Agony of the Leaves by Laura Childs

 

Title: Agony of the Leaves

Author: Laura Childs

ISBN: 978-0-425-24553-8

Publisher: Berkley Crime Hardcover

Release Date: March 6, 2012

Format: Hardcover

$25.95

Pages: 320

How I read it: Trade Paperback Arc from Author

Rating:

In the latest novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Scones and Bones, Indigo Tea Shop owner Theodosia Browning finds herself in hot water when a body surfaces at the grand opening of Charleston's Neptune Aquarium...

The opening of the aquarium is a major Charleston event, and Theodosia has been hired to cater tea, scones, and sandwiches for the private party to honor dignitaries and big buck donors. Things are going swimmingly, until Theodosia escapes the party for a momentary rest, only to discover the body of a man entangled in a net, drowned in one of the aquarium's state-of-the-art tanks.

To make matters worse, the victim is Theodosia's former boyfriend Parker Scully. The EMTs on the scene think Parker's drowning was an accident, but when Theodosia notices what look like defense wounds on his hands, she realizes that someone wanted Parker dead. The local police aren't keen on hearing her theory-especially because of her ties to the victim-so Theodosia knows that if she wants Parker's killer brought to justice, she'll have to jump into the deep end and start her own investigation...

(from the back of the arc)

First Thought After Reading the Blurb:

What?! I cannot believe she killed off Parker!! Who kill him?

My Thoughts about the book:

I knew that eventually one of Theodosia’s inner circle would fall victim…I just wasn’t expecting it to be Parker. Once I got over the initial shock, I realized that this book, which is #13 in Laura Child’s Teashop Mysteries, was going to quickly become my favorite book thus far. Of course I loved her last Teashop Mystery, Scones & Bones because of the whole pirate aspect and I thought that it was going to my favorite in the series however, after reading Agony of the Leaves I changed my mind.

Why was this one my favorite? Normally the victims are a bit further removed from Theo, normally they are a friend of a friend or a business owner, but this time it was her ex which makes Theo very close to the case that she will be investigating. Another reason that it was my favorite is because I had no idea who done it. Normally, I can figure out who the killer is and why they did it but this came out of the blue so I was definitely intrigued and could not put the book down until I had read the very last page.

 

Until We Meet Again,

Best Wishes & Happy Reading,

Angela Renee