Rating: 
Summary: Perfectly Awful Book
Review: Only after buying four novels in the series and finding them truly awful did I read the Amazon reader reviews. Note to self: read the reviews first.This book (along with the others) is poorly written, with clumsy plotting and ridden with cliches. Many other reviewers have pointed out its manifold weaknesses. The author has borrowed stock characters from many popular cozies, notably the main character, a single woman who has left the rat race for a girly business. She lets the business dominate the story, telling me much more about tea than I ever wanted to know, while stuffing her thin, gorgeous characters with rich pastries. The best character is the dog.
Rating:
Summary: Perfectly Awful Book
Review: Only after buying four novels in the series and finding them truly awful did I read the Amazon reader reviews. Note to self: read the reviews first. This book (along with the others) is poorly written, with clumsy plotting and ridden with cliches. Many other reviewers have pointed out its manifold weaknesses. The author has borrowed stock characters from many popular cozies, notably the main character, a single woman who has left the rat race for a girly business. She lets the business dominate the story, telling me much more about tea than I ever wanted to know, while stuffing her thin, gorgeous characters with rich pastries. The best character is the dog.
Rating: 
Summary: Death by Darjeeling
Review: The first in a new contemporary series featuring amateur sleuth Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop in Charleston, South Carolina.
Rating:
Summary: A cute cozy
Review: The Indigo TeaShop located in Charleston, South Carolina's historical district is usually a place of serenity, but today chaos reigns. The owner and her small crew prepare a tea party at the famous Lamplighter tour of Historical homes. The event goes smoothly, but when it is time to leave, someone remains sitting in the shadows. One of Theodosia's employees goes to check on the person only to find him dead. An autopsy reveals that the man was poisoned. As the word spreads amidst society, business drops at the teacup. Unwilling to sit back and wait for the storm to pass, Theodosia begins to snoop. This leads to several viable suspects including someone who wants to stop Theodora before she gets to close to the truth. This cute cozy provides a soothing affect on the reader perhaps because there are many bucolic scenes spread throughout the story line. Laura Childs writes such a colorful picture of historical Charleston that the audience will believe they are sipping tea in the area. The well-drawn plot including an intriguing amateur sleuth who-done-it, but the likable cast makes DEATH IN DARJEELING a wonderful reading experience. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly enjoyable! The perfect ¿cozy¿ mystery.
Review: Theodosia Browning is the 36-year-old owner of the Indigo Tea Shop in Charleston, South Carolina. Having abandoned her high profile, high intensity career as an advertiser, Theo now enjoys the joys and challenges of running her own small business in Charleston's historic district. With her dog, Earl Grey, and her little apartment over her tea shop, Theo cherishes her new life in the slow lane. Her serenity is marred, however, when the city's most hated man-a developer with an eye toward tarnishing the purity of the historic district-is found dead after drinking some of Theo's specially blended tea. Theo and her employees are all suspect, and to save her good name, not to mention her business, Theo sets out to solve the mystery of his death. This is a charming book, for mystery lovers and tea drinkers alike. The author takes you inside the world of tea specialists, as well as the small community of business owners that comprise Charleston's historic district. Theo and her friends are comfortably familiar, and the book is a quick, enjoyable read. Most importantly, Childs lets the mystery drive the story. The details of tea making and the atmosphere of Charleston are supplements to the plot, as they should be. The mystery has some weaknesses, but the characters and setting more than compensate. Read this book when you're in the mood for something light and fun.
Rating:
Summary: An Enjoyable Book
Review: Theodosia Browning is the owner of a teashop in Charleston's historic district. When developer Hughes Barron is found poisoned with a cup of her tea in his hand, she's upset. But when a friend becomes the prime suspect, Theo starts to investigate to find the real killer. The late Mr. Barron was not a scrupulous man, so there is no shortage of suspects. Even his partner had motive. But can she find the killer before he comes after her? I really enjoyed this book, however, it's obviously a first novel. The writing style is a little wooden in spots, and the first chapter bogs down a little giving backgrounds of the series characters. On the other hand, I was drawn in by the characters and really came to care for them. The plot wasn't quite developed as well as it could have been, but it progressed well, was logical, and there were plenty of good red herrings to keep me guessing. The setting was intriguing; I'd love to visit the area after reading this book. And the tea aspect was just right. I'm not a tea person, but the information was interesting enough without overshadowing the mystery. Overall, the flaws were minor, and I really did enjoy this book. The author shows a lot of promise, and I look forward to watching her talent develop as the series progresses.
Rating: 
Summary: A pleasant new cozy series!
Review: Theodosia Browning, owner of the charming little Indigo Tea Shop in Charleston, SC is enjoying the resurgence and newly-found popularity of the world of tea...Needless to say, there has to be a murder to muck up things for Theodosia and friends in the quaint Antebellum city...
When a guest on Charleston's famous Lamplighter tour is suddenly found dead clutching one of the Indigo Tea Shop's teacups, all eyes turn suspiciously to Theo and her cast of employees and friends at the small shop.
Theo gets more than she bargained for when she tries to find the identity of the killer, and as she gets closer, the threats start rolling in, endangering herself and her nearest and dearest. 'Death by Darjeeling' is the first in a (hopefully) series of mysteries, and I must say, it was a pleasant surprise!
Though you've probably all heard this sort of cozy plot before in numerous other settings, this one happens to be a real find!
The wonderful history of Charleston comes alive through Ms. Childs endearing narration and you definitely get a sense that the author loves and cherishes her city very much and is quite proud of it's interesting past.
Not to mention all the added information about tea, types of tea, tea growing, etc. Alright, this might not peak everyone's interest, but if you're at least a tea-drinker with a penchant for a nice, Southern mystery with some fun characters and laughs thrown in, it's definitely worth a shot! Let's hope Ms. Childs has installment #2 on the way!
Rating:
Summary: Childs brews up a charming cuppa!
Review: Theodosia Browning, proprietress of the Indigo Tea Shop of Charleston, goes a sleuthing when one of her staff is implicated in the death of sleazy real estate developer, Hughes Barron, at a society function catered by Theodosia. She feels impelled to clear her friend and save her own reputation and business. Delightful characters with wonderful names abound. The ambiance of Charleston is wonderfully captured. A charming summer read that can be enjoyed by the young and old alike without insulting anyone's sensibilities. I found myself wanting to grab a scone and cuppa. The tea lore and recipe were a intriguing addition. Looking forward to the next book in the series. Highly recommend to ladies of the RED HAT SOCIETY.
Rating: 
Summary: A lovely disappointment
Review: This book is beautifully written, the prose elegant and descriptive, the characters charming and warm, the setting descriptively penned. As a tea fancier myself, I quite enjoyed the Indigo Tea Shop and its staff and neighbors and enjoyed meeting them and their historic district of Charleston. Unfortunately, the murder mystery part is much less satisfying. We follow our sleuth from one red herring to the next only to be broadsided by "it was (...)" after all. This book is billed as "First in a New Series", I hope Ms. Childs polishes the sleuthing to match the excellent prose.
Rating:
Summary: A worse disappointment than decaf!
Review: This book just BLITHERS on and on. The author clearly knows far less about tea and the world of tea shops than she thinks she does - most of the brewing commentary would render you something more fit for the compost bin than the tea table - and the financial situations she creates for the tea related characters are overwhelmingly implausible. I found the book just about impossible to finish because there is nothing about the characters that makes them either plausible or interesting. The "plot" is also rather dismal.
In summary: if you want a good book tea, read one of the fabulous FACTUAL histories of the brew. If you want a good mystery, try Allingham, Christie, Churchill or Dahiem.
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