Customer Reviews: Read 13 more reviews...
 Theo, please! October 12, 2008
Theo, honey, please act like grown up!! Lots of silly behavior in this latest installment.
I like the descriptions of the locale, foods, and clothing. All of our favorite characters are here again. Haley's cooking makes you hungry! I swear, you can smell the tea brewing! And, the hint of Jory coming back is intriguing, hmmmm.
BUT,the B-movie, girl alone stuff is much too ridiculous for Theo! Even Delanie slips out of character! And the ending...OH PLEASE! Way over the top melodramatic, doesn't tie into the story, no reason for the captive to be taken, why on earth does the killer head where they do? no explanation of HOW the second corpse was hidden where it was, what the heck? And then, no less than FIVE elements in the final killer scene. COME ON! Let's hope the next book is a little more back to tea shop reality.
 silver needle review September 22, 2008
Glad to catch up with my favourite tea shop personnel. Passed it on to both my sisters..........
A vivid murder mystery that includes tea time tips and recipes September 12, 2008
Theodasia Browning and the staff of the Indigo Tea Shop are busy with catering jobs brought on by a local film festival, until a sudden murder changes everything. Suspicion, danger and intrigue permeate the film festival and create an atmosphere of tension in this vivid murder mystery that includes tea time tips and recipes: perfect for mystery lending libraries.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
 Not up to par May 31, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
SPOILERS FOLLOW:
As much as I usually enjoy this light reading series, for some reason this particular book just annoyed me.
Yes, fashion, tea history tidbits, and Charleston society doings are mildly interesting, but the 'mystery' was lost this time and the characters acted stupid!
I knew 'who done it' early in the book and am sure most readers figured it out, too. The usually well written heroine needs to get back to some semblance of reality and I'm truly beginning to dislike these gossipy, snoopy people.
We had way, way, way too much description of clothing, jewelry, shoes, table settings, glassware, crystal, wine, & antique furniture. It's like the author is going overboard to let readers know these people have good taste, are wealthy, and, supposedly, are well-bred.
It felt like the author needed to get the length of the novel up and increase the word count, so readers wouldn't feel cheated.
But, what bothered me the most this time was that the character of Theodosia acted like a stupid heroine from a B-rated horror movie.
More than once she went, alone, into the empty theater, scene of the murder, without letting anyone know where she was going. Like a female horror movie character going alone down to the cellar or up to the attic where you KNOW something awful is going to happen. If this book had sound track it would be a slasher-type theme.
Then, Theodosia, wearing 3" high heels, **runs**, with her dog on leash, away from someone who's following her home down the darkest, loneliest street in Charleston. Running in high heels. Sure!
Toward the (very bad, unbelievable) end, again, wearing Prada slides with 3-1/2 heels, she follows a wooded path off a dirt road. Only after walking quite a way, with no light, does she remove her shoes.
Come on! Any woman who wears heels knows there is no way you can easily walk on non-pavement without twisting your ankle. And slides -- no backs, no straps, no support! Just totally unreal.
Maybe it's time for a good editor to step in. Perhaps the author has run out of ideas for murders. If so, that's OK. Start a new series with new characters and let this one die a well deserved death.
 A Spot of Tea, Anyone? May 28, 2008
I've been a fan of mystery and detective fiction since I opened my first Trixie Belden book when I was in elementary school. I devoured Nancy Drew, pined for the Hardy Boys (my mother, in one of her rare fits of sexist behavior, wouldn't let me enjoy Frank and Joe's exploits), and quickly moved on to whatever romantic mysteries my mother was reading. As I grew older, my tastes ranged from the Golden Age mysteries to police procedurals to cozies to hard-boiled tales. Now, as an adult and the possessor of an advanced degree in English, I still indulge my passion for mysteries. Laura Childs' The Silver Needle Murder, the ninth Tea Shop Mystery, satisfies my perpetual longing to find a new voice in mystery fiction.
Laura Childs is not a newcomer to the mystery genre. In addition to the Tea Shop Mysteries, she writes a series involving scrapbooking and another one about a group of middle-aged women who have formed what they call the Cackleberry Club.
Childs' heroine, Theodosia Browning, is the owner of the Indigo Tea Shop in Charleston, South Carolina. As the novel opens, all of Charleston is abuzz about the Charleston Film Festival. Theodosia hopes looks to gain extra business in the tea shop during the festival and looks forward to the social aspect of the event. Before long, she is pressed into service as a judge. On the first night of the festival, a murder occurs, setting all of Charleston fluttering and Theodosia sleuthing.
Theodosia Browning is an intriguing heroine. She is all the things we've come to expect of the main character of a cozy mystery. She can be nosy; she is persistent; she is dogged when pursuing a thread that she thinks will lead somewhere; she is passionate about finding the culprit and simultaneously clearing anyone who may be unjustly or incorrectly accused; she is fearless when she needs to be. Theodosia is a well-rounded character with just enough mystery about her to entice a reader to return for more.
Childs surrounds Theo with a cast of wacky counterparts, but she avoids the pitfall of making Theodosia's friends too odd. Drayton, the catering manager and master tea blender, is just persnickety enough to satisfy the reader, but not so stuffy that he becomes a distraction or a drag. Childs says: "Drayton was a self-proclaimed arbiter of style and taste. He was also imbued with a keen sense of melodrama" (2). Even as she paints him with a broad brush, Childs avoids caricature. While his pronouncements are a bit waspish and even old-womanish, he is rounded enough to make the reader care about him and what happens to him.
In addition to Drayton, Childs supplies Theodosia with a love interest (Parker) who is attentive enough to keep Theodosia--and the reader--happy, but is not smothering in his affections. Haley, the cook at the Indigo Tea Shop, is inventive in the kitchen and supportive of her employer's sleuthing. While Haley does not figure largely in The Silver Needle Murder, her presence is necessary, and it leaves room for Haley to grow and become more involved in the other cases that are sure to come Theodosia's way. Two other character types are included: the crotchety police detective, Detective Tidwell, and the endearing pet, Theodosia's dog Earl Grey.
Before coming to The Silver Needle Murder, I had not read any of Childs' work, and I opened the book with some trepidation. I wasn't familiar with these characters; what if I didn't like them? The book was a cozy, and I'm more of a hard-boiled fan. I needn't have worried. I fell into the first chapter of The Silver Needle Murder and was only disappointed when the book came to an end.
by Gwen Whitehead
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
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