housekeeper who knows all the secrets.

As Theodosia hosts a Moulin Rouge Tea and a Queen Victoria Tea, her tea sommelier Drayton is assaulted by a masked stranger and the fiancé of Mrs. V’s son is kidnapped. It’s only at the Starry Starry Night black tie ball that Theodosia stumbles upon the killer and gets pulled into a dramatic life and death chase.

About Laura Childs

 

Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the A Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbooking Mysteries, and A Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fundraising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs. Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are: The Tea Shop Mysteries – set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston. 

The Scrapbooking Mysteries – a slightly edgier series that takes place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here! The Cackleberry Club Mysteries – set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality. 

Laura's Links

Website – Facebook 

My Thoughts

Death at a Firefly Tea by Laura Childs is the thirtieth A Tea Shop Mystery.  I look forward to a new A Tea Shop Mystery each year.  This series is one of the two that introduced me to cozy mysteries and made me love them.   The story is accessible and features likable, relatable characters.  It was great to catch up with Theo, Drayton, Haley, and Earl Grey.  The author's vivid descriptions bring the tea shop, city, and characters to life. The mystery is straightforward.  I was surprised that Theo was reluctant to investigate this time around.  It seemed out of character for her.  The takedown was entertaining.  There are ideas for tea parties as well as recipes at the end of the book.  Death at a Firefly Tea can be read as a standalone.   Death at a Firefly Tea  is a diverting tale with mouthwatering morsels, tasty teas, a poisoned patron, chasing a suspect, hesitant sleuth, absent boyfriend, a Victorian visitor, and fashionable reveal. 

Would you like to win a hard copy of Death at a Firefly Tea?   Use the form above to enter or click here to enter.  Leave a comment for an extra entry.  Good Luck!

Death at a Firefly Tea can be obtained from Amazon*, B&N, Kobo, Bookshop.org, and PenquinRandomHouse.  You can find the other books in A Tea Shop Mysteries here.  You should check out Laura Child's A Scrapbooking Mystery series (they are entertaining).  You can find Laura Child's other cozy mysteries here.  You can follow the author on Amazon and they will notify you when she has a new book release.  Thank you for stopping by today.  I will return tomorrow, March 11 with Tangled Past by Mary Alford.  I am off to an appointment (hopefully--I gave my mother the wrong time in the hopes that we will get there on time).  I hope that you have a fantastic day.  Don't forget to enter the giveaway (you will see a little pop up in the lower right hand of the screen).  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader

*I voluntarily read an advanced copy of this book.  I am not required to leave a review.  The comments and opinions expressed are strictly my own.

*This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using my links, I will receive a small commission from the sale at no cost to you.  Thank you for supporting The Avid Reader.

High Tea and Misdemeanors by Laura Childs

 

High Tea and Misdemeanors

 

About High Tea and Misdemeanors

 

  High Tea and Misdemeanors (A Tea Shop Mystery) 

Cozy Mystery 

  29th in Series 

  Setting - South Carolina 

  Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley 

Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pages

 

When a wedding is tragically averted by the death of the bridesmaid, Theodosia is determined to prove that it was murder in the latest entry in this New York Times bestselling series. Theodosia Browning and her tea sommelier, Drayton Conneley, are tapped to cater the elegant wedding of Bettina and Jamie. Theodosia and Drayton are setting up when they hear a crash from the greenhouse. Shockingly, they discover that part of the roof has collapsed trapping a bridesmaid and the groom. He will pull through but the bridesmaid is no more. Theodosia is convinced it was murder. INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS!

About Laura Childs

Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the A Tea Shop Mysteries, A Scrapbooking Mysteries, and A Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fundraising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.

Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:

A Tea Shop Mysteries – in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.

The Scrapbooking Mysteries - a slightly edgier series that takes place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!

A Cackleberry Club Mysteries – set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.

Laura's Links

 Website 

 Facebook  

My Thoughts

High Tea and Misdemeanors by Laura Childs is the twenty-ninth A Tea Shop Mystery.  It can be read as a standalone for those new to the series.  This is one of the two series that got me hooked on cozy mysteries (when they only came out in paperback).  I always enjoy my visits to Charleston, South Carolina, and the Indigo Tea Shop.  I like checking in on Theodosia, Drayton, Hayley, and, of course, Earl Gray.  I am not a fan of Riley, Theo’s boyfriend, who does not understand her curious nature and desire to investigate crimes.  Theo and Drayton make a great team.  The mystery was interesting, but it was easy to solve.  The guilty person stood out like a woman wearing a red dress at a black and white party.  There were various events that kept things lively.  

