Haunted Hibiscus by Laura Childs

  

Haunted Hibiscus

A Tea Shop Mystery

by Laura Childs

About Haunted Hibiscus

 

Haunted Hibiscus (A Tea Shop Mystery) 

 

Tea maven Theodosia Browning brews up trouble in the latest Tea Shop Mystery from New York Times bestselling author Laura Childs.

It is the week before Halloween and Theodosia Browning, proprietor of the Indigo Tea Shop, and her tea sommelier, Drayton, are ghosting through the dusk of a cool Charleston evening on their way to the old Bouchard Mansion. Known as the Gray Ghost, this dilapidated place was recently bequeathed to the Heritage Society, and tonight heralds the grand opening of their literary and historical themed haunted house.

Though Timothy Neville, the patriarch of the Heritage Society, is not thrilled with the fund-raising idea, it is the perfect venue for his grandniece, Willow French, to sign copies of her new book, Carolina Crimes & Creepers.

But amid a parade of characters dressed as Edgar Allan Poe, Lady Macbeth, and the Headless Horseman, Willow's body is suddenly tossed from the third-floor tower room and left to dangle at the end of a rope. Police come screaming in and Theodosia's boyfriend, Detective Pete Riley, is sent to Willow's apartment to investigate. But minutes later, he is shot and wounded by a shadowy intruder.

Timothy begs Theodosia to investigate, and shaken by Riley's assault, she readily agrees. Now, she questions members of the Heritage Society and a man who claims the mansion is rightfully his, as well as Willow's book publisher and her fiancé, all while hosting a Sherlock Holmes tea and catering several others.

But the Gray Ghost holds many secrets, as do several other key suspects, while this murder mystery plays out on the eve of Halloween.

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 take 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 – http://www.laurachilds.com/ 

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/laura.childs.31 

My Thoughts

Haunted Hibiscus by Laura Childs is the 13^th A Tea Sop Mystery.  It can be read as a standalone for those who are new to the series or have missed a book or two.  I look forward to reading the latest Tea Shop Mystery each year.  This first cozy mystery that I read was Death by Darjeeling and I have been hooked on cozy mysteries since then.  Theodosia Browning is back with Drayton and Haley for a new adventure.  The Heritage Society inherited the Bouchard house and has turned it into a literary-and-history inspired haunted house.  Theodosia and Drayton are attending the opening night when a scream rings out.  Willow French, author and Timothy Neville’s niece, is hanging from a rope out of third story window.  Theodosia quickly calls Detective Pete Riley who arrives with Detective Tidwell.  Pete gets dispatched to the victim’s apartment where he is shot.  Theodosia is determined to uncover the identity of the guilty party.  I thought Haunted Hibiscus was well-written with developed, engaging characters and a beautiful setting. I look forward to catching up with Theodosia, Drayton, Haley, and Earl Grey with each new book.  The author captures Charleston, South Carolina with her vivid descriptions.  I was drawn into Haunted Hibiscus from the very first page.  The mystery was intriguing. There are several viable suspects.  Any one of them could have committed the crime.  I enjoyed the subtle clues.  You must pay close attention if you are going to catch them and see how they relate to the whodunit (if you want to solve the crime).  There is action that keeps things suspenseful plus helps propel the book forward toward the delightful conclusion.  There were some fascinating revelations as well as a little twist (or two).  There is humor mixed into the story as well.  There are mouthwatering food descriptions as well as tasty teas.  I liked learning more about the tea blends that Drayton serves and unique information about tea trays.  I did not want Haunted Hibiscus to end.  I am looking forward to reading Twisted Tea Christmas in October.  Haunted Hibiscus is a charming Southern cozy mystery with tasty teas, haunted happenings, an energetic Earl Grey, a wounded detective, a tenacious Tidwell, curious clues, and a haunted house.

Haunted Hisbicus is available from Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Google Play,  and IndieBound.  You can find the other Tea Shop Mysteries here.  The next A Tea Shop Mystery is Twisted Tea Christmas which publishes October 5 (we are getting two A Tea Shop Mysteries in one year!).  Would you like to win a copy of Haunted Hibiscus?  Laura Childs is giving away two (2) copies (sorry, but US only).  You can click here to enter or use the Rafflecopter form below.  Good Luck!  Thank you for visiting today.  I will return tomorrow with Coming Home to the Four Streets by Nadine Dories.  It is the 4th book in The Four Streets series.  I hope all of you have a jolly good day.  Do not forget to leave a comment for an extra entry.  Take care, be kind, and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader

