by Laura Childs
Part of Tea Shop Mystery, book 21
First published 2020
Theodosia Browning and tea sommelier Drayton Conneley attend an elaborate English shooting party complete with sloe gin fizzes, gun loaders, and tweed costumes. The festivities turn deadly when gunshots ring out across the estate. Theodosia ventures into a neighboring lavender field and discovers their host Reginald Doyle dying from his wounds. His widow Meredith begs Theodosia and Drayton to remain overnight. At two in the morning, Theodosia wakes to smoke filling her room as the house burns around them. After fire trucks arrive and the sheriff begins investigating, Meredith desperately asks Theodosia to help solve her husband's murder. The tea shop owner uncovers buried secrets while accusations fly between suspects. Reginald's daughter-in-law vanishes and is feared drowned. Meredith turns to a séance for answers. Theodosia questions her judgment when she invites a murder suspect to her elegant Lavender Lady Tea event, wondering if she has put herself and her customers in danger.
Genres: suspense, mystery, thriller, cozy-mystery
Vibes: atmospheric, cozy, suspenseful
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, found-family
Setting: England, Lavender Field
Period: 20th-century
336 pages · Kindle Edition · Berkley