| View Larger Image | Death by Darjeeling (A Tea Shop Mystery) | Paperbackby Laura Childs (Author)
| List Price: | $7.99 | | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
| | Binding: | Paperback | | Publisher: | Berkley | | Edition: | Reissueth Edition | | Page Count: | 256 Pages | | Publication Date: | May 01, 2001 | | Sales Rank: | 57,603th |
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FEATURES | - ISBN13: 9780425179451
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
When a man is poisoned by tea, Theo is the prime suspect. Now she has to prove her innocence and track down the real killer-before someone else takes their last sip. Just the right blend of cozy fun and clever plotting. Tea lovers, mystery lovers, [this] is for you. (Susan Wittig Albert, author of Mistletoe Man) |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 3.5 based on 67 reviews)
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Fits the Mystery genre to a "T" by Lil D (Maryland)  5 Stars
September 28, 2009
A friend of mine - and fellow avid tea drinker - recommended this series for me and I thank her often. "Death by Darjeeling" is the first in this fun series that blends tea tales with mystery. The writing style is fun, the characters are real (gotta love that Drayton!) and the stories themselves are full of twists and turns you don't see coming.
If you are a fan of tea - or, heck, even if you're not - you'll love learning about running the Tea Shop itself, how the blends are crafted and the work that goes on inside the shop.
These are great vacay reads, or perfect for de-stressing. I highly recommend!
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not my cuppa tea by PM (USA)  2 Stars
July 13, 2009
This book:
- didn't have me on the edge of my seat
- didn't turn my stomach with grisly descriptions
- didn't play on my emotions
- didn't embarrass me with sex scenes or bad language.
But:
- I didn't develop any attachment to any of the characters at all, not even the dog or the tea shop.
- The book itself, and the dialog, seemed choppy, illogical, and not believable.
- The characters were flat and poorly done. They said and did things that were inconsistent with their suggested-but-not-developed personalities and supposed ages, and most of them seemed emotionally unbalanced (they unexpectedly sobbed hysterically, had strange fits of anger, acted irrationally).
- One character's name alternated throughout the book between "Burt" and "Bert".
- The choice of words used to describe people and situations seemed "off" to me -- people were said to be "deep in conversation" at various times when they were actually just chatting, people "yank" and "wrench" doors open inappropriately, a woman who prides herself on her appearance was always "tottering" on her high heels, Theo (the main character) is supposed to be (I guess) a tough and independent type yet she "sobbed" at illogical times ... there are more examples, but I'll stop there :)
- The main character continually "misrepresented herself" -- she lied -- to obtain information, and the people from whom she got information -- including law enforcement personnel and lawyers -- seemed remarkably eager to hand over all sorts of personal, proprietary tidbits.
- Illogical pieces of evidence pop up without any explanation or resolution as to how/why they came to be where they were. At the end, we are told "who did it" and sort-of what the murder weapon was, but are given no explanation of how/when/where it was done or even really why.
- The descriptions of Charleston were not very accurate and, even allowing for literary license, there are some glaring errors. Also, the "feel" of Charleston just did not come through.
- I was hoping to get more information about specialty teas than was provided in the book (I don't know much about tea, so I can't speak to the accuracy of what little information was provided).
This book can't be called mind-candy; maybe mind-toast? Not much to enjoy, and not much flavor. Like the 4th cup of tea out of one teabag. I wish I had gotten this from the library instead of purchasing it. I think I'll give the rest of the series a miss.
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Lots of Frills and Lace.... by Lisa G. Cunningham (Fairfax, Virginia)  3 Stars
June 02, 2009
Story Background: Theodosia owns a teashop and a formerly stray puppy named Earl Grey. They have an event at their teashop and a man who was trying to ruin the historical town atmosphere gets murdered. dun dun duuuun! There are a whole crew of suspects, stalkers, threats in the night and the people who would gain the most from the man's death.