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Tour Participants

March 1 – I'm All About Books – SPOTLIGHT 

March 1 – The Editing Pen – REVIEW 

March 1 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog - SPOTLIGHT 

March 2 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW 

March 2 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – SPOTLIGHT 

March 3 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW 

March 3 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW 

 March 3 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT 

March 3 – Island Confidential - SPOTLIGHT 

March 4 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW 

March 4 – Maureen's Musings – SPOTLIGHT 

March 5 – Author Elena Taylor's Blog – AUTHOR INTERVIEW 

March 5 – I Read What You Write – GUEST POST 

March 5 – The Book's the Thing – REVIEW 

March 6 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT 

March 6 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT 

March 7 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW 

March 7 – Brooke Blogs - SPOTLIGHT 

March 8 – Baroness' Book Trove – REVIEW 

March 8 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT 

March 8 – Christy's Cozy Corners – REVIEW 

March 9 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT 

March 9 – Brianne's Book Reviews – REVIEW 

March 10 – Laura's Interests – REVIEW 

March 10 – Reading Authors Network – SPOTLIGHT 

March 11 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT 

March 11 – ebook addicts – SPOTLIGHT 

March 11 – MJB Reviewers - SPOTLIGHT 

March 12 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW 

March 12 – View from the Birdhouse – SPOTLIGHT 

March 12 – Novels Alive – REVIEW 

March 13 – Here's How It Happened – SPOTLIGHT 

March 13 – Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT 

March 14 – The Book Diva's Reads – GUEST POST 

March 14 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

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Lavender Blue Murder by Laura Childs: Review & Giveaway!

Lavender Blue Murder

A Tea Shop Mystery

by Laura Childs

About Lavender Blue Murder 

Lavender Blue Murder (A Tea Shop Mystery)

Cozy Mystery

21th in Series

Publisher: Berkley (March 3, 2020)

Hardcover: 336 pages

ISBN-10: 0451489667

ISBN-13: 978-0451489661

Digital ASIN: B07SSQ1X4R

Tea-Maven Theodosia Browning brews up trouble in the latest Tea Shop Mystery from New York Times bestselling author Laura Childs.

Tea maven Theodosia Browning and her tea sommelier Drayton Conneley are guests at a bird hunt styled in the precise manner of an English shooting party. Which means elevenses (sloe gin fizzes), gun loaders, the drawing of pegs, fine looking bird dogs, and shooting costumes of tweed, herringbone, and suede.

I could not resist this one!

But as gunshots explode like a riff of Black Cat firecrackers, another shot sounds too close for comfort to Theodosia and Drayton. Intrigued but worried, Theodosia wanders into the neighbor's lavender field where she discovers their host, Reginald Doyle, bleeding to death.

His wife, Meredith, is beside herself with grief and begs Theodosia and Drayton to stay the night. But Theodosia awakens at 2:00 A.M. to find smoke in her room and the house on fire. As the fire department screams in and the investigating sheriff returns, Meredith again pleads with Theodosia for help.

Theo with Earl Grey

As Theodosia investigates, fingers are pointed, secrets are uncovered, Reginald's daughter-in-law goes missing presumed drowned, and Meredith is determined to find answers via a séance. All the while Theodosia worries if she's made a mistake in inviting a prime suspect to her upscale Lavender Lady Tea.

INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS!

Charleston, South Carolina

About Laura Childs

Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of The Tea Shop Mysteries, The Scrapbooking Mysteries, and The 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 take 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 – http://www.laurachilds.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/laura.childs.31

An tea shop with vintage decor

My Summary

Lavender Blue Murder by Laura Childs takes readers to Charleston, South Carolina where the Indigo Tea Shop resides in the historic district. Theodosia Browning along with her tea sommelier, Drayton Conneley are enjoying an old English bird hunt at the estate of Reginald Doyle.  Amid the blasts of shotguns, Theo hears a pistol shot in their hunting zone.  She heads off to the lavender field where she heard the shot and finds Reginald on the ground bleeding from a gunshot wound to his chest.  Reginald dies before help can arrive and his wife, Meredith is distraught.  Meredith insists that Theo and Drayton stay overnight.  Theo awakens during the night to find smoke pouring under her bedroom door.  The house is on fire and, thankfully, everyone makes it out alive.  It seems too much of a coincidence for the two events to happen within hours of each other.  Meredith comes calling the next day and asks that Theo using her sleuthing prowess to learn who committed these terrible deeds.  Theo, of course, agrees to investigate and begins by questioning the Doyle’s neighbors.  When Meredith’s daughter-in-law disappears with the assumption she died at sea, Meredith insists on holding a séance to get answers.  Can Theodosia discover what happened before there is another incident?

