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Death by Darjeeling - Laura Childs



5/5 ⭐

Not very often am I struck with the urge to go and read more of the same books from a series as fast as I was for Laura Child’s Tea Shop Mysteries.

Luckily, one of my libraries had a copy of the first story available. I ended up reading it all in just about two days.

One thing that struck me right away was how well balanced it was with introducing the characters and setting while also introducing the mystery elements. It never felt like an information dump or that the mystery was pushed to the side. Which is often the case for setting up a cozy mystery series. The information we need was carefully dotted throughout the novel, explained exactly when we needed it.

As for the characters, they were to be expected for a cozy mystery. An amateur sleuth thrust into an investigation after suspicion falls on them. Desperate to prove themselves innocent and find the guilty party they drag their coworkers and friends into their shenanigans. Different from most though, Theodosia (this series main character with a.... unique name) is reluctant and happy to leave it to the police and is actually encouraged by her employees to investigate.

So she does, and she pretends to be people she is not and gets information the cops could never hope to get on their own. All the while running her tea shop.

I love this series so far and can’t wait to read more. A well-written cozy mystery, it’s no wonder she has written over 20 novels with no signs of stopping.

1/15/22

*This review was previously posted on my Google Site.

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