A Holland Reads: Pekoe Most Poison by Laura Childs

March 16, 2017

Pekoe Most Poison by Laura Childs - Review and Giveaway

I received this book free from the publisher

Book Details:

Pekoe Most Poison (A Tea Shop Mystery)

Cozy Mystery

18th in Series

A Berkley Prime Crime Mystery (March 7, 2017)

An Imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

Hardcover: 320 pages

ISBN-13: 978-0425281680

Kindle – ASIN: B01KGZVXTK

Synopsis

In the latest Tea Shop Mystery from New York Times bestselling author Laura Childs, Theodosia Browning attends a “Rat Tea,” where the mice will play…at murder.

When Indigo Tea Shop owner Theodosia Browning is invited by Doreen Briggs, one of Charleston’s most prominent hostesses, to a “Rat Tea,” she is understandably intrigued. As servers dressed in rodent costumes and wearing white gloves offer elegant finger sandwiches and fine teas, Theo learns these parties date back to early twentieth-century Charleston, where the cream of society would sponsor so-called rat teas to promote city rodent control and better public health.

But this party goes from odd to chaotic when a fire starts at one of the tables and Doreen’s entrepreneur husband suddenly goes into convulsions and drops dead. Has his favorite orange pekoe tea been poisoned? Theo smells a rat.

The distraught Doreen soon engages Theo to pursue a discreet inquiry into who might have murdered her husband. As Theo and her tea sommelier review the guest list for suspects, they soon find themselves drawn into a dangerous game of cat and mouse…

INCLUDES RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS

My thoughts:

Another hit by Laura Childs in her fun tea shop series. The whole idea of a "rat tea" makes me cringe. I am not sure I would want to attend a party where everyone is dressed up as rodents. The history behind the "rat tea" makes sense as I am sure there was a rodent problem back in the day. As in the previous books the characters are engaging and fun to follow. Theo is always getting herself drawn in to solving the case then into scrapes while trying to do so. It is always fun for me when Drayton helps Theo out in solving the crime as he has always been one of my favorite characters. Even though this is the 18th book in this series - Laura still has a way of writing that draws you in to yet another new crime. She gave me plenty of suspects to choose from and does not reveal the correct one until the end. I will never tire of this series. You can read them as a stand alone but I prefer to read them in order.

About The Author

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 fund raising 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:
Webpage – http://www.laurachilds.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/laura.childs.31

Giveaway:

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