Blood Orange Brewing: A Tea Shop Mystery

If Southern cozies are your cup of tea, you'll enjoy curling up with the seventh installment of Theodosia Browning's sleuthing adventures (after 2005's Chamomile Mourning ). Theodosia, owner of Charleston's Indigo Tea Shop, is catering a fund-raiser for the local Heritage Society. The food is great, and all of Charleston's bigwigs are enjoying themselves, until a retired businessman and politico, Duke Wilkes, is murdered. Maybe Wilkes was offed by a greedy property developer who disliked Wilkes's zeal for historic preservation, or maybe an entrepreneur his venture capital firm turned down was out for revenge. Childs has a great eye for local color—the book is filled with depictions of stately historic homes and Confederate re-enactors, and the luscious descriptions of Lowcountry cuisine will make your mouth water. Several recipes and Childs's "Teatime Tips" round out this delightful read. (Apr.)