Kindle Price:	$7.99
Sold by:	Penguin Group (USA) LLC Price set by seller.

Read with our free app

You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.

Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

There was an error. We were unable to process your subscription due to an error. Please refresh and try again.

Follow the author

Laura Childs

+ Follow

More books from this author

Death by Darjeeling (Tea Shop Mysteries Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Laura Childs (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.3 1,195 ratings

Book 1 of 27: A Tea Shop Mystery

See all formats and editions

FIRST IN THE TEA SHOP MYSTERY SERIES!

When a man is poisoned by tea, Charleston shop owner Theodosia Browning must prove her innocence and track down the real killer...before someone else takes their last sip.

Meet Theodosia Browning, owner of Charleston's beloved Indigo Tea Shop. Patrons love her blend of delicious tea tastings and Southern hospitality. And Theo enjoys the full-bodied flavor of a town steeped in history—and mystery.

It's tea for two hundred or so at the annual historical homes garden party. Theodosia, as event caterer, is busy serving steaming teas and blackberry scones while guests sing her praises. But the sweet smell of success turns to suspense when an esteemed guest is found dead—his hand clutching an empty teacup. Trouble is brewing, and all eyes are on Theo....

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for the New York Times Bestselling Tea Shop Mystery Series

“Childs serves dedicated cup-of-tea-and-a-cozy readers exactly what they long for.”—Publishers Weekly

“Murder suits [Laura Childs] to a Tea.”—St. Paul (MN) Pioneer Press

“Tea lovers, mystery lovers, [this] is for you. Just the right blend of cozy fun and clever plotting.”—Susan Wittig Albert, New York Times bestselling author of Queen Anne’s Lace

“Brew yourself a nice pot of tea, and enjoy. . . . It’s guaranteed to delight.”—Times Record News

“A love letter to Charleston, tea, and fine living.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Kept me hooked from opening page to ending.”—Central Oregonian

“Tasty suspense!”—St. Paul (MN) Sun-Sailor

“You will surely be missing out on the party if you donʼt pick up this book now!”—Fresh Fiction

“Will leave readers feeling as if they have shared a warm cup of tea on Church Street in Charleston.”—The Mystery Reader

About the Author

Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, the New Orleans Scrapbooking Mysteries, and the Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life, she was CEO of her own marketing firm, authored several screenplays, and produced a reality TV show. She is married to Dr. Bob, a professor of Chinese art history; enjoys travel; and has two Shar-Peis.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B002CMP96E
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley; Reissue edition (May 1, 2001)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 1, 2001
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 4668 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 254 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #68,633 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #944 in Amateur Sleuth Mysteries (Kindle Store)
- #1,655 in Amateur Sleuths
- #2,286 in Cozy Mystery

Customer Reviews:
4.3 1,195 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Laura Childs

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

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 fund raising 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.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

1,195 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Reviews with images

See all photos

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Debbie N

Book 1 of series

Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2024

Verified Purchase

Interesting read. Quit informative on teas. Good story, nice detail. Surprise ending. Kept you guessing who done it. Nice continuing story for next book of series.

Helpful

Enthusiastic Reader

The Comforts of the Indigo Tea Shop are Charming!

Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2023

Verified Purchase

In Charleston, South Carolina, Theodosia Browning purchased the Indigo Tea Shop leaving behind the grueling and stressful world of an advertising agency for the pleasure of sharing the comforts of tea. On the night of the Lamplighter Tour sponsored by the Heritage Society, a new board member moments earlier conversing and enjoying the evening with a cup of tea dies, and suspicion looms over Theo’s occasional employee.

I enjoyed this delightful cozy fusion of southern hospitality, a historical city, a historical society, gossip and rumors, and the fascinating information about tea acquired locally and from around the world, from the natural differences to creating new blends and preparations for serving. I also loved the canine named Earl Grey.

It’s a lovely armchair travel visit to Charleston and all who enjoy a comforting cup of tea while reading with extra pleasure for tea connoisseurs. The larger staff of this tea shop enabled a wider range of business possibilities. As Theo also welcomes new ideas from her team, I look forward to reading more of the series to learn which opportunities come to fruition.

Helpful

MelissaBell

Tea Shop Mystery unravels

Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2024

Verified Purchase

A definite page turner mystery with light romance, characters and community of friends building the plot through the steady stream of interesting interruptions.

Helpful

Teacher Mom

Intriguing book for more than the mystery

Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2011

Verified Purchase

I read this book as part of an online book club. I don't think I would have chosen it otherwise. The cover reminds me a lot of the Victorian era, and although I am a tea lover, I'm not at all into the Victorian style tea service or anything else. I know that's judging a book by its cover.

However, having those expectations, I was thrilled to find that this is not that kind of a book. It is about a woman by the name of Theodosia Browning who establishes a small tea shop in downtown Charleston, South Carolina. One night, during a community event, a notorious new resident is found dead, having just had a cup of Theo's tea. As Theo and her staff were working to serve her tea to the event's patrons, they are pulled into the investigation. Theo doesn't like the way the investigation is heading, so she takes matters into her own hands and, thus, the series begins.

