Scones & bones

While Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop, is attending the Heritage Society's Pirates and Plunder show, a cup purportedly made from Blackbeard's skull is stolen, and a museum intern is killed in the robbery. Theo investigates at the request of the director of the society, who is afraid he will lose his job. Research shows that the cup is one of a group of items rumored to offer clues to the location of Blackbeard's buried treasure. Theo, along with her master tea blender, Drayton, identify the murderer but not before two people are kidnapped by the desperate killer. Besides this sleuthing, Theo is settling into a recently purchased cottage, and a possible new boyfriend is on the horizon. Readers will enjoy the Charleston, South Carolina, setting, the particulars on running a tea shop that are woven through the story, the pirate lore, and the recipes at the end of the story. An entertaining cozy, appealing to fans of Joanne Fluke.--O'Brien, Sue Copyright 2010 Booklist

Charleston tourist notes enhance Childs's charming 12th tea-themed cozy featuring Theodosia Browning, proprietor of the city's Indigo Tea Shop (after 2010's The Teaberry Strangler). During the Heritage Society's Pirates and Plunder show, someone steals a diamond-embedded skull cup possibly fashioned from the skull of pirate Edward Teach (aka Blackbeard) right beneath the noses of Theo and Drayton Conneley, Theo's master tea blender. Even worse, the robber fatally stabs college kid Rob Commers, the society's history intern, and assaults Camilla Hodges, the society's office manager. While plucky Theo, her faithful shop employees, and CPD's Det. Burt Tidwell chase a nasty killer, Theo feels romantically torn between her boyfriend, chef Parker Scully, and an attractive newcomer, Max Scofield, a local museum's PR director. As usual, everyone finds time for abundant tea breaks. Tempting recipes include creamy dreamy parfait and lemon chess pie. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.