Ming Tea Murder

I really love this "Tea Shop Mystery" series by Laura Childs. They are like English cozies set in modern day Charleston, S. Carolina. Childs does such a wonderful job of creating the atmosphere of the city, which operates in many ways like a village with gossip and deceit and...of course, murder most foul. This time  the murder occurs at the museum where Theodosia's boyfriend Max is the Publicity Director. It is an invitation only gala to celebrate the museum's purchase of a genuine Chinese tea house from Shanghai, which was purchased in large part through the donations of one particular board member, Roger Webster. He is also the murder victim. In between trying to solve the murder and run her tea shop, Theo is also running in a 5K with her mixed breed dog, Earl Grey, taking over the chairwoman's duties a big Halloween party in the historic district to help out the victim's widow, Charlotte, and setting up a booth at the charity craft market to help out the local service dog organization. Oh, yes and tea shop is hosting several themed "tea's" to celebrate the Halloween holidays and a funeral luncheon.
To complicate matters even more, Max gets fired from his job--the sleazy museum director needs a scapegoat, apparently. On the other hand, perhaps those who seem to be in Max's camp aren't exactly to be trusted either.
Lots of tasty meals are served up at Indigo Tea Shop, all accompanied by tasty tea's, with recipes offered at the end of the book. These books are such a treat on so many levels, and there are a hefty number of them to choose from...this is the 16th in the series! See also my posts on Blood Orange Brewing and Oolong Dead.