Book 33, 2021

[chez_jae]

Death by Darjeeling by Laura Childs

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I finished reading Death by Darjeeling last night. It's the first book in the "Tea Shop" mystery series by Laura Childs. The main character is Theodosia Browning, who owns the Indigo Tea Shop in Charleston.

Theodosia is delighted when the Indigo Tea Shop is chosen to cater to the guests who are participating on a walking tour of some of Charleston's grand old homes. Everything is going well, until one guest is found dead at his table, still clutching his cup of tea. After it's determined that he was poisoned, one of Theodosia's employees is tabbed as the primary suspect. She was known to have argued with the victim mere days before. Theodosia can't believe Bethany would harm a fly, much less murder someone she'd had a disagreement with. She begins looking into the victim's recent business dealings in an effort to find who had motive to kill him. Her investigation seems to have struck a nerve when someone leaves a note threatening to kill her beloved dog, Earl Grey. Rather than run scared, Theodosia is now more determined than ever to get to the bottom of the mystery.

The story was interesting. Theodosia is a compelling character with a strong sense of duty and right. I did not appreciate, however, that some of her sleuthing included lying to people, misrepresenting herself, and snooping. I also didn't like that the author made her into a Mary Sue. Furthermore, editing needed some work. For instance, Theodosia's footwear changed from one chapter to the next, although the scene did not change. Was she wearing heels that clicked on the pavement, or 'crepe-soled' shoes that allowed her to approach someone without him being aware? Also, the man she was most intrigued by was named Jory Davis. We know this was his name, because the author referred to him as Jory Davis repeatedly. Three times in one paragraph, by my count. It was distracting, to be honest.

Favorite line: "You can listen to some good music, then have a jolly snoop in his medicine cabinet, if you like."

Since I'm wavering between a score of 3 or 4, I'm going to put it to my very own "Cozy Mystery Trope Test":


In this test, points are awarded for NO answers, while points are deducted for YES answers.

1. Does the mc work at/as one of the following: baker/bakery/sweet shop/tea shop/coffee shop, library/librarian, antique/vintage shop, book store, fashion/boutique? YES, she owns a tea shop.
2. Does the mc live at her (or his) place of occupation? YES, she lives above said tea shop.
3. Is the love interest involved in law enforcement? (Police officer, sheriff, detective, PI, FBI) NO, Jory Davis is a lawyer.
4. Does the mc have a dog/cat as a pet? YES, she has a dog.
5. Is the mc's BFF either a gay guy or a ditzy/zany woman? NO
6. Did the mc find the body? NO, Bethany did.
7. Did the mc wind up in mortal danger at the end of the book? YES, when the killer tried to kill her.
8. Is the mc's mother either: dead, absent, far removed, ditzy and dithering, or overbearing/disapproving/meddling? YES, her mother is dead.
9. If mother is dead/absent, does the mc have another mother-figure (grandmother, aunt, mom's friend, or an older friend)? YES, her aunt.
10. Is the mc child-free? (Either no children or else grown children--i.e. no small children to look after) YES, she's child-free.

To be fair, I tend to gravitate to books involving libraries, vintage anything, cats, etc.

Okay, based on the results of the trope test, this book earns three stars.