| Theodosia Browning, former English major and advertising copywriter, now owns The Indigo Tea Shop on Church Street in Charleston, South Carolina. During the annual Lamplighter Tour, when Theodosia and her staff are catering an event at one of the grand old homes of Charleston, developer Hughes Barron dies of poisoning after drinking a cup of tea. Despite being warned off by detective Burt Tidwell, and later an anonymous note threatening to poison her dog Earl Gray, Theodosia follows the scent through various suspects: environmental activist Tanner Joseph, head of the Heritage Society Timothy Neville, Barron's partner Lleverett Dante (who has a criminal record back in Kentucky), and several others.
This meandering 2001 novel, in the style of a British "cozy," features plenty of local Charleston color and history, and is the first in the author's Tea Shop Mystery series. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - very upbeat How difficult to spot villain? - Difficult, but some clues given Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 30% Kind of investigator Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Any non-mystery subplot? descript. of violence and chases - 10 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Race Setting United States Yes The US: - Southeast City? Yes City: - Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment Unusual forms of death - poisoning Unusual form of death? Yes Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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