My Thoughts

Lavender Blue Murder by Laura Childs is the twenty-first A Tea Shop Mystery.  I look forward to each new installment of A Tea Shop Mystery series.  This is one of the two series that got me interested in cozy mysteries.  I picked up Death by Darjeeling and quickly devoured it.  I hurried back to the bookstore to pick up the next two books in the series (that was all that was out at that time).  Theodosia Browning and Drayton Conneley are at Reginald Doyle’s estate participating in an old English bird hunt.  Well, Theo is shooting while Drayton is holding his gun like it is a “plague infested rat”.  The hunting party ends when their host is found shot in a nearby lavender field.  That night the mansion is set on fire and then Fawn Doyle, the victim’s daughter-in-law, disappears.  A distraught Meredith asks Theo to investigate and find who is responsible for these terrible events.  Theo is too curious to say no.  Lavender Blue Murder is a well-crafted novel with developed characters set in a beautiful city.  I just love descriptive images of Charleston and Theo’s charming shop plus her home (makes me want to live there and own a bookshop next to the Indigo Tea Shop).  At the tea shop, they have a Gone with the Wind Tea complete with the staff in costumes and a Lavender Lady Tea.  The mystery had a multiple suspects, secrets were revealed and good clues.  The story moved along quickly with Theo asking questions and nosing around.  The take down scene was delightful.  I like the relationship Theodosia has with Drayton.  They are more than co-workers.  They are good friends who respect each other and enjoy each other’s company.  I especially liked how Drayton participated in the mystery.  It added humor to the story with his reactions.  Haley, Miss Dimple, and Detective Burt Tidwell are back along with Theo’s beau, Detective Pete Riley.  Theo is having her kitchen remodeled (new cabinets made with reclaimed barnwood).  It will be lovely once it is done, but Theo is having a hard time with the chaos (you know how she loves to cook).  Lavender Blue Murder was over far too soon and now I must wait a year for the next A Tea Shop Mystery.   Lavender Blue Murder is an enchanting cozy mystery with a weeping widow, a surplus of suspects, tasty tea, loads of lavender, blaring bagpipes, and a spooky séance.

Lavender  Blue Murder is available from Amazon*, B&N, Kobo, Google Play, and IndieBound.  You can find the other twenty novels in A Tea Shop Mystery series here on Amazon.  Would you like to win a copy of Lavender Blue Murder?  You can enter the giveaway for one of two copies of Lavender Blue Murder (Sorry, but U.S. Only) by clicking here or enter using the Rafflecopter form below. Leave on a comment on my blog for an extra entry. Good Luck!  I hope you take the time to visit the other stops on the tour for spotlights, reviews, author interviews, and guest posts (schedule below). Thank you for stopping by today.  Tomorrow I am featuring The Crow's Call by Wanda E. Brunstetter.  It is the first novel in Amish Greenhouse Mystery series.  Now for your book pun:  I read this book about Mount Everest.  It was a real cliff hanger.   Did you laugh or groan?  I hope you have a fanciful day.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Participants

March 2 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW

March 2 – A Chick Who Reads – REVIEW

March 3 – A Wytch's Book Review Blog – REVIEW

March 4 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW

March 4 – My Journey Back – REVIEW

March 5 – Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews – GUEST POST

March 5 – A Holland Reads – REVIEW

March 6 – I'm All About Books-SPOTLIGHT

March 6 – Here's How It Happened – SPOTLIGHT

March 7 – The Book's the Thing – REVIEW

March 8 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW

March 9 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW

March 9 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

March 10 – The Editing Pen – REVIEW

March 10 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – SPOTLGHT

March 11 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

March 12 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

March 13 – eBook Addicts – SPOTLIGHT

March 13 – The Book Diva's Reads – GUEST POST

March 14 – Nadaness In Motion – REVIEW

March 14 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

March 15 – Christy's Cozy Corners – REVIEW

March 16 – I Read What You Write – GUEST POST

March 16 – This Is My Truth Now – SPOTLIGHT

March 17 – Mysteries with Character – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

March 17 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

March 18 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

March 19 – Laura`s Interests – REVIEW

March 19 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

March 20 – Cinnamon, Sugar, and a Little Bit of Murder – REVIEW

March 21 – Socrates Book Reviews – REVIEW

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