Silver Needle Murder (Tea Shop Series #9) by Laura Childs

From the Publisher

The national bestselling author of Dragonwell Dead returns with a mystery proving that the price of fame can be murderously steep.

The Charleston Film Festival has brought Theodosia Browning and the staff of the Indigo Tea Shop a busy week of catering jobs. First up is the opening night gala at the historic Belvedere Theatre. Tinseltown and local luminaries seem to be mingling happily in the glamorously renovated lobby, but Theo notices that the atmosphere backstage is tense. Then famous director Jordan Cole is shot on his way to the podium, and the entire audience witnesses his death silhouetted across the scrim. Never has a festival started off with this big a bang.

Publishers Weekly

In Childs's diverting ninth Tea Shop cozy (after 2007's Dragonwell Dead), Theodosia Browning, proprietor of Charleston's Indigo Tea Shop, is in the audience of the recently restored Belvedere Theater when someone shoots celebrated movie director Jordan Cole on stage during Charleston's first film festival. Theodosia glimpses the murderer escaping in the theater's old dumbwaiter, but doesn't see enough to identity the culprit. Cole, a handsome rake, had more than his share of enemies, including his recently ditched girlfriend, Isabelle, granddaughter of curmudgeonly Timothy Neville, the festival's organizer, who asks Theodosia to fill in for a judge who quits. Despite being burdened with catering duties as well, Theodosia feels compelled to investigate the crime, much to CPD Det. Burt Tidwell's consternation. The savory recipes at the end will leave readers hungry for more. (Mar.)

Kirkus Reviews

The first annual Charleston Film Festival may be the last unless a clever killer is quickly unmasked. The crew at the Indigo Tea Shop are feeling the heat, and not just from Charleston's sultry summer. The pressure is on for owner Theodosia Browning, tea expert Drayton Conneley and pastry chef Haley Parker to stage a series of tea-inspired parties. Theodosia is delighted to be involved with the opening night gala at the recently renovated Belvedere Theater until well-known director Jordan Cole is shot dead as he makes his way to the stage. Theodosia, no stranger to murder (Dragonwell Dead, 2007, etc.), agrees to look into the problem for festival organizer Timothy Neville. She quickly discovers that Cole had a long series of spurned lovers, the last of whom may have been Neville's granddaughter. Theodosia feels threatened herself when she falls into several spine-chilling traps arranged to warn her to stop sleuthing. There'll be another murder and a night in a dangerous swamp before the killer is brought to justice. The latest in Childs's Tea Shop series is again a love letter to Charleston, tea and fine living, with the usual addition of recipes.

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