Review
For fans of: Carolyn Hart
The staff at the Indigo Tea Shop has landed yet another peach catering gig; by providing some of the food served at the grand opening of the Neptune Aquarium in Charleston, South Carolina, they’re raising their profile and getting their delicious teas, scones, and tea sandwiches into the hands (and mouths) of some of the town’s biggest movers and shakers. Owner Theodosia Browning isn’t able to bask in the glow of their success for too long however; while admiring the aquarium’s fabulous Ocean Wall exhibit, she discovers the corpse of her ex-boyfriend Parker, tangled in a net and floating in the tank.
The police initially rule the death an accident, suggesting that perhaps Parker fell into the tank while taking a self-conducted tour, but Theodosia isn’t buying it; Parker was always a strong swimmer, and the cuts on her ex’s hands look suspiciously like defensive wounds. That begs the question, though: who killed Parker, and why? If the police aren’t going to do anything to bring her old beau’s killer to justice, Theodosia’s just going to have to launch an investigation of her own. But can she solve the mystery, or will she wind up in a watery grave of her own?
“Come along inside…we’ll see if tea and buns can make the world a better place.” This line, taken from Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows and quoted early on in Laura Childs’ Agony of the Leaves, may as well be the thesis statement for this, the thirteenth Tea Shop Mystery. While the book is at least nominally a murder mystery, readers expecting an action-packed, head-scratching whodunit will find less to like here than those looking for a gentle, cozy read that’ll help them to escape the world for a few hours. The book does start with a bang, throwing you straight into the center of the action, and then raises the stakes by not only having Theodosia find the body, but by having said body be her ex-boyfriend Parker. But after the initial burst of action and drama is over, Agony of the Leaves settles down into a more deliberate pace, not unlike the Southern lifestyle it portrays. The mystery portion of the tale is somehow simultaneously a tad convoluted and a tad slight for my taste, and while Childs does introduce some nice red herrings, she doesn’t deploy nearly enough clues to give the reader a fair shake at identifying the killer (who comes out of left field in the final pages of the book). And, as is the way with most of Childs’ novels, the prose is occasionally precious and overwrought, as are the characters.
That’s not to say that Childs’ latest isn’t an enjoyable read, however; quite the contrary. The sense of atmosphere in
Agony of the Leaves is so strong it feels more like you’re taking a vacation than reading a book. Childs writes Charleston with such genuine warmth and affection that it’s hard not to fall in love with the place, and you find yourself yearning to wander the sunny cobblestone streets, gazing at the stately mansions and taking in the salty freshness of the sea breeze. And while Childs is a master at writing place, the image she paints of Charleston pales in comparison to her descriptions of the food served at the Indigo Tea Shop. From the peach-pecan quick bread to the apple scones to the brie and fig tea sandwiches to the sweet potato butter, the way Childs writes food will quite literally make your mouth water. (And yes: recipes are included at the end of the book.)
Reviewed by Kat