History Literature / TeaShopMysteries

Thankfully for her, she forms an odd partnership with Detective Burt Tidwell, a former government agent who has the instincts of bloodhound. Along with her friends, Theodosia may just be able to keep Charleston's community from crumbling and even enjoy a cup of tea afterwards.

Thankfully for her, she forms an odd partnership with Detective Burt Tidwell, a former government agent who has the instincts of bloodhound. Together, along with her friends, Theodosia may just be able to keep Charleston's community from crumbling and enjoy a cup of tea afterwards.

In the historic district of Charleston, South Carolina, there is a diner called the Indigo Tea Shop. This shop is owned by one Theodosia Browning, a middle-aged woman who used to work in the hectic business of marketing. Compared to her last job, Theodosia much prefers the calm and steady pace that running a tea shop provides. This tranquility is threatened when Hughes Barron, a famous real estate developer, is killed during the annual Lamplighter Tour. To make matters worse, Barron seems to have been poisoned via the tea Theodosia's shop happened to be serving that night. With her diner and her own reputation on the line, Theodosia must find out who the true murderer is before her beloved shop suffers.

The ''Tea Shop Mysteries'' is a CozyMystery series written by Gerry Schmitt under the pseudonym Laura Childs. The series started in 2001 with new entries being published at least once per year.

The series includes the following titles:

The ''Tea Shop Mysteries'' is a CozyMystery series written by Laura Childs. The series started in 2001 with new entries being published at least once per year.

# ''Agony of the Leaves''(2012)

->'''''Theodosia:''' Well, I'm supposed to take Earl Grey to the O'Doud Senior Citizen Home tonight, attend a gallery opening with Delaine tomorrow night, and Wednesday is the big anniversary party at The Featherbed House, which, of course, we're all invited to. And now we're taping all day Thursday, and Saturday is Delaine's big Fashion Bash at the Garden Gate Resturant. Trust me, '''I know''' Delaine's going to try to rope me in on something.''

There are currently twenty-two books in the series. They are:

* AbortedArc: At the start of the series, Haley is unable to pick a college degree she wants to major in. She eventually settles for business, but this potential subplot is dropped a couple books later. Haley herself doesn't ever intend on stopping her work for the Indigo Tea Shop either.

* ADeadlyAffair: In ''Death by Darjeeling'', Theodosia eventually finds out that [[spoiler: Hughes was having an affair with Samantha. His refusal to divorce his wife is what led Samantha to kill him]].
* IfICantHaveYou: The murderer in ''Death by Darjeeling'' had this as their motive: [[spoiler:Samantha killed Hughes because he wouldn't divorce his wife so he could be with her]].
* InevitableWaterfall: While trying to get away from an unseen shooter in ''Dragonwell Dead'', Theodosia and Drayton find themselves going over a waterfall.
* {{Infodump}}: Books one through seven suffer from this. ''Death by Darjeeling'' isn't too bad as its information is spread out between the first two to three chapters. The next six books, however, try to stuff Theodosia, Drayton, and Haley's basic backstories and job descriptions into the first chapter. From ''Dragonwell Dead'' onward, this trait lessens considerably.

* SeriousBusiness: Theodosia and Drayton take tea making very seriously, as does Haley when it comes to making the Indigo Tea Shop's food. Likewise, clothes and fashion is a topic that Delaine is incredibly passionate about. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] since they each make a living off of selling those products.
* SkewedPriorities: In ''The Teaberry Strangler'', Theodosia confides in Delaine that one of her customers has been acting shady, specially seeming to have stalked her. Delaine's more worried about the customer potentially having a crank credit card than one of her best friends being stalked.
* StatusQuoIsGod: Nothing really seems to change between the core cast or the town they live in. The victims and criminals are usually people who aren't part of the Charleston community that the series focuses on, which means the main cast stays the same from book to book. Even when the victims/criminals are/were a part of the community, they're background characters whose death/crimes doesn't shake up any of the established dynamics.

* TrueCompanions: Theodosia and Drayton are intensely loyal to on another and will protect each other whenever danger strikes. They also often take tours or trips together.
* WebcomicTime: Downplayed; time does move forward, it just moves a lot slower than it does in real life. For example, the first nine books covers one year InUniverse, while eight years had passed in real time.

** After a brief mention in ''Gunpowder Green'', Brittany Shepard is never seen or referenced again. She was stated to be a close friend of Haley and Theodosia's, so the fact that she basically disappears from the series seems kinda odd.
** Charlie Lynch set up in ''Dragonwell Dead'' as a potential addition to the Tea Shop's staff. Come the next book, nobody mentions her at all nor does she appear in any of the following books.

