[.ca] Shades Of Earl Grey (ISBN 0425188213)

yet another waste of paper:
Unfortunately, this woman knows very, very little about tea but persists in writing about it. Her editor seems to know very little about good writing - these books with flat characters and poor plots keep getting published. Spend your money on a packet of good tea instead of this book and you will be far happier in the long run.

Love Earl Grey...:
Laura Childs has a great series going with her "Tea Mysteries." I especially enjoyed this one as it features the dog, "Earl Grey" a little more. I enjoyed the characters so much and I felt that the plots/subplots had some depth to them. As usual, the recipes are really great as well!

Criminal waste of a good premise:
I am bitterly disappointed in Laura Childs. She had a lovely idea here: A Charleston tea shop owner turned sleuth. It had tons of potential--and she completely wasted it by filling her books with improbable plots, illogical thinking, and flat, overly-dramatic, impossibly-perfect characters. To read these books requires too much willingness to suspend disbelief, for too little in return. One of the first rules of writing is to write about something you know. Ms. Childs knows almost nothing about tea. The tea information she gives is at best elementary, and in most cases partially or entirely inaccurate. Even her recipes are not always accurate, and to follow them is to risk disappointment. This was the last book in this series that I have read. I was willing to give her a chance to improve, for the sake of the appealing premise, but I give up. I read for pleasure, not for annoyance, and there are innumerable better choices.

Atmosphere and a Stronger Mystery:
Theodosia is enjoying herself at an engagement party hosted by her friend and fellow business woman Delaine Dish. Delaine can't stop talking about the wedding ring her niece will be wearing soon, but a sudden crash from the next room alerts then to bad news. There is a huge hole in the glass ceiling, the groom is dead, and the valuable ring is missing. When a guard is attacked during another robbery at the historic society a few days later, Theo is convinced that there is a cat burglar loose in the area. Is she right? Will the police listen to her if she is? Or will one of her friends take the blame for the robberies? This series is strongest in atmosphere. The historic district of Charlestown comes to life and the cozy setting of the tea shop and characters of Theo and her friends make for a fun read. This book has one of the better mysteries of the series, with red herrings all over the place. I was confused and constantly kept shifting who I thought had done it. This series will appeal best to the die hard cozy crowd. I enjoy them when I'm looking for something light and entertaining.

A mild offering in an uneven series:
Again, I loved all of the atmosphere of Charleston -- I can't wait to visit! The plotting was a little better than in her second offering, but it's not the strong point here. This is more a book of Charleston than a mystery. It's an entertaining evening, nothing more.