Tea Time...

Agony of The Leaves
Laura Childs

Genre: cozy
Series: A Tea Shop Mystery #13
Pages: 301 (including tips, recipes, and preview)
Rating: ***1/2

Agony of The Leaves, finds Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop in another murder mystery.  This time it's her ex-boyfriend Parker Scully who is found murdered. 

I walked into the library this week and came across the newest installment of the Tea Shop Mystery series.  I love this series. I have read a handful of these books, I did not know there were 13 books!  I've made my list of the books I haven't read. I love the characters, the setting, and I love tea.  I have been drinking hot tea since I was 5 years old.  Interesting story there, but I will save it for another time. On with the book. 

Upfront I must say I was ticked off when she killed off Parker, I liked him.  At the same time, writer's have to kill off popular characters or it gets boring.  There was a stretch in the middle where the plot slowed.  I still enjoyed the story and reading about the characters, but it was a little slow.  I also didn't like how the killer came way out of left field.  I understand how the clues could point to this person, but they never made to my suspect list.

It was a good read and the last 150 pages or so are really good, but it's not as good as the other books in the series.

-Caren

That didn't last long....

Well, that job didn't last long!  No, I wasn't fired.  Let's just say...it wasn't the right place for me and leave it at that!  On with the review.

Fiber & Brimstone
Laura Childs

genre: cozy
series: Scrapbook Mystery
pages: 322, with recipes
favorite quote: "Why is there always a crazy person loose in the French Quarter?"  (seriously!)
rating: ***

OK... I bought this book because I thought it took place during Mardi Gras and I was going to read it during Mardi Gras.  It's not, it takes place at Halloween!  But it is set in New Orleans!  This is the first Scrapbook Mystery I have read, I have read most of the Tea Shop Mysteries, same writer.

Basically, Fiber & Brimstone follows Carmela as she tries to solve the murder of Brett Fowler.  Carmela owns a scrapbook shop.  Her best friend, and sidekick, Ava owns a voodoo shop in the French Quarter.  The two meet interesting characters and explain New Orleans lifestyle and history as they try to solve the murder before they become the next victim.

I liked Fiber & Brimstone, not as much as the Tea Shop Mysteries.  Mainly, I liked it because it is full of interesting characters, including the city of New Orleans.  Trust me it is a character in the book, and in real life.  I live near New Orleans and have been there many times, so reading about the places I have been is a lot of fun.  New Orleans is crazy year round, and it's insane during Mardi Gras, now Halloween is not far behind!  Back to the book.  The story is faced paced and well written.  The plot is good, especially since we have recently had ponzi schemes in the news. 

If you want a fun read centered in a crazy city, give it a read.  My only real problem was the typos.  There were quite a few in the edition I read and it got annoying.

Happy reading
Caren