Although Theodosia Browning barely knows a Phalinopsis from a Bog Rose, she still enjoys Charleston's Spring Plantation Ramble, especially since she can promote her Indigo Tea Shop and her latest concoction, Dragonwell Sweet Tea. But the party's over when Mark Congdon wins a bid for a rare orchid-and promptly dies. It looks like a simple heart attack, but Theo suspects that someone purposely turned his green thumb blue.
Description:
Although Theodosia Browning barely knows a Phalinopsis from a Bog Rose, she still enjoys Charleston's Spring Plantation Ramble, especially since she can promote her Indigo Tea Shop and her latest concoction, Dragonwell Sweet Tea. But the party's over when Mark Congdon wins a bid for a rare orchid-and promptly dies. It looks like a simple heart attack, but Theo suspects that someone purposely turned his green thumb blue.
From Publishers Weekly
In the enjoyable eighth installment of Childs's tea shop series (after 2006's Blood Orange Brewing), Mark Congdon, commodities broker and co-owner of a Charleston bed and breakfast, drops dead after sipping a glass of sweet tea at the Spring Plantation Ramble. This was no simple heart attack—Mark was poisoned. Eager to help out Mark's grieving widow, tea shop proprietress and gumshoe Theodosia Browning offers to collect his belongings from his office. There, she discovers that a surprising number of co-workers, including a spurned lover and a professional rival, had reason to want Mark dead. Yet again, Childs proves herself skilled at local color, serving up cunning portraits of Southern society and delectable descriptions of dishes like cheesy crab casserole (recipe included). (Mar.)
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About the Author
Laura Childs is a former owner/CEO/Creative Director of a marketing and advertising firm in Minneapolis.