I liked the chapters from the killer’s perspective (it was obvious their elevator stopped a few floors short of the top).   The reveal was suspenseful and answered any lingering questions.  There are recipes at the end of the book along with tea tips.  I do wish, though, that the story had more depth like the books at the beginning of the series and less repetitive details.  I liked that High Tea and Misdemeanors was a Halloween story (it is a shame that the book did not come out in the fall).  The Indigo Tea Shop was decked out for a spooky tea and there were other Halloween themed events.  I look forward to Theodosia’s next adventure.  High Tea and Misdemeanors is a merry mystery with a glass catastrophe, scrumptious scones, chocolate covered cherries, a cemetery crawl, a creepy killer, and tasty tea.

High Tea and Misdemeanors is available from Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Bookshop.org, and  PenquinRandomHouse. You can find the other twenty-eight A Tea Shop Mysteries here.  If you follow Laura Child's on Amazon, they will notify you when she has a new book release.  As part of the tour, Laura Child's is giving away two print copies of High Tea and Misdemeanors (sorry, but US Only).  Click here to enter or use the Rafflecopter form below.  Leave a comment for an extra entry. Good Luck! Thank you for joining me today.  Tomorrow I am sharing my thoughts on Welcome to the Honey B&B by Melody Carlson.  I hope that you have a spooktacular day.  Don't forget to enter the giveaway before you depart (you know it will haunt you later if you don't do it now).  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Participants

March 4 – Jody's Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT 

March 4 – Christy's Cozy Corners – AUTHOR GUEST POST

March 5 – Angel's Book Nook – SPOTLIGHT

March 5 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW 

March 6 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT 

March 6 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT 

March 7 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW 

March 7 – Wine Cellar Library – SPOTLIGHT 

March 8 – Maureen's Musings – SPOTLIGHT 

March 8 – FUONLYKNEW - SPOTLIGHT 

March 9 – The Mystery of Writing – AUTHOR GUEST POST 

March 10 – Baroness Book Trove – REVIEW 

March 10 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT 

March 11 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT 

March 11 – Deal Sharing Aunt – AUTHOR INTERVIEW 

March 12 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW 

March 12 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT 

March 13 – Novels Alive – REVIEW 

March 13 – Wine Cellar Library – AUTHOR INTERVIEW 

March 14 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT 

March 15 – The Plain-Spoken Pen – REVIEW 

March 15 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT 

March 16 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW 

☘March 17 – Boys' Mom Reads! – SPOTLIGHT ☘

*I voluntarily read an advanced copy of this book.  I am not required to leave a review.  The comments and opinions expressed are strictly my own.

Peach Tea Smash by Laura Childs

 

Peach Tea Smash by Laura Childs

 

About Peach Tea Smash

 

Peach Tea Smash (A Tea Shop Mystery) 

Cozy Mystery 

28th A Tea Shop Mystery

Setting - South Carolina 

Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pages 

 

Murder at an Alice in Wonderland–themed event threatens to send Theodosia Browning through the looking glass in the latest entry in this New York Times bestselling series.

During the Mad Hatter Masquerade, a fundraiser hosted by the Friends of the Opera on the grounds of the old Pendleton Grist Mill, Harlan Sadler, husband of Cricket Sadler, the chairwoman, is killed. He’s been hit in the head with a croquet mallet, and his body hung on the chains and paddles of the grist mill. Nobody can figure out why since Harlan was much beloved by everyone. It’s only after Cricket and Delaine beg Theodosia to investigate that she realizes the killer might have mistaken Harlan for his crazy son, Duke. After all, Duke is a slum landlord and recently injured a woman in a boating accident.

         INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS!

About Laura Childs

Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbook Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fundraising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.

Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:

The Tea Shop Mysteries – set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.

The Scrapbooking Mysteries – a slightly edgier series that takes place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!

The Cackleberry Club Mysteries – set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.

Author Links

Website

Facebook 

My Thoughts

Peach Tea Smash by Laura Childs is twenty-eighth A Tea Shop Mystery.  This series is what got me hooked on cozy mysteries (I was browsing a bookstore when I came upon Death by Darjeeling).  Peach Tea Smash is easy to read.  I enjoyed catching up with Theodosia, Drayton, Hayley, Earl Gray, Detective Tidwell, and the rest of the gang.  The tea shop is hopping, and Theo has several tea events planned that will require the help of Miss Dimple and Hayley’s sweet cousin.  At the Mad Hatter Masquerade, Drayton and Theodosia find the coordinator’s husband dead.  Theo and her sidekick, Drayton soon find themselves looking into the case.  There are multiple suspects including the victim’s stepson.  Unlike the earlier novels in A Tea Shop Mysteries, the whodunit is on the lighter side.  I felt there needed to be breadcrumbs along the way leading to the guilty party instead of a light bulb moment.  

I thought the setting for the Mad Hatter Masquerade was unique and provided a great setting for the murder.  There are robberies happening around town as well.  I was left with a couple of unanswered questions at the end of the book. The author captures Charleston with her vivid descriptions of the buildings and streets.  There are tea tips and ideas for themed teas at the end of the book along with recipes.  Peach Tea Smash left me feeling as happy as a clam at high tide.  

Tea Infused Chocolate Bars

Excerpt

"Looks like we took a wrong turn," Theodosia said, then stopped dead in her tracks to gaze at the hulking pieces of machinery that stood in the center of the room. There were interconnecting wheels and some kind of old motor attached to pulleys, chains, and leather paddles. Overhead was a honeycomb of low wooden beams and a ragged hole in the ancient roof that let in a small spill of moonlight. A faint rustle of wings filled the air as birds flitted from beam to beam.

"Amazing," Drayton said as he walked a few steps closer to the apparatus. "This old grist mill is really something."

"It's also a little scary," Theodosia said. In the semidarkness the wood beams and stone walls seemed to press in on them as well as tamp down the sounds of outside revelry. In fact, she could barely hear any music at all.

But Drayton remained fascinated. "Early grist mills were water-run, powered by sluiceways. But this particular mill was automated in the late eighteenth century. You see that large wheel?"

Theodosia nodded. From her perspective it looked like something from a torture chamber.

"Throw the bevel gears and that wheel drives the whole shebang. See, there's the giant mill stone where grain was ground then carried up by those leather paddles."

Theodosia walked a little closer and peered at the central workings of the old grist mill. "This is some place. And I'm amazed at how well-versed you are about its operation."

"Because it's interesting, a piece of Charleston's history. And you know how much I like history."

"Oh, I do," Theodosia said. Drayton was known to go on for hours about Charleston's old churches, mansions, single houses, plantations, hidden lanes, and narrow cobblestone alleys.

"But imagine how noisy and inhospitable this place must have been a century ago when grain was milled here practically day and night," Drayton said.

"It's not that hospitable now." The mill was dark, and Theodosia felt as if shadows were flitting all around them. Maybe it was the flicker of torches from outside? Or just her imagination?

"All that chaff filling the air, making it difficult to see and breathe," Drayton continued. "And the noise and clatter of clanking machinery."

As if to punctuate Drayton's words, a low hum rose up from the nearby machinery. Then a leather belt started to vibrate.

Drayton took a cautious step back. "What just happened here?"

"Maybe someone threw a switch?" Theodosia said. She'd caught a faint scrape of footsteps behind her. "For a demonstration of some kind?" But when she turned and looked back over her shoulder, she didn't see a soul. "Huh, this is weird."

The noise increased in pitch, building from a low hum to a loud, repetitive, clickety-clack-clack as chains and leather belts began to move. It was as if the machinery, untouched for decades, had suddenly been sparked to life. Now, with everything thumping and thrumming, Theodosia could barely hear anything at all.

"I don't think we should be in here," Theodosia shouted in Drayton's ear, feeling foolish even as she said it. Of course, they shouldn't be here. These old mill contraptions were dangerous. As if they could grab somebody and . . . the phrase grind his bones suddenly popped into her head. She spun hastily, ready to grab Drayton's sleeve and pull him away from this strange, shadowy place. But Drayton was rooted to where he stood, mouth open, seemingly dumbstruck. Then he slowly lifted a hand and pointed.

"What?" Theodosia shouted. When Drayton didn't answer, she said, "What?" a second time. Then she lifted her eyes, blinked hard, and did a kind of double take. Because something, Lord knows what, was caught in the giant heavy chains that pulled the leather paddles up toward the ceiling.

"What do you think that is?" Drayton asked her. "Rags? A bunch of old gunny sacks?"

Theodosia shook her head. "I don't know."

But the strange thing was, she did know. Because whatever was caught between those giant paddles had a definite shape to it. Two arms, a leg . . . maybe a head?