Some of the issues that I have with this novel are that the author seems to try to throw out every single large word that she can possibly think of, even though people wouldn't really speak that way. My initial concern was that it would end up being an exposé of the author's extensive vocabulary. Fortunately, she toned it down greatly as the book progressed. Another irritating aspect of the book is that Theo couldn't seem to do any wrong. Perfect protagonists should be outlawed. I can't relate to them.

With that being said, the book is quite charming. The author obviously did a lot of research, both on teas and running a tea shop and on the history of Charleston and its surrounding geography. I learned quite a bit about an area that I never would have without having read this. The story was fairly credible and intriguing. I found myself wanting to read more and find out more. I felt that the author did well in writing dialogue and I was able to learn a lot about the characters through what they were saying.

Overall, it's an enjoyable read. I will read the next in the series to see how it goes.

25 people found this helpful

Helpful

Theresa D. McGrath

Suspense in a tea shop

Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2024

Verified Purchase

I liked that the setting is a tea shop and that in times of stress,they always have a cup of tea.

Helpful

Kalliope

Disappointed all books not on Kindle

Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2023

Verified Purchase

I bought this book because I love cozy mysteries, I love tea and it had good reviews. All of the "main" characters were likable, especially Theodosia. She did not need to lose weight or have problem hair or any of the other idiosyncrasies that so many other women characters I have read had. She is a likable, average, business woman who is stylish, knows her business and uses her brain. She is actually someone I would love to work for and have as a friend.
The mystery itself was good and I did not figure out who "did it" like other series I have read. The ending came together a little faster than I liked (I would have like another 50 pages) but even with that I enjoyed the read.
I will continue the series into the second book to see if the author keeps the same level of writing that I enjoyed in this book, unfortunately books 4 - 12 of the series is not available on Kindle. Since I don't want to purchase physical books, I will check and get from the local library. Hopefully they will have those books. What a shame this series is not all available on Kindle!!!! Lost a star for that!!!!

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Cindar4books1

Lots of red herrings.

Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2023

Verified Purchase

As someone who reads mysteries quite alote, this was so much fun to read. I still hadn't guessed the killer before the end. Ready to read the next one. I love when I find a new series for me.

Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2024

Verified Purchase

good

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English

John C

A great series!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 23, 2023

Verified Purchase

This is a great new series - new to my wife anyway. She really likes these so-called 'cozy' murder/mystery series as they are a great escape, especially in the current climate. These Tea Shop Mysteries are intelligently written and a cut above some of the other similar series available.

Leseratte

Empfehlenswert

Reviewed in Germany on October 26, 2019

Verified Purchase

Gutes Buchung. Gut zu lesen. Spannend

Translate review to English

Pat Hawcroft

Gentle, lighthearted and easy reading

Reviewed in Australia on May 24, 2015

Verified Purchase

I enjoy the Laura Child's books and was pleased to read one that I had not seen previously

"チャオ7"

紅茶の香りのするミステリー

Reviewed in Japan on January 20, 2003

Verified Purchase

　舞台はハロウィーンの季節にはピッタリの、お化けが出てもおかしくないような歴史的な建物が立ち並ぶ街の一角。そんな地区の伝統的な行事の場で殺人事件が起こるのだが、何となく心が和んでしまうミステリーだ。というのも、主人公であるインディゴ・ティー・ショップのオーナーのテオドシアと店の仲間は、お互いを思いやる家族のように仲がいいし、古き良き南部のなごりであるプランテーションやセラピー犬が登場したりと、どちらかというとほのぼのするような要素が多い。迫り来るサスペンスや謎が謎を呼ぶミステリーではないが、"雰囲気のあるコージー・ミステリー"をお探しのかたにはお薦め。
　また、ティー・ショップが中心となっているだけに、いろいろなお茶が登場する。各地の紅茶だけでなく、フレイバーを加えたものや中国茶、日本茶までも。ミステリーと共にお茶の香りまでも楽しめた。巻末には、紅茶を使ったオードブルのレシピもついていたので、いつかトライしてみたい。このティー・ショップ・ミステリーはシリーズの第一作目で、二作目の"Gunpowder Green"もすでにペーパーバックで出ており、次の展開が楽しみだ。また一つ、お気に入りのシリーズを見つけて喜んでいる。

12 people found this helpful

Translate review to English

Vanessa

Death by darjeeling

Reviewed in Canada on August 14, 2013

Verified Purchase

I like the subject matter a cup of tea and a good mystery, what could be better. Charleston is an excellent setting and her descriptions take you right into the centre of the city complete with hidden gardens and sea breezes.
Her main characters are fun believable and always consistent.

Buy for others

Buying and sending eBooks to others

Follow the author

Image Unavailable

Death by Darjeeling (Tea Shop Mysteries Book 1) Kindle Edition

Editorial Reviews

Review

About the Author

Product details

Videos

About the author

Laura Childs

Customer reviews

Reviews with images

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries