I am so excited to have Laura Childs here at Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews with a Spotlight, Guest Post and Giveaway.
Thanks Laura and Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours for allowing me to join your Lavender Blue Murder Blog Tour!
Please take it away, Laura!
Guest Post
Laura Childs, New York Times bestselling author of Lavender Blue Murder, wants to know – Did I scare you?
For me, there’s nothing more satisfying than cozying up in an armchair and cracking open a book that’s spooky, scary, and raises the tiny hairs on the back of my neck.
Yes, I’ll admit that I love thrillers, suspense, dystopian novels, and vampire tales. Ever since my very first Nancy Drew Mystery – The Moss Covered Mansion, I think it was – I’ve been addicted to that blip of adrenaline that courses through my veins whenever a shadow creeps into the room, there’s a strange clunk in the attic, or the plot shifts. You know what I’m talking about – when a story suddenly lurches from bad to worse, when the threat level rises, or some sort of specter, human or otherwise, makes an appearance.
And that, of course, is why I love to write mysteries as well. For one thing, I have a long history of dabbling in the mysterious. I was the kid who slipped into the cemetery Halloween night on a dare and told hair-raising ghost stories around the campfire. In college I snuck a Ouija board into the dorm and scared the pants off everybody with my otherworldly predictions.
It only stands to reason that Charleston, South Carolina is the setting for my new book Lavender Blue Murder. Charleston is an old city loaded with historic mansions, haunted graveyards, legends about boo-hags and haunts, and long-time residents with plenty of skeletons in the attic.
Edgar Allan Poe stalked Charleston’s windswept beaches and penned his poem Annabel Lee there, and it’s said that ghosts of pirates who were strung up on its shores still walk the 250-year old back alleys. The nearby swamps and bogs are iridescent with swamp gas.
Everything aligns perfectly, you see, for a rip-roaring mystery. And here to tease you is a quick synopsis of my new book Lavender Blue Murder:
On a Sunday afternoon in autumn, tea maven Theodosia Browning and her tea sommelier Drayton Conneley are guests at Reginald Doyle’s Creekmore Plantation. Because Doyle and his wife Meredith are rabid anglophiles, they’re treating their dozen or so guests to a bird hunt styled in the precise manner of an English shooting party.
But as gunshots explode like Black Cat firecrackers, another shot sounds too close for comfort. It’s a sharp pop, like the distinctive sound of a handgun. Worried now, Theodosia wanders into the neighbor’s lavender field where she discovers Reginald Doyle bleeding to death. Help is summoned, first responders arrive, but it’s too late for Reginald.
Doyle’s wife Meredith is beside herself with grief and begs Theodosia and Drayton to stay the night. But Theodosia awakens at 2:00A.M. to find smoke in her room and the plantation house on fire. As the fire department screams in and the investigating sheriff returns, Theodosia wonders who wanted Reginald dead and out of the way, and maybe even torched the house to destroy evidence? Could it be the surly caretaker Jack Grimes, Reginald’s business partner Guy Thorne, neighboring land owner Carl Clewis, the so-called “lavender lady” Susan Monday, or even Reginald’s son Alex or his wife Meredith? And why has a mysterious body just been pulled out of Charleston Harbor?
Lavender Blue Murder offers drama, outrageous humor, and chills. And because Charleston is a top go-to spot, I think you’ll also enjoy my descriptions of food and landmarks.
Happy hauntings,
Laura Childs
Find me at wwwlaurachilds.com or on Facebook at Laura Childs Author
Laura Childs Bio
Laura Childs is the author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbooking Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. All have been on the New York Times, USA Today, and Publisher’s Weekly bestseller lists. Recently, Book Riot named her mysteries to their list of “25 of the All Time Best Cozy Mystery Series.” In her previous life Laura was CEO of her own marketing firm, authored several screenplays, and produced a reality TV show. She is married to Dr. Bob, a professor of Chinese art history, and has a new Chinese Shar-Pei puppy named Lotus.
Lavender Blue Murder (A Tea Shop Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
21th in Series
Publisher: Berkley (March 3, 2020)
Hardcover: 336 pages
ISBN-10: 0451489667
ISBN-13: 978-0451489661
Digital ASIN: B07SSQ1X4R
Tea-Maven Theodosia Browning brews up trouble in the latest Tea Shop Mystery from New York Times bestselling author Laura Childs.
Tea maven Theodosia Browning and her tea sommelier Drayton Conneley are guests at a bird hunt styled in the precise manner of an English shooting party. Which means elevenses (sloe gin fizzes), gun loaders, the drawing of pegs, fine looking bird dogs, and shooting costumes of tweed, herringbone, and suede.
But as gunshots explode like a riff of Black Cat firecrackers, another shot sounds too close for comfort to Theodosia and Drayton. Intrigued but worried, Theodosia wanders into the neighbor’s lavender field where she discovers their host, Reginald Doyle, bleeding to death.
His wife, Meredith, is beside herself with grief and begs Theodosia and Drayton to stay the night. But Theodosia awakens at 2:00A.M. to find smoke in her room and the house on fire. As the fire department screams in and the investigating sheriff returns, Meredith again pleads with Theodosia for help.
As Theodosia investigates, fingers are pointed, secrets are uncovered, Reginald’s daughter-in-law goes missing presumed drowned, and Meredith is determined to find answers via a séance. All the while Theodosia worries if she’s made a mistake in inviting a prime suspect to her upscale Lavender Lady Tea.
INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS!
About Laura Childs
Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the
Tea Shop Mysteries,
Scrapbook Mysteries, and
Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fundraising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.
Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:
The Tea Shop Mysteries – set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.
The Scrapbooking Mysteries – a slightly edgier series that take place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!
The Cackleberry Club Mysteries – set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.
Laura’s Links
Website – http://www.laurachilds.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/laura.childs.31
Purchase Links
Amazon B and N Kobo Google Play IndieBound
Giveaway
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/028877921021
Please follow the rest of the tour here, thanks:
https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/great-escapes-virtual-book-tours/books-currently-on-tour/lavender-blue-murder-a-tea-shop-mystery-by-laura-childs
