JASMINE MOON MURDER: Another Entertaining Tea Shop Cozy
What's not to like about a cozy whodunit wherein the police detective on the case says the murder weapon could be paid for with PayPal? It's not quite an eBay reference, but it's close enough for me to be writing this review.
Theodosia Browning is the owner of a successful tea shop in historic Charleston, South Carolina. As is the case with all good cozy heroines, dead bodies seem to turn up in her vicinity with amazing regularity. This time around, she's catering a Ghost Crawl through one of Charleston's most atmospheric old cemeteries when the uncle of her boyfriend, Jory, is mysteriously murdered right in front of her big blue eyes. Jory implores her to find the killer, as she has so many times before, and the game is afoot.
Like Laura Childs' Scrapbooking Mysteries (several of which also contain eBay references!), the Tea Shop mysteries are a highly entertaining series…whether you take them seriously, or not. The perpetual busyness of the Indigo Tea Shop and its over-the-top selection of teas and tea products, baked goods, lunches, and other delicious edibles bring out my inner snark, as does the secondary characters' slavish devotion to the rather saintly Theodosia, but the series has won me over in spite of my best intentions to remain cynical. Plus I really like Theodosia's dog, a "Dalbrador" stray rescue turned Certified Therapy Dog.
I also could easily criticize the ridiculousness of Theodosia's ongoing relationship with the police detective, not to mention the foxhunting scenes (FYI, Laura Childs: the Hunt Breakfast is served AFTER the hunt, not before. Stirrup cups are served before). But why bother? This isn't a police procedural, it's a cozy. And as such, it's an excellent read. The characters are vivid and likeable; the plot is sufficiently puzzling to keep you turning pages; and the sense of place brought about by the author's descriptions of Charleston is outstanding.
Best of all, for those who like this sort of thing (and who doesn't?), the recipes in the back of the book actually sound both delicious and doable, and the tea party suggestions are quite fun even if staging a tea party is the last thing you want to do in this lifetime. Be prepared to start craving tea.
For all of the above reasons, I have to heartily recommend "The Jasmine Moon Murder". Even my inner snark agrees. It's even worth investing in the hardcover, if you're the type who likes to collect titles and series for your library.
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