At the start of Childs's soothing 10th Tea Shop mystery (after 2008's The Silver Needle Murder
), Indigo Tea Shop proprietor Theodosia Browning and her horse, Captain Harley, encounter murder most unsavory during the annual Charleston Point-to-Point Race. Shortly after clearing a jump, they're spooked by encountering the corpse of Abby Davis, an evening TV news anchor, who's been shot through the forehead. In parallel with CPD Det. Burt Tidwell, Theodosia pursues her own investigation, prompted by attorney Jory Davis, the victim's brother and Theodosia's ex-boyfriend. Prime suspects include anchorman Webster Hall, who lost his job to Abby, and Abby's husband, who may have known she was having an affair. As usual, Childs's plot simmers slowly while Theodosia's dogged yet always elegant sleuthing is as satisfying as sipping a cup of jade oolong. (Mar.)
