Theodosia Browning investigates a Charleston steeped in tradition and treachery in the latest Tea Shop Mystery from New York Times bestselling author Laura Childs, now in paperback. 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. At the request of the mansion owner, Theodosia investigates the tragedy and is soon neck-deep in suspects. An almost ex-wife, a coworker, a real estate partner--all had motives for killing the luckless banker, but one resorted to murder to settle accounts. INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS! Praise for Plum Tea Crazy “Familiar, well-drawn characters, the lovingly described Charleston setting, details about tea and running a tea shop, and a final plot twist make this cozy a nice addition to the long-running series. Certain to appeal to readers who enjoy southern settings, tea, and strong women protagonists.” — Booklist "Childs serves dedicated cup-of-tea-and-a-cozy readers exactly what they long for."— Publishers Weekly Praise for the New York Times bestselling Tea Shop mysteries "Murder suits [Laura Childs] to a Tea."-- St. Paul (MN) Pioneer Press "Tea lovers, mystery lovers, [this] is for you. Just the right blend of cozy fun and clever plotting."--Susan Wittig Albert, New York Times bestselling author "A love letter to Charleston, tea, and fine living."-- Kirkus Reviews Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, the Scrapbooking Mysteries, and the Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life, she was CEO of her own marketing firm, authored several screenplays, and produced a reality TV show. 1 Tall sailing ships, their masts and sails outlined with glowing white lights, ghosted across Charleston Harbor in a glittering parade. Canvas snapped, wooden hulls creaked and rocked, and an enormous crowd of onlookers, completely galvanized by this amazing spectacle, let loose shrieks of joy. "This is fantastic," Theodosia Browning said as she lifted a hand to her face to block out a sliver of ambient light. "I've never seen anything like it." "Magnificent," Drayton Conneley declared. "There hasn't been this much razzle-dazzle since the Union shelled Fort Sumter back in 1861." It was the night of the Gaslights and Galleons Parade. Two dozen tall ships had sailed here from all points of the globe—Britain, France, South America, even Singapore—to dazzle the thousands of people who had gathered in White Point Garden on the shell-strewn banks of Charleston's famed Battery. Of course, Theodosia and Drayton, as invited guests of Timothy Neville, were thrilled with their perch high up on the third floor widow's walk that graced their friend's Archdale Street mansion. "Wouldn't you love to be sailing on one of those ships right now?" Theodosia asked Drayton in a dreamy voice. Running the Indigo Tea Shop was her number one passion, but sailing wasn't far behind. She was in heaven when she was out on the water, the wind snapping her riot of auburn hair into long streamers and the salt air making her blue eyes sparkle and lending her fair complexion a soft glow as if lit by a saint's candle. But Drayton looked absolutely horrified as he answered. "Me? On a sailing ship? Absolutely not. Don't you know by now that I'm a confirmed landlubber?" "What if you were magically transported to a clipper ship?" Theodosia favored him with a wry grin. "One of the early ships tasked with transporting bales of wonderful black tea from China to England?" "Say, now," Drayton said, taking a step back from the railing. "That's not quite playing fair. You're appealing to my weakness for tea and history." Drayton was sixty-something, the portrait of a proper Southern gentleman with his tweeds, bow ties, grayed hair, and regal bearing. He was also the best tea sommelier Theodosia had ever encountered. Drayton was so well schooled in the art of tea and tea blending that she considered herself fortunate to have wooed him away from his teaching post at Johnson & Wales culinary school to work side-by-side with her at the Indigo Tea Shop. They'd been together for a half dozen years now, always refining their tea menu, upgrading the décor of the charming Church Street tea shop, and catering countless tea parties. Tonight was one of those parties. Well, sort of. A recent spate of warm spring weather had caused native plum trees to explode in a riot of purple glory all over the Historic District. In a nod to this auspicious occasion, Theodosia had brought along a wicker hamper heaped with plum and black currant scones. Drayton's contribution was a special plum-flavored Ceylonese black tea that he'd custom blended