Steeped in Evil

January 27, 2014
In Childs’s charming 15th cozy featuring Theodosia Browning (after 2013’s Sweet Tea Revenge), the owner of a tea shop in Charleston, S.C., the heroine encounters a new mystery while accompanying friend and business partner Drayton Conneley to a wine-tasting party. Drew Knight, the son of Knighthall Winery’s owner, Jordan, is found murdered on the premises, and Jordan’s friend Drayton persuades Theo to help the incompetent local sheriff with the investigation. Theo’s boyfriend, Max Scofield, has enough experience with Theo’s close calls to warn her against getting involved, but detecting is an itch that Theo must scratch. As Theo considers a wide range of possibilities, the list of suspects grows. It includes Drew’s beautiful model girlfriend, Tanya Woodson; his social-climbing mother, Pandora; rival winery owner Georgette Kroft; and Drew’s as-yet-unidentified drug dealer. With humor, plenty of action, and a tantalizing array of teas and recipes, Theodosia is sure to win more followers with this enjoyable whodunit.

February 15, 2014
A South Carolina wine-tasting party has a deadly finale. As the owner of Charleston's Indigo Tea Shop, Theodosia Browning is no wine expert, but when her tea blender and right-hand man, Drayton Conneley, receives an invitation to an upscale wine-tasting party, she's happy to go along. Knighthall Winery, owned in part by Drayton's pal Jordan Knight, is one of several small wineries struggling to produce good wine in the difficult coastal climate. When the crew opens a barrel of their new red, out falls the body of Jordan's son, Drew. As it turns out, Drew was shot, not drowned in wine. Since the police investigation seems to be going nowhere, Drayton, acting at the behest of Jordan and his wife, Pandora (Drew's stepmother), begs Theodosia to use her sleuthing skills to crack the case. Theodosia soon learns all is not well at Knighthall. Pandora wants to divorce Jordan and sell her share of the winery to a Japanese liquor distributor. Given the option she holds on Drew's shares and the help of a minority owner--art gallery owner Andrew Turner--it looks as if she may get her way. Drew had gone through several rounds of drug rehab. His Porsche is missing, and his model girlfriend is acting strangely. Theodosia's boyfriend, Max, who's involved in a downtown art walk and a silent auction to raise money for a museum, disapproves of her sleuthing. With her tea shop doing landslide business, especially for special events like her Downton Abbey tea, neither has much spare time. Like a dog with a bone, however, Theodosia can't let go, and her curiosity leads her into danger. Fans addicted to Childs' tea-shop tales (Sweet Tea Revenge, 2013, etc.) and unfazed by the transparent mystery will gobble up her charmingly rendered main characters, loving descriptions of Charleston and appended recipes.

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March 15, 2014
In her latest Indigo Tea Shop title, Childs blends the right amount of plot and culinary detail for a satisfying read. Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Teahouse in Charleston, South Carolina, witnesses a horrific death at a fancy wine tasting and gets pulled into an investigation involving the grape business. Winery owner Jordan Knight seems devastated at his son's death, but his wife sends mixed messages. An ex-girlfriend, competing business owner, silent business partner, and neighboring golf-course owner all had reason to dislike the younger Knight. The solution is well hidden among red herrings, though at times the number of characters and conversations can be hard to follow. The details of Tea Shop life, including a Downton Abbey event, add flavor to another enjoyable volume in this long-running series. Theo's coworkers, especially Drayton and the other series regulars, continue to supply appeal and depth. Fans of Katherine Hall Page may also enjoy this Childs series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)