Showing results for "Child" in Amateur Sleuth

From the bestselling author of the wildly inventive Strange Pictures and a phenomenon in Japan—unnatural layouts, trap doors, windowless rooms— a sinister conspiracy is concealed within a house’s warped and unsettling floor plans When a writer fascinated by the macabre is approached by an...

Tea shop entrepreneur Theodosia Browning has been tapped to host a fancy Limón Tea in a genuine lemon orchard as a rousing kickoff to Charleston Fashion Week. But as fairy lights twinkle and the scent of lemon wafts among the tea tables, the deadly murder of a fashion designer puts the squeeze on things. As the lemon curd begins to sour, the murdered woman’s daughter begs Theodosia to help find the killer.

When Nathaniel Pickering, Lady Margaret's older brother is found murdered, Thomas takes her away to London, in search of gyrfalcons. Thomas's astute mind is unable to ignore the clues, and in uncovering some dark secrets, he places himself - and his mistress - in grave danger. Now a target himself, Thomas must face some of London's most notorious criminals, in a battle of both brain and brawn.

Mandy Miller disappeared from Hallow’s End when she was just 3 years old. She was never found. ‘The Lost Child is complex, mysterious and highly compelling reading.’ – Reviewed the Book Thirty years on, Elaine Ellis is carrying her mother’s ashes back to Hallow’s End to scatter them...

When Indigo Tea Shop owner Theodosia Browning is invited by Doreen Briggs, one of Charleston's most prominent hostesses, to a "Rat Tea", she is understandably intrigued. As servers dressed in rodent costumes and wearing white gloves offer elegant finger sandwiches and fine teas, Theo learns these parties date back to early 20th-century Charleston. But this party goes from odd to chaotic when a fire starts at one of the tables and Doreen's entrepreneur husband suddenly drops dead.

Suzanne Dietz, co-owner of the Cackleberry Club Café, is visiting her fiancé, Dr. Sam Hazelet, when a masked gunman bursts into the emergency room. He shoots two people and would probably have done more damage had Suzanne not brained him with a thermos full of chili. Still, the gunman manages to escape. Now the ladies of the Cackleberry Club are determined to find the killer before he finds them.

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.

A snowmobile crash leads Suzanne to find the town's most hated banker beheaded behind the Cackleberry Club Cafè, and now it's up to her to sift through the suspects.

Some say that casting crusty attorney Allen Sharpe as Scrooge in the Kindred Players production of A Christmas Carol is just playing to type. He's not the most beloved man in town. In fact, you'd have a dickens of a time finding someone who liked him. Still, it's a shock when the Ghost of Christmas Past stabs him during the first rehearsal. Suzanne, the co-owner of the Cackleberry Club Cafe (Kindred's favorite combination diner, craft store, and bookshop), chases the murderer out of the building but loses him in the alley. As the days pass, the list of suspects grows longer.

It is Sunday afternoon, and Theodosia and Drayton are catering a formal tea at a hot-air-balloon rally. But as the sky turns gray and the clouds start to boil up, a strange object zooms out of nowhere. It is a drone, and it appears to be buzzing around the balloons, checking them out. As Theodosia and Drayton watch, the drone, hovering like some angry, mechanized insect, deliberately crashes into the balloon next to them. An enormous, fiery explosion erupts, and everyone watches in horror as the balloon plummets to the earth, killing all three of its passengers.

Laura Childs' New York Times best-selling Tea Shop and Scrapbooking mysteries have earned her a devoted readership. Set amidst the hustle and bustle of Mardi Gras, this much-anticipated 10th novel in the series follows scrapbooking maven Carmela Bertrand as she investigates the grisly death of TV reporter Kimber Breeze. It's not long before Carmela starts receiving spooky postcards - signed by Kimber herself - and realizes the case entails much more than she bargained for.

Carmela Bertrand knows that Halloween in New Orleans means a week of rabble-rousing, costumed craziness - and she can't wait to get the party started. But when a local antiques dealer turns up dead, Carmela suddenly finds herself in a real-life danse macabre.

Louisiana businessman Jerry Earl Leland served only a fraction of his five-year sentence for white-collar crime, thanks to some political connections and a few greased palms. But he won't have long to enjoy his freedom... After Jerry Earl's early release, his wife, Margo - a much-married Garden District doyenne - throws an extravagant Get Out of Jail Free Party, complete with a Zydeco band, champagne ice luge, and waiters in ties and tails. The guest list includes many prominent New Orleans socialites, as well as scrapbook shop owner Carmela Bertrand and her best friend, Ava Gruiex.

New York Times best-selling author Laura Childs’ cozy Scrapbooking mysteries continue to win fans with each compelling entry. In Skeleton Letters, New Orleans scrapbook shop owner Carmela Bertrand and her friend Ava witness a heinous crime at St. Tristan’s Church that leaves a dear friend dead and an antique crucifix missing. Together, Carmela and Ava search the French Quarter for the crucifix in hopes of finding the killer.

New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Laura Childs’ Tea Shop mysteries deliver delicious tales steeped in intrigue. In this 13th series entry, Theodosia Browning is happily catering the opening of Charleston’s Neptune Museum when she discovers the drowned body of ex-boyfriend Parker Scully. The police don’t buy her theory that Parker was murdered, forcing Theodosia to undertake her own investigation to discover the truth.

While viewing the harbor's Gaslights and Galleons Parade from the widow's walk of Timothy Neville's Charleston mansion, local banker Carson Lanier seemingly tumbles over a narrow railing, then plunges three stories to his death. But a tragic accident becomes something much more sinister when it's discovered that the victim was first shot with a bolt from a crossbow.

Catering a high-class trunk show at Heart's Desire Jewelry is a shining achievement for Theodosia and the Indigo Tea Shop. After all, a slew of jewelers, museums, and private collectors will be there to showcase their wares and sip some of Theo's best blends. But just as Theo settles in to enjoy the fruits of her labor, the party is crashed by a gang of masked muggers who steal the precious gems and jewels on display.

Theodosia Browning has never considered herself a wine connoisseur - tea has always been her forte. But that doesn’t mean she’s going to pass up an invitation to a fancy wine-tasting party at the upscale Knighthall Winery, just outside of Charleston, South Carolina. But a sweet evening takes on a bitter aftertaste when a dead body is discovered in one of the wine barrels. The son of proprietor Jordan Knight has been murdered.

Theodosia Browning’s dear friend, Delaine Dish, has asked her to be a bridesmaid for her wedding. But when the big day arrives, everything seems to be going wrong. First, a massive storm is brewing over Charleston. A bad omen? Second, Delaine’s maid of honor is late for the ceremony. And finally, the groom not only has cold feet—his whole body is cold. A murderer has crashed the wedding.

It is the week before Halloween and Theodosia Browning, proprietor of the Indigo Tea Shop, and her tea sommelier, Drayton, are ghosting through the dusk of a cool Charleston evening on their way to the old Bouchard Mansion. An author's body is suddenly tossed from a third-floor tower room and left to dangle at the end of a rope. Police come screaming in and tea maven Theodosia's boyfriend, Detective Pete Riley, is sent to the victim's apartment to investigate. But minutes later, he is shot and wounded by a shadowy intruder.