"Help!" Drayton shouted as he suddenly arrived at the same conclusion. He turned and sprinted for the doorway. "Help!" he called out. "There's been an accident, we need help in here!"

His plaintive cries brought a half dozen curious people.

A man in a white dinner jacket yelled, "What's wrong?" while behind him Theodosia's friend, Delaine Dish, screamed, "My Lord, is that a man dangling up there?"

The chains and leather paddles had pulled the body even higher. Now, the onlookers' screams blended with the noise of the machines and rose to a fever pitch. Their screams drew even more people who lifted their collective voices in a dreadful cacophony that seemed to billow through the ancient grist mill, matching the enormous clouds of dust being spun out up by clanking machinery.

"Someone's caught in the gears," a man shouted.

"Somebody do something," a woman in a bright yellow gown cried.

Even Cricket Sadler ran in and started screaming for help.

But no one did anything. They simply stood there, horror-struck, too paralyzed to help or figure out the situation.

Theodosia didn't know what to do, but she knew she had to do something. She waved a hand in front of her face, trying to see through the swirl of dust and chaff, then edged over to what Drayton had pointed out earlier as bevel gears.

Reaching a hand out, Theodosia pushed one of the wooden levers, hoping to stop the machinery. Nothing. The clanking grew louder and the screams from the crowd increased in volume. She touched a hand to a second lever, pushed hard, felt it start to give, want to give. Blowing out a stream of air, trying not to choke as she cleared the terrible dust from her nose and mouth, she leaned hard into her task. Pushing with all her might, she managed to throw the lever hard-left. There was a deep shudder, a terrible screeching noise, and then the machinery finally, mercifully, ground to a halt.

"Get him down! Help him!" came countless cries. Now, a dozen hands reached up to try and free the trapped man, but no one could reach him. Seconds dragged by, then a full minute, before a ladder was found and lifted up. A young man in a green and yellow caterpillar costume scrambled nimbly up the ladder and worked feverishly to untangle the man from the chains. After two minutes of twisting and turning, he was finally able to free the injured man. Balancing precariously now, he bent forward to lower the victim into waiting arms. But at the last second, he fumbled and lost his grip. The victim cartwheeled away from him, plunging fifteen feet down, and hitting the cobblestone floor like a sack of flour.

Peach Tea Smash is available from Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Bookshop.org, and PenquinRandomHouse.  You can find the other books in A Tea Shop Mysteries here.  The next A Tea Shop Mystery is High Tea and Misdemeanors (Delaine's niece, Bettina is getting married to Jamie) which will be out on March 4, 2025 (I have my copy preordered).  You can find Laura Childs' other cozy mysteries here (I love A Scrapbooking Mysteries and I am sorry that it has come to an end).  Are you ready for a GIVEAWAY! The author is giving away two (2) hardcover copies of Peach Tea Smash (sorry, but US Only).   Click here to enter or use the Rafflecopter form below.  Leave a comment for an extra entry!  Good Luck!  Thank you for dropping by today.  I will be sharing my thoughts on Joy by Danielle Steel tomorrow.  Danielle Steel's novels are one of my guilty pleasures.  I hope that you have a sunny day.  Do not forget to enter the giveaway!  Take care, good luck, and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

Tour Participants

August 6 – The Plain-Spoken Pen - REVIEW

August 6 – Maureen's Musings – SPOTLIGHT

August 6 – story.book.lady – REVIEW

August 7 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT

August 7 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT

Lemon scones with lemon curd

August 8 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 8 – Lady Hawkeye – SPOTLIGHT

August 9 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW

August 9 – The Mystery of Writing - SPOTLIGHT

 August 10 – Reading Is My SuperPower – AUTHOR GUST POST

Genmaicha Green Tea

August 10 – Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 11 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

August 12 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

August 12 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 13 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW

Tea infused chocolates

August 13 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 14 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

August 14 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR GUEST POST

August 15 – Christy's Cozy Corners – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

August 15 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 16 – Baroness Book Trove – REVIEW

August 16 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

August 17 – Elizabeth McKenna - Author – SPOTLIGHT

August 17 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 18 – Sarah Can't Stop Reading Books – REVIEW

August 19 – Angel's Book Nook – SPOTLIGHT

*I voluntarily read an advanced copy of this book.  I am not required to leave a review.  The comments and opinions expressed are strictly my own.

*This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using my links, I will receive a small commission from the sale at no cost to you.  Thank you for supporting The Avid Reader.