Tea maven Theodosia Browning and her tea sommelier Drayton Conneley are
guests at a bird hunt styled in the precise manner of an English
shooting party. Which means elevenses (sloe gin fizzes), gun loaders,
the drawing of pegs, fine looking bird dogs, and shooting costumes of
tweed, herringbone, and suede.
But as gunshots explode like a riff of Black Cat firecrackers, another shot sounds too close for comfort to Theodosia and Drayton. Intrigued but worried, Theodosia wanders into the neighbor's lavender field where she discovers their host, Reginald Doyle, bleeding to death.
His wife, Meredith, is beside herself with grief and begs Theodosia and Drayton to stay the night. But Theodosia awakens at 2:00A.M. to find smoke in her room and the house on fire. As the fire department screams in and the investigating sheriff returns, Meredith again pleads with Theodosia for help.
As Theodosia investigates, fingers are pointed, secrets are uncovered, Reginald's daughter-in-law goes missing presumed drowned, and Meredith is determined to find answers via a séance. All the while Theodosia worries if she's made a mistake in inviting a prime suspect to her upscale Lavender Lady Tea.
...my thoughts...
A good mystery is delicious, especially if it is served at the Indigo Tea Shop. Set in historic Charleston, South Carolina, the Lavender Blue Murder is elegance right alongside of murder. Theodosia Browning and her faithful tea expert Drayton Conneley are two wonderful characters who run a not so quiet tea shop where one can count on good tea, delicious food and of course savory characters. When crime strikes, the tea shop is the place to be all who want to be in the know.
I enjoyed this book because the plot kept me thinking from the moment Theodosia heard a gunshot while attending a shooting party on an old country plantation. The plot got thicker as things went from murder to arson to kidnapping. Were they connected or random acts? In the end, the solution seemed easy but took me on some winding roads to get there. For a fun mystery and good recipes, look no further!
