"Theodosia Browning, former English major and advertising copywriter, now owns The Indigo Tea Shop on Church Street in Charleston, South Carolina. During the annual Lamplighter Tour, when Theodosia and her staff are catering an event at one of the grand old homes of Charleston, developer Hughes Barron dies of poisoning after drinking a cup of tea. Despite being warned off by detective Burt Tidwell, and later an anonymous note threatening to poison her dog Earl Gray, Theodosia follows the scent through various suspects: environmental activist Tanner Joseph, head of the Heritage Society Timothy Neville, Barron's partner Lleverett Dante (who has a criminal record back in Kentucky), and several others.
This meandering 2001 novel, in the style of a British "cozy," features plenty of local Charleston color and history, and is the first in the author's Tea Shop Mystery series."
David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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Review Analysis of Death by Darjeeling
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book descript. of violence and chases - 10% Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40% Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30% How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
Tone of story
- very upbeat
How difficult to spot villain?
- Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 30%
Kind of investigator
- amateur citizen investigator
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- food/cooking
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- small businessman
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How much violence does he/she use?
- a little
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Southeast
City?
Yes
Style
Part of a series?
Yes
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 2
Unusual forms of death
- poisoning
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