->''"Well," said Theodosia, ticking off her obligations on her fingers, "I'm supposed to take Earl Grey to the O'Doud Senior Citizen Home tonight, attend a gallery opening with Delaine tomorrow night, and Wednesday is the big anniversary party at The Featherbed House, which, of course, we're all invited to. And now we're taping all day Thursday, and Saturday is Delaine's big Fashion Bash at the Garden Gate Resturant. Trust me, '''I know''' Delaine's going to try to rope me in on something."''
->''"You forgot one thing," said Haley, squinting at her.''
->''"What's that?" asked Theodosia.''
->''"You have to figure out who killed Harper Fisk."''
-->-- ''The English Breakfast Murder''

* AbortedArc: At the start of the series, Haley is unable to pick a college degree she wants to major in. She eventually settles for business, but this potential subplot seems to be dropped a couple books afterward.
* AccidentalMurder: The groom in ''Shades of Earl Grey'' was an unfortunate victim of a glass shard when a cat burglar broke into the greenhouse. The cat burglar didn't mean to kill the groom, just steal the heirloom wedding ring.
* BookEnds: ''Dragonwell Dead'' begins with Theodosia trying to find her way out of a hedge maze. The book ends with Theodosia in that same maze during her flight from the murderer.

* InevitableWaterfall: In ''Dragonwell Dead'', while trying to get away from an unseen shooter, Theodosia and Drayton find themselves going over a waterfall.
* {{Infodump}}: Books one through seven suffer from this. ''Death by Darjeeling'' isn't too bad as its information is spread out between the first two to three chapters. The next six books, however, try to stuff Theodosia, Drayton, and Haley's basic backstories and job descriptions into the first chapter. From ''Dragonwell Dead'' onward, though, this trait lessens considerably.

* MundaneMadeAwesome: Theodosia and Drayton make it their mission to make the preparation and consumption of tea as interesting for their patrons as possible. Drayton in particular is always eager to share his vast knowledge about tea and tea culture.
* MysteryMagnet: Wherever Theodosia goes, mystery seems to follow. This gets [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by several characters as the series progresses.

* SeriousBusiness: Theodosia and Drayton take tea making very seriously, as does Haley when it comes to making the Indigo Tea Shop's food. Likewise, clothes and fashion is a topic that Delaine takes seriously. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] since they each make a living off of selling these products.
* StatusQuoIsGod: Nothing really seems to change between the core cast or the town they live in. Additionally, the victims and criminals are usually people who aren't part of the Charleston community that the series focuses on, which means the main cast stays the same from book to book. Even when the victims/criminals were a part of the community, they're very minor or background characters whose death/crime doesn't shake up any of the established dynamics.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: After a brief mention in ''Gunpowder Green'', Brittany Shepard is never seen or referenced again. She was stated to be a close friend of Haley and Theodosia's, so the fact that she's never referenced again seems kinda out.

* YourCheatingHeart: In ''Death by Darjeeling'', Theodosia eventually finds out that [[spoiler: Hughes was having an affair with Samantha. His refusal to divorce his wife is what led Samantha to kill him]].

* CluelessMystery: An odd variant; while there are clues and suspects, none of the ones that Theodosia (and by extension the reader) focuses on leads to the real criminal. The actual perp is usually a character that was just introduced and is barely given any screen time.
* ComicBookTime: Downplayed; time does move forward, it just moves a lot slower than it does in real life. For example, the first nine books covers one year InUniverse, while eight years had passed in real time.
* CozyMystery: The series is about a middle-aged women who helps solve mysteries that arise in her small hometown. She has a down to earth hobby and an animal sidekick. There's little to no swearing, and if things do get violent, it's pretty mild and doesn't last long.
* IfICantHaveYou: The murderer in ''Death by Darjeeling'' had this as their motive.

* IntroDump: The books one through seven suffer from this. ''Death by Darjeeling'' isn't too bad as its information is spread out between the first two to three chapters. The next six books, however, try to stuff Theodosia, Drayton, and Haley's basic backstories and job descriptions into the first chapter. Starting with ''Dragonwell Dead'', this trait lessons considerably.
* LongRunners: The series has twenty-two novels under its belts, spread out over the course of nineteen years.

