by Laura Childs
Part of Tea Shop Mystery, book 8
First published 2007
Charleston blooms with springtime splendor as the annual Spring Plantation Ramble opens private gardens to the public. Theodosia Browning knows little about distinguishing orchids from roses, but she loves the event anyway. The ramble brings together flower exhibitions, plant auctions, and crowds of garden enthusiasts caught up in seasonal excitement. For Theodosia, it presents a perfect opportunity to serve tea and showcase her Indigo Tea Shop to Charleston's social elite. She brings her newest creation, Dragonwell Sweet Tea, hoping to win over new customers among the ramble's attendees. The plantation gardens provide an elegant backdrop as Theodosia navigates between business promotion and personal enjoyment of the festivities. Spring fever spreads through the crowds as easily as gossip, and Theodosia finds herself swept up in both the beauty of the blooming gardens and the social dynamics of Charleston's upper class gathering.
Genres: fiction, mystery, contemporary, cozy-mystery
Vibes: atmospheric, cozy, suspenseful
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, small-town
Setting: Charleston, Spring Plantation Ramble
Period: Springtime
304 pages · Hardcover · Berkley Hardcover