
Twisted Tea Christmas (A Tea Shop Mystery)
by Laura Childs
About Twisted Tea Christmas
Twisted Tea Christmas (A Tea Shop Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
22nd in Series
Setting – South Carolina
Publisher : Berkley (October 5, 2021)
Hardcover : 336 pages
ISBN-10 : 0593200861
ISBN-13 : 978-0593200865
Digital ASIN : B08S7DLKWL
An attack on the host of a fancy tea party sends Theodosia Browning looking for answers in the latest entry in the New York Times bestselling series.
Tea maven Theodosia Browning and her tea sommelier, Drayton Conneley, are catering a Victorian Christmas party at a swanky mansion in downtown Charleston. Drucilla Heyward, the hostess, is one of the wealthiest women in town.
As the champagne flows and the tea steeps, Drucilla is so pleased with the reception by her partygoers that she reveals her secret plan to Theodosia. The Grande Dame has brought the cream of Charleston society together to reveal that she is planning to give her wealth away to various charitable organizations. However, before she can make the announcement, Theodosia finds her crumpled unconscious in the hallway. It looks like the excitement has gotten to the elderly woman–except that there is a syringe sticking out of her neck.
INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS!
Dollycas’s Thoughts
The week leading up to Christmas is one of the busiest weeks of the year at the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia Browning and Drayton Conneley have several special tea events planned and they are catering a Victorian Christmas party for Drucilla Heyward at her mansion in downtown Charleston. All the preparations have been made for a perfect evening. An evening when Drucilla plans to make a major announcement. She is bringing together the Charleston elite to announce that she plans to give her fortune away to several charitable organizations.
The big evening arrives and Drucilla is having a blast at her reception. Champagne corks are popping, Drayton has the tea brewing, the musicians are playing, and the amazing food is ready to be served. She tells Theodosia she is so excited to announce her plans. She leaves the kitchen giddy with her plan. Responding to an alarm going off Theodosia set out to find the philanthropist hostess and finds her down on the floor in the hallway unconscious with a syringe protruding from her neck.
The holidays do not get off to a great start with Drucilla’s murder and a mansion full of suspects. Theodosia needs to put on her running shoes because finding a killer while serving tea to everyone at their special events to going to require her to move at top speed. I have full confidence she is up to the task.
The Nutcracker Tea
The White Christmas Tea
The Old-Fashioned Southern Tea
Drucilla’s Victorian Christmas Tea
Grand Illumination Tea
Plus the Everday Morning Tea and the people that drop in for lunch and a booth at the Holiday Market.
Oh, my stars Theodosia has an overflowing plate, and yet she squeezes in a dinner with her tea sommelier, Drayton. He is the Watson to her Sherlock in this murder investigation. He, Haley, and Mrs. Dimple keep the tea flowing at the tea shop while Theodosia follows the clues.
These cozy characters are some of my favorites. Theodosia is such a great protagonist. She has grown so much over the course of this series. She is always all-in for every murder investigation that comes her way. She’s tough and doesn’t give up. Drayton is a wonderful sounding board and the person that tries to keep the investigation on a calm even keel, tries is the optimum word. Haley is a sounding board for Drayton and the person that rocks out the fantastic food served by the staff of the Indigo Tea Shop. They all work together like a well-oiled machine. It truly does feel like I am visiting old friends when I open each Tea Shop Mystery.
I have never been to South Carolina but hope to in the future. This author’s descriptions do take me there virtually bringing each scene to life. I was super excited to see that one of Drucilla’s guests resides in “the old Caswell Mansion.”
Twisted Tea Christmas contains a very twisted mystery. There are tons of suspects that need to be pared down. Who had a motive to kill the Grande Dame? She seemed to be such a nice lady. It was fun to trail along with Theo as she did all she could to catch a killer. She did have a few different theories but letting down her guard she found out how easily she could have become the killer’s next victim. That said the reveal was scary until it turned into a marvelous capture. Detective Tidwell’s reactions were absolutely priceless.
Escaping to Charleston at Christmastime was delightful, I wish I could have read it in December because it did get me in a holiday spirit but it is much too early to get out the lights and garland. If you like strong characters and a well-plotted mystery Twisted Tea Christmas is the perfect book for you. Don’t worry that this is a long-running series because Laura Childs writes each book to be read on its own. You can jump into this series at any time and then go back and read previous installments while you are waiting for the next Tea Shop Mystery
.
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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 – Facebook
Purchase Links
Amazon – B&N – Kobo – IndieBound
The Rest of the Series
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Congrats on the new release! Looking forward to reading this new mystery.
Sounds like a great cozy. I can’t wait to read it.
22 books and you still get a top review from dollycas. Well done!
I can’t wait to read this!
Love this series! Sounds like a great Christmas read.
What an intriguing book for the holiday season! I love the Tea Shop Mystery series and look forward to reading this Christmas mystery.
This sounds like a wonderful cozy mystery that I would enjoy!