On the night of the Lamplighter Tour, Charleston opens the historic homes of its historic district. Theodosia Browning is serving tea for two hundred or so at the homes garden party. Then an esteemed guest is found dead, his hand clutching an empty teacup. The dead man is Hughes Barron, a real estate developer few people liked, and the tea came from Theo’s shop. The book was published by Berkley Prime Crime in May 2001.
Is It the First Book in the Series?
Yes. It is the first in the Tea Shop series, and the cozy mystery that introduces the whole cast. You meet the shop, its staff, the dog and the city. The publisher still sells it as book 1. It came out as a mass market paperback, with a large print edition in 2002 and an ebook in 2009.
What Happens After the Lamplighter Tour?
A man is poisoned by tea at an event she catered, and suspicion falls on her tea. Trouble is brewing for a tea shop owner whose business depends on her good name. She must prove her innocence. She has to track down the real killer before someone else takes their last sip.
The author’s own blurb names three suspects. Tanner Joseph is a fiery environmentalist who hated what Barron did with land. Timothy Neville, the elderly head of the Heritage Society, fought Barron’s seat on its board. And one of Barron’s business partners may profit from a cleverly written buy-sell agreement. Her amateur sleuthing takes her from the murder scene to old houses and offices. Along the way she learns how bitter the fight between developers and preservationists can get in an old Southern city.
Meet Theodosia Browning and the Indigo Tea Shop
Theo left a career in advertising to run the Indigo Tea Shop on Church Street. She runs it with Drayton Conneley, a tea master and blender with strong opinions, and Haley Parker, a student who does the baking. Her blackberry scones are on the menu that night. Earl Grey, Theo’s Dalmatian and Labrador mix, rounds out the household.
The shop feels like a real business. Drayton blends and tastes, Haley bakes, and Theo deals with customers. That everyday detail is the reason many readers come back.
Our Review: Charleston, Tea and Southern Hospitality
The setting is the star. The author fills the book with gardens, old families and the rules of Southern manners. Every scene comes with a fresh pot, and the tea lore never turns into a lecture.
The mystery is lighter. The suspects are introduced early and the solution is not hard to reach. The Mystery Reader called the book a good beginning, with a good setting and a promising cast of characters. Writing in Charleston Currents years later, a local librarian called it a quick, fun read whose only flaw was that it ended too soon. We agree with both: read it for the place and the people.
How Many Tea Shop Mysteries Are There?
As of October 2026 there are 30 books, and book 31 is announced for March 2027. Each mystery stands alone, but reading in order lets you watch the cast and Theo’s love life change. Here is the full list:
- Death by Darjeeling (2001)
- Gunpowder Green (2002)
- Shades of Earl Grey (2003)
- The English Breakfast Murder (2003)
- The Jasmine Moon Murder (2004)
- Chamomile Mourning (2005)
- Blood Orange Brewing (2006)
- Dragonwell Dead (2007)
- The Silver Needle Murder (2008)
- Oolong Dead (2009)
- The Teaberry Strangler (2010)
- Scones & Bones (2011)
- Agony of the Leaves (2012)
- Sweet Tea Revenge (2013)
- Steeped in Evil (2014)
- Ming Tea Murder (2015)
- Devonshire Scream (2016)
- Pekoe Most Poison (2017)
- Plum Tea Crazy (2018)
- Broken Bone China (2019)
- Lavender Blue Murder (2020)
- Haunted Hibiscus (2021)
- Twisted Tea Christmas (2021)
- A Dark and Stormy Tea (2022)
- Lemon Curd Killer (2023)
- Honey Drop Dead (2023)
- Murder in the Tea Leaves (2024)
- Peach Tea Smash (2024)
- High Tea and Misdemeanors (2025)
- Death at a Firefly Tea (2026)
What Is Laura Childs’ Real Name?
It is the pen name of Gerry Schmitt. Before she wrote mysteries she worked in advertising and ran her own marketing firm in Minneapolis, Mission Critical Marketing. That is why Theo comes from the same world. Under her own name she writes the Afton Tangler thrillers, Little Girl Gone (2016) and Shadow Girl (2017). With her pen name she also writes the Scrapbooking Mysteries, set in New Orleans, and the Cackleberry Club Mysteries, set in a small Midwestern town. This first tea mystery once turned up as a question on Jeopardy!
Laura Childs’ Latest Book
Her newest book is Death at a Firefly Tea, Tea Shop Mystery #30, published in March 2026. Theo hosts an evening tea at a bed and breakfast, and a guest’s dessert turns out to be drugged. Next comes Buttermint Bomb, announced for March 2, 2027, in which a bomb goes off at a Charleston music festival.
Quick Facts
| Title | Death by Darjeeling |
|---|---|
| Author | Laura Childs (Gerry Schmitt) |
| Series | Tea Shop series, book 1 |
| First published | May 2001, Berkley Prime Crime |
| Setting | Charleston, South Carolina |
| Sleuth | Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop |
| Audiobook | No audiobook edition found |
| Animals | Earl Grey, a Dalmatian and Labrador mix |
| Next book | Gunpowder Green (2002) |
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have to read the Tea Shop Mysteries in order?
No. Each case is complete in one book. Starting here is still the best way to meet Theo, Drayton and Haley.
Is there an audiobook?
We found none for this title. The publisher sells it as a paperback and an ebook. Audible lists a different book with the same title by another author.
Is it a clean cozy?
Yes. The death happens off the page, and there is no graphic violence.
What should I read next?
Susan Wittig Albert praised the series, and her China Bayles mysteries share its love of herbs, tea and small businesses. For more food and drink, browse our culinary cozy mysteries.