* MysteryMagnet: Wherever Theodosia goes, murder seems to follow. This gets [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by several characters as the series progresses.

* SeriousBusiness: Tea making is this to Theodosia and Drayton, as is baking for Haley. Clothes and fashion is this to Delaine. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] since they each make a living off of selling those products.
* StatusQuoIsGod: While time does move, nothing really seems to change between the core cast. Additionally, the victims and criminals are usually people who aren't part of the Charleston community that the series focuses on, which means the main cast's dynamics stay the same from book to book.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: After a brief mention in ''Gunpowder Green'', Brittany Shepard is never seen or referenced again. This is strange, because she was a close friend of Haley's.
* YourCheatingHeart: In ''Death by Darjeeling'', [[spoiler: Hughes was having an affair with Samantha. His refusal to divorce his wife is what led Samantha to kill him]].

* CozyMystery: A typical example of the genre: A lack of explicit violence, sex, and swearing? Check. Quick deaths? Check. An intelligent, perceptive main female lead with a down-to-earth hobby? Check. An friendly animal sidekick? Check. Setting is a small town with a close knit community? Check. (And so on and so forth.)

[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:General]]

[[/folder]]
[[folder:''Death by Darjeeling'']]
* ClearMyName: Theodosia has to clear the name of the Indigo Tea Shop after one of the teas she served during the Lamplighter Tour apparently kills a wealthy businessman.
* IfICantHaveYou: The killer's motive.
* YourCheatingHeart: [[spoiler: Hughes was having an affair with Samantha. His refusal to divorce his wife is what led Samantha to kill him]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:''Gunpowder Green'']]

[[/folder]]
[[folder:''Shades of Earl Grey'']]
* AccidentalMurder: The groom was an unfortunate victim of a glass shard when a cat burglar broke into the greenhouse. The cat burglar didn't mean to kill the groom, just steal the heirloom wedding ring.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:''The English Breakfast Murder'']]

[[/folder]]
[[folder:''The Jasmine Moon Murder'']]

[[/folder]]
[[folder:''Chamomile Mourning'']]

[[/folder]]
[[folder:''Blood Orange Brewing'']]

[[/folder]]
[[folder:''Dragonwell Dead'']]
* BookEnds: The book begins with Theodosia trying to find her way out of a hedge maze. The book ends with [[spoiler: Theodosia in that same maze during her flight from the murderer.]]
* InevitableWaterfall: While trying to get away from an unseen shooter, Theodosia and Drayton find themselves going over a waterfall.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:''The Silver Needle Murder'']]

[[/folder]]
[[folder:''Oolong Dead'']]

[[/folder]]
[[folder:''The Teaberry Strangler'']]

[[/folder]]
[[folder:''Scones & Bones'']]

[[/folder]]
[[folder:''Agony of the Leaves'']]

[[/folder]]
[[folder:''Sweet Tea Revenge'']]

[[/folder]]
[[folder:''Steeped in Evil'']]

[[/folder]]
[[folder:''Ming Tea Murder'']]

[[/folder]]
[[folder:''Devonshire Scream'']]

[[/folder]]
[[folder:''Pekoe Most Poison'']]

[[/folder]]
[[folder:''Plum Tea Crazy'']]

[[/folder]]
[[folder:''Broken Bone China'']]

[[/folder]]
[[folder:''Lavender Blue Murder'']]

[[/folder]]
[[folder:''Haunted Hibiscus'']]

[[/folder]]

!!The ''Tea Shop Mysteries'' series contains examples of:

* CluelessMystery: An odd variant; while there are clues and suspects, none of the ones that Theodosia (and by extension the reader) finds/focuses on leads to the real criminal.

* IntroDump: The first seven books suffer from this. ''Death by Darjeeling'' isn't too bad as it's information is spread out between two to three chapters. The next six however try to stuff Theodosia, Drayton, and Haley's basic backstories and job descriptions into the first chapter. Starting with ''Dragonwell Dead'', this trait becomes downplayed and less noticeable.
* LongRunners: Has twenty novels spread out over nineteen years.
* MundaneMadeAwesome: Theodosia and Drayton make it their mission to make the preparation and consumption of tea as interesting for their patrons as possible. Drayton in particular is really good at this.

* SeriousBusiness:
** Tea making and selling is this to Theodosia and Drayton.
** Clothes and fashion is this to Delaine.