My Opinion: It was diffcult to get past the first few chapters of this book because of the choppy writing style (it's really horrendous) and the page upon page of painful descriptions of frou-frou teas and olde town "charm" which is really very overly lacey and made me feel like I was eating cotton balls. I had some suspicions about the murderer, but it was not obvious until almost the last chapter, so that's good. I was kept entertained by the mystery, but I do hope that Laura Childs' writing style becomes more polished throughout this series (and writes a chapter that is more than 3 pages long...). I do wish Laura Childs went the not extra mile to explain to us what happens to a stalker character instead of just revealing who it was that was peeping through the windows one evening... this person is not even mentioned in the second book, so my assumption is that he/she's disappeared? he/she was arrested? We don't know, Laura... we don't know.
Conclusion: I think this book/series would be a great "read-at-the-pool-in-the-sunshine" type of book. Nothing too exciting or riviting, but perhaps her next book, "Gunpowder Green" will bring more suspense and better writing to our lawn chairs.
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Darjeeling is tea...and oh so good. by Kel (Charlotte, NC USA)  4 Stars
September 04, 2008
This was a cute little mystery. A land developer is murdered and Theo decides to figure out who did the deed. Especially since one of her employees is on the suspect list. What sets it apart from other mysteries is, I learned a little bit about Charleston and I learned a little about tea. I also loved the characters. Theo, Drayton, Haley and Bethany and Earl Gray. Very likeable characters. The mystery, to me, plays a minor part compared to the character development. This was a light easy read, very enjoyable.
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Enjoyable enough, but a bit pretentious by E. Heintz (Portland, Oregon USA) 3 Stars
August 07, 2008
Relaxing read, quick read. Enjoyable, yet some of the dialogue and characters seemed somewhat pretentious or "forced" at times.
I also don't like the way Theodosia is portrayed. She's supposed to be a woman in her mid-30's, yet her character seems years older than that. I have this image of a somewhat frumpy woman who's vastly older than her employees, yet there isn't much of an age difference. It's confusing at times.
Would probably pick up the second in the series in a pinch, but wouldn't be my first choice.
Did like the colorful portrayals of Charleston, however.
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SIMILAR PRODUCTS |
| Gunpowder Green (A Tea Shop Mystery)
by Laura Childs (Author)
In this second Tea Shop Mystery, shop owner Theodosia Browning knows that something's brewing in the high society of Charleston: murder.
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| Shades of Earl Grey (A Tea Shop Mystery)
by Laura Childs (Author)
Indigo Tea Shop owner Theodosia Browning is finally invited to a social event that she doesn't have to cater-but trouble is brewing at the engagement soiree of the season...
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| The English Breakfast Murder (A Tea Shop Mystery)
by Laura Childs (Author)
It is a truly exhilarating experience for Indigo Tea Shop owner Theodosia Browning-helping Charleston's Sea Turtle Protection League shepherd hundreds of tiny green loggerheads safely into the sea. But just as she's about to celebrate all her hard work, she spots a dead body bobbing in the waves. Now it's up to Theo to get to the bottom of the murder before the culprit's greed stirs him to kill again.
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| The Jasmine Moon Murder (A Tea Shop Mystery)
by Laura Childs (Author)
Indigo Tea Shop owner Theodosia Browning is catering a Charleston benefit, a "Ghost Crawl" through Jasmine Cemetery, when the organizer drops dead--and it looks like foul play. Theodosia stirs things up with her own investigation, and gets into hot water up to her neck.
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| Chamomile Mourning (A Tea Shop Mystery)
by Laura Childs (Author)
At Charleston's Spoleto Festival, Theodosia Browning's Poet's Tea is forced indoors by rain--which is the least of her problems after a local auction house owner plummets from the balcony to his death. With a full kettle of suspects, Theodosia finds herself chasing a criminal who plans on showing her just how dangerous it is to stick her sensitive nose where it doesn't belong.
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