Shades of Earl Grey

When owner Theodosia Browning and Drayton Conneley, master tea blender and majordomo, and Haley Parker, pastry chef of the Indigo Tea Shop, attend a social event together in Charlestown, South Carolina, it is usually because they are catering the event. The evening festivities were an engagement party for Camille Cantroux and U.S. Marine, Captain Corey Buchanan, but sadly, the celebration was over as soon as the doors opened to the Garden Room of the Lady Goodwood Inn.

Since discovering this series, it has become my favorite tea shop mystery series. There's always innovation for the tea shop customers. The latest delight has Theodosia, Drayton, and Haley excited about their Open House preparations to launch T-Bath products of oversized show more tea bags for use in the bath. While preparations were underway for their special event, I was curious how they might solve the mystery that came to their attention at the engagement party. There didn't seem to be any suspects until the possibilities became a significant concern.

One of the fun aspects of reading is discovering where the title will be revealed in the book, and this story is no exception. Though I doubted that "Shades of Earl Grey," had anything to do with Theodosia's dalbrador, Earl Grey, my guess was incorrect. Make sure to add it to your tbr to make your guess.

Recipes from the Indigo Tea Shop and Teatime Entertainment Ideas are available at the end of the novel. The author's website notes,

"The ingredients for Chicken Perloo mentioned in 'Shades of Earl Grey' are different from the recipe given in the back of the book. Chicken Perloo, like stew, has hundreds of variations. So don't be afraid to experiment."

Reviewer's Note: Gerry Schmitt writes the Afton Tangler Thrillers and, using the pseudonym Laura Childs, writes the Tea Shop Mysteries, the Scrapbook Mysteries, and the Cackleberry Club Mysteries. show less

This book still retains their likable and quaint characters, and still ends up a light enjoyable read. Although it would be preferable if read in order so you can get a feel for the characters, it could be read out of order (there’s a few references in the past books but nothing that will let the reader be lost and confused.)

My guess as to who the culprit was going to be was spot on. That being said though, what I really enjoyed about this book was the author got the reader to second guess their deductions. There were moments where I was second guessing myself because of the way the breadcrumbs were trailing. That was the best part of the book and the most enjoyable. I liked the little twists and turns being made to finally come to show more the ending and revealing of the cat burglar.

Although the characters and the mystery aspect of the book was enjoyable. The plot itself was a little lackluster and not very interesting to begin with. Delaine really struck a nerve with me as I didn’t enjoy her personality or her drama queen antics. I wanted the plot to be a little more interesting and more engaging to read. If it wasn’t for the breadcrumb trail you were being led on, the book would have been less enjoyable.

Overall, it wasn’t the greatest book of the series. The first two were much better. Let’s hope the next one will be better than this book. Still, it’s a light read to get through the day in between heavy novels. Worth a read through for cozy mystery fans. show less

Theodosia Browning, tea shop owner, attends an engagement party where the groom is killed by a glass shard in a collapsing greenhouse. However, when the heirloom engagement ring is found to be missing and then a priceless antique necklace is stolen, Theo begins to wonder if there may be cat burglar in Charleston. She and her friends try to figure out who the thief may be. A few reckless actions on Theo’s part take things down a notch, but I like the characters and tea information so I will probably read more.

This is a well plotted "whodunnit" mystery. The identity of the killer came as a surprize to me. It's easy to pick up and put down this book and not lose track of the plot and characters. There's some overly flowery/gushing language, mostly in the characters' dialogue that is slightly annoying, but it is mostly at the beginning of the book. The role of Detective Tidwell in the story is a strange one, he plays no part in the story other than to feed information to Theo.

This is the first of the series that I have read and I have a few others at hand to read and hope that they are as good or better than this one. The tea information is interesting and the tea shop makes a good hook for the story.

This is still one of my favorite series. I love the Charleston setting and how you still get that small town feel. Laura Childs' mysteries are always hard to solve, which adds to the enjoyment of the book. I hate to know who the culprit is before the end of the book. The characters are well developed and have such a great friendship. I love reading this series!

While not as good as the first book in the series, this book was much better than the second. That said, I don't read the series expecting a compelling mystery. Indeed, in both the second and third books I had the 'villian' correctly identified from the moment Childs introduced them into the story. I read the series simply because I find the books easy and fun and the principal characters endearing.

Another book in the series of the Tea Shop Mysteries. This one was pretty good, full of info on teas and recipes without being a hindrance to the plot. However, I gave this 4 1/2 stars because the actual perpentrator was completely unexpected, and didn't have enough clues in the book to actually lead to this person, at least, not without being able to do some serious investigating here, which the main character doesn't really do. In all, a very good light reading on days when there's nothing on T.V.