** Hughes Barron- the victim in ''Death by Darjeeling''- is killed when the murderer slips poison in his tea.
** In ''Dragonwell Dead'', Mark Congdon suffers what appears to be a heart attack after drinking some iced tea.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: After a brief mention in ''Gunpowder Green'', Brittany Shepard is never seen or referenced again.

In the historic district of Charleston, South Carolina, there is a shop called the Indigo Tea Shop. This shop is owned by one Theodosia Browning, a middle-aged woman who used to work in the hectic business of marketing. Compared to her last job, Theodosia much prefers the calm and steady pace that running a tea shop provides. This tranquility is threatened when Hughes Barron, a famous (some might say infamous) real estate developer is killed during the annual Lamplighter Tour. To make matters worse, Barron seems to have been poisoned via the tea Theodosia's shop happened to be serving that night. With the Indigo Tea Shop and her own reputation on the line, Theodosia must find out the true murderer before her beloved shop suffers.

The ''Tea Shop Mysteries'' is a [[CozyMystery Cozy Mystery]] series written by Laura Childs. The series started in 2001 with ''Death by Darjeeling''; new entries are published at least once per year.

!!The ''Tea Shop Mysteries'' contains examples of:

* MysteryMagnet: Wherever Theodosia goes, murder seems to follow. This gets [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by several characters as the series goes on.

* PoisonIsEvil: The people who use poison in the series are the murderers.

* YourCheatingHeart: [[spoiler: Hughes was having an affair with Samantha. His refusal to divorce his wife is what lead Samantha to kill him]].

* ClearMyName: Theodosia has to clear the name of the Indigo Tea Shop after one of the teas she served during the Lamplighter Tour apparently kills a wealthy businessman.

* TamperingWithFoodAndDrink: Hughes Barron- the victim in ''Death by Darjeeling''- is killed when the murderer slips poison in his tea.

* AccidentalMurder: The groom in ''Shades of Earl Grey''. He was an unfortunate victim of a glass shard when the cat burglar broke into the greenhouse. The cat burglar did not mean to kill the groom, just steal the wedding ring.

[[folorcontrol]]

[[folder:The Series in Chronological Order]]
# Death by Darjeeling (2001)
# Gunpowder Green (2002)
# Shades of Earl Grey (2003)
# The English Breakfast Murder (2003)
# The Jasmine Moon Murder (2004)
# Chamomile Mourning (2005)
# Blood Orange Brewing (2006)
# Dragonwell Dead (2007)
# The Silver Needle Murder (2008)
# Oolong Dead (2009)
# The Teaberry Strangler (2010)
# Scones & Bones (2011)
# Agony of the Leaves(2012)
# Sweet Tea Revenge (2013)
# Steeped in Evil (2014)
# Ming Tea Murder (2015)
# Devonshire Scream (2016)
# Pekoe Most Poison (2017)
# Plum Tea Crazy (2018)
# Broken Bone China (2019)
# Lavender Blue Murder (2020)
# Haunted Hibiscus (2021)
[[/folder]]

* AccidentalMurder: The groom in ''Shades of Earl Grey''. He was an unfortunate victim of a glass shard when the cat burglar broke into the greenhouse. The cat burglar did not mean to kill the groom, just steal the wedding ring.

* TamperingWithFoodAndDrink: Hughes Barron- the victim in ''Death by Darjeeling''- is killed when the murderer slips poison in his tea.

* AccidentalMurder: The groom in ''Shades of Earl Grey'' was an unfortunate victim of a glass shard when a cat burglar broke into the greenhouse. The cat burglar did not mean to kill the groom, just grab the wedding ring that happened to be a family heirloom.
* ClearMyName: Theodosia has to clear the name of the Indigo Tea Shop after one of the teas they served during the Lamplighter Tour apparently kills a wealthy businessman.

* AccidentalMurder: The groom in ''Shades of Earl Grey'' was an unfortunate victim of a glass shard when a cat burglar broke into the greenhouse.
* ClearMyName: Theodosia has to clear the name of the Indigo Tea Shop after one of the teas serves apparently kills a wealthy businessman.
* CozyMystery: A typical example of the genre.

The ''Tea Shop Mysteries'' is a [[CozyMystery Cozy Mystery]] series written by Laura Childs. The series started in 2001 with new entries being published at once per year.

!!The ''Tea Shop mysteries'' contains examples of:

* TamperingWithFoodAndDrink: Hughes Barron- the victim in ''Death by Darjeeling''- is killed when the murderer slips poison in his tea.

[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/death_by_darjeeling.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:200:Would you like some Oolong to go with your detective story?]]