It’s the start of Charleston’s Fashion Week, and with the setting in a lemon grove, Theodosia Browning has crafted an upscale Limon Tea Party for the occasion. As the owner of the Indigo Tea Shop, she loves to plan tea parties. With the help of her tea sommelier (and best friend) Drayton and chef Haley, they put the tea in team and create unforgettable events as well serving customers in the tea shop.
And while Theodosia knew that the Limon Tea would be memorable, she was disappointed to find out that the reason it would make the news is because of the murder. Theodosia was the one to find the dead woman, in the catering refrigerator, head first in the lemon curd.
Sadly, she recognized the woman immediately. Nadine was the creative director for Lemon Squeeze Coutoure. She had been seen arguing with her sister Delaine, the owner of Cotton Duck, another fashion line. Although it wasn’t unusual for them to argue, as they did it all the time. But when the sheriff lets Theodosia know that Nadine had been shot in the back of her head, she knows that the killer was serious about removing her from the design world. But who would consider her a threat?
Could Nadine have been killed by her partners in Lemon Squeeze, Marv and Harv, because her abrasive personality was causing problems? Or could one or both of them have killed her for the insurance money? Could it have been the designer who created their new line, when it came to light that Nadine had lied about her design experience? Or was the killing about something else altogether? There were lots of others around the lemon grove that day, models to display the clothes and filmmakers to capture Fashion Week on film.
Theodosia knows that her boyfriend Pete Riley, a detective for Charleston’s Police Department, would want her to leave the investigation to the professionals. But Nadine’s daughter Bettina asks Theodosia specifically to ask around and see if she can find out who killed her mother. Her reputation as an amateur investigator has gotten around Charleston. And by catering some of the Fashion Week events, Theodosia does have an easy way to get close to her top suspects and ask questions. But she also has a way of putting herself in danger as she digs for answers. Will she be able to find answers for Bettina before the killer turns on her?
Lemon Curd Murder is book 25 in Laura Childs’s Tea Shop Mysteries. Blending the genteel tea shop with murder makes for a fascinating balance of good and evil. This book also brings layers of Old South, modern fashion, family drama, and high crime. And once the story is complete and the mystery is solved, there are recipes from the various sweet and savory dishes they serve at the tea parties as well as ideas for tea parties. Readers feeling inspired by the tea parties Theodosia and Drayton can plan their own, complete with Killer Lemon Cream Scones, Honest-to-Goodness English Crumpets, and Baked Brown Sugar Salmon.
I devoured Lemon Curd Murder. The setting of Charleston brings such history to these novels, and I so enjoyed the peek into the fashion industry. It’s always fun spending time with Theodosia and Drayton, although I do wish that the tea shop was just down the street from me. I would love to have a place like the Indigo Tea Shop to spend some time, especially when they start talking about the different teas and all those scones. But I think Theodosia is getting smarter with her investigations, and it’s always good to see her put the pieces together and bring justice to the tea party.
Egalleys for Lemon Curd Killer were provided by Berkley through NetGalley, with many thanks.
