The jasmine moon murder

Childs makes a well-deserved shift to hardcover with the fifth installment in her popular Tea Shop mystery series (Death by Darjeeling, etc.). Theodosia Browning, proprietor of the Indigo Tea Shop, and her staff are serving tea and goodies during the first-ever "Ghost Crawl in Charleston's famed Jasmine Cemetery." The event ends abruptly when Dr. Jasper Davis, uncle of Theo's beau, Jory, dies mysteriously and publicly. Det. Burt Tidwell makes Theo promise she won't stick her amateur nose in, but a frazzled Jory pleads with her to use her special abilities as a sleuth to root out the killer. The victim was vice-president in charge of research at a large medical products company, Cardiotech, and Theo suspects Dr. Davis's death is connected with his job. A second murder complicates things, but Theo perseveres and eventually corners the killer using a snazzy bit of up-to-date technology to summon help. Fans will enjoy the rich brew of murder, tea lore and mouth-watering descriptions of food (recipes included). The alluring jacket art a tea spread out on a blanket in the foreground with ghostly gravestones under a full moon in the background captures the mood perfectly. Agent, Sam Pinkus. (Sept. 7) FYI: Childs is also the author of Keepsake Crimes (2003) and other titles in her Scrapbooking Mystery series. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

In her hardcover debut, Indigo Tea Shop owner Theodosia Browning (Death by Darjeeling) investigates the murder of a research cardiologist poisoned at Charleston's first cemetery "Ghost Crawl." Though warned off by Detective Tidwell, Theodosia cannot say no to boyfriend Jory, nephew of the victim. She begins by attending the funeral and scoping out potential suspects: the about-to-be-divorced wife, the greedy, cautionless business associate, and the person last seen arguing with the victim. Along the way, the author provides enough scrumptious descriptions of teas and baked goods to throw anyone off the killer's scent. For series fans and others. Childs, the pseudonym for Gerry Schmitt, lives outside of Minneapolis. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.