Book Club - 2nd Steep "Death by Darjeeling" by Laura Childs
Oh, I just read the sample on my Kindle this afternoon and was immediately hooked. I was impressed by all the “tea knowledge” in just the first chapter (I learned a few things), and I love the Charleston setting, especially because I’ve walked a few of those streets (and visited the tea plantation). I am already jealous of Theodosia for living the dream of quitting the rat race and opening a tea shop in an historic town.
I like that the author obviously knows tea and/or has done a lot of research – the tea and the Charleston setting seem well thought-out, not just a vague backdrop that seemed handy.
This will obviously be a light read/cozy mystery but I already bought the rest of it and will be reading it on my next longish car trip. :-) I was never much into mysteries but I seem to be choosing them as my Kindle buys.
Now I want to go brew some Jasmine Pearl…
It’s at the library waiting to be picked up…Maybe I’ll have time this weekend to brew up a pot and read! : )
I just bought it on my Kobo last night. Will start it after I finish “Even cat sitters get the blues”
If it is anything like the scrapbooking mysteries by the same author I should have it done in a day or so.
“Even cat sitters get the blues” – that’s an intriguing title! I’ll have to look it up.
I’ll post some questions on Monday…but I don’t want to ask something that gives away anything!
The only question I can think of right now is:
1) The author either has experience running a tea shop or really did her homework. How important is the accuracy of that info to the story/plot?
I think the author does great research. The Scrapbook ones are really well researched as well. Looking forward to getting into this one when my Kobo charges.
I read somewhere that she researched it. I have to say, for someone who wrote it based on research, she did an amazing job! It’s so important for it to be accurate. Frankly, this type of book is mostly going to appeal to people who have some interest in tea. If the author is using incorrect information, it’s going to turn off her target audience, which wouldn’t really benefit her. By having done the research she did, she ensures that people who have some tea knowledge will have the benefit of learning more from an author they can trust. I learned quite a bit from this book, which I did finish already.
Has anyone ever been to a Teddy Bear tea? (I read about that in the book.) I haven’t been to one, but I Googled it and, sure enough, many tea shops do them.
I like knowing that an author has done a lot of research. It makes me trust them more to know that if they’ve put that much effort into the background research, then hopefully that commitment has also carried over into plot, character development, etc. (I know they are different skill sets though, so some authors may be better at one aspect than another.)
Overall the first few chapters of this book were reassuring to me because of the level of research — I don’t read mystery series often, (the last ones I can recall were The Cat Who… books ages ago) so I didn’t know what to expect in terms of the quality of writing. I feel like I can trust this author to do good work that she takes pride in, and not to just “phone it in” (although I know that is always a danger as a series moves on and/or the pressure to publish another overcomes the desire to be through and creative).
Finished the book last night. Like the scrapbooking series it seemed to end rather abruptly. I will wait for others to post before potentially spoiling anything.
I’m almost finished. I should be done tonight! Hoping another storm rolls in. There’s something about reading and drinking tea in a storm that I enjoy, I’m odd I know.
We have been having such crappy, rainy weather that I have loved making a cup of tea and sitting in bed to read the book. I am thinking of buying the rest of the series for my Kobo since we are forecasting more crappy weather this weekend.
Well, I have to say I loved the book. I’ll say more when everyone else has finished. :) I hope they have the others on the Nook.
Login or sign up to leave a comment.