ABOUT THE BOOK
Theodosia Browning serves
tea and solves crimes in Charleston, a city steeped in tradition and
treachery in the latest Tea Shop Mystery from New York Times bestselling
author Laura Childs.
It is Sunday afternoon, and Theodosia and Drayton are catering a formal tea at a hot-air balloon rally. The view aloft is not only stunning, they are also surrounded by a dozen other colorful hot-air balloons. But as the sky turns gray and the clouds start to boil up, a strange object zooms out of nowhere. It is a drone, and it appears to be buzzing around the balloons, checking them out.
As Theodosia and Drayton watch, the drone, hovering like some angry, mechanized insect, deliberately crashes into the balloon next to them. An enormous, fiery explosion erupts, and everyone watches in horror as the balloon plummets to the earth, killing all three of its passengers.
Sirens scream, first responders arrive, and Theodosia is interviewed by the police. During the interview she learns that one of the downed occupants was Don Kingsley, the CEO of a local software company, SyncSoft. Not only do the police suspect Kingsley as the primary target, they learn that he possessed a rare Revolutionary War Union Jack flag that several people were rabidly bidding on.
Intrigued, Theodosia begins her own investigation. Was it the CEO’s soon-to-be ex-wife, who is restoring an enormous mansion at no expense? The CEO’s personal assistant, who also functioned as curator of his prized collection of Americana? Two rival antiques’ dealers known for dirty dealing? Or was the killer the fiancée of one of Theodosia’s dear friends, who turns out to be an employee—and whistle-blower—at SyncSoft?
It is Sunday afternoon, and Theodosia and Drayton are catering a formal tea at a hot-air balloon rally. The view aloft is not only stunning, they are also surrounded by a dozen other colorful hot-air balloons. But as the sky turns gray and the clouds start to boil up, a strange object zooms out of nowhere. It is a drone, and it appears to be buzzing around the balloons, checking them out.
As Theodosia and Drayton watch, the drone, hovering like some angry, mechanized insect, deliberately crashes into the balloon next to them. An enormous, fiery explosion erupts, and everyone watches in horror as the balloon plummets to the earth, killing all three of its passengers.
Sirens scream, first responders arrive, and Theodosia is interviewed by the police. During the interview she learns that one of the downed occupants was Don Kingsley, the CEO of a local software company, SyncSoft. Not only do the police suspect Kingsley as the primary target, they learn that he possessed a rare Revolutionary War Union Jack flag that several people were rabidly bidding on.
Intrigued, Theodosia begins her own investigation. Was it the CEO’s soon-to-be ex-wife, who is restoring an enormous mansion at no expense? The CEO’s personal assistant, who also functioned as curator of his prized collection of Americana? Two rival antiques’ dealers known for dirty dealing? Or was the killer the fiancée of one of Theodosia’s dear friends, who turns out to be an employee—and whistle-blower—at SyncSoft?
Book Details:
Title: Broken Bone China
Author: Laura Childs
Genre: Cozy mystery
Series: A Tea Shop Mystery
Publisher: Berkley (March 5, 2019)
Print length: 336 pages
On tour with: Great Escapes Book Tours
LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH LAURA CHILDS
Things you need in order to write: Diet Coke, a bit of chocolate, and lots of quiet.
Things that hamper your writing: E-mails and phone calls.
Favorite music: Beach Boys, Rolling Stones. I saw both groups in concert this past year. Have tickets, will travel!
Music that makes your ears bleed: Polka music. Really guys, just really.
Favorite beverage: Good French red wine.
Something that gives you a pickle face: Cheap white wine.
Something you’re really good at: Marketing. I have a knack for knowing exactly how to promote a product.
Something you’re really bad at: Anything mechanical. Even a mousetrap baffles me.
Last best thing you ate: Truffle pizza.
Last thing you regret eating: 99 cent taco. But not because it didn’t taste good.
Things you always put in your books: Dogs.
Things you never put in your books: S – E – X. My cozy mysteries are G-rated, good for girls to grandmas.
Things to say to an author: Hi, will you sign my book?
Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in the next book: Hi, when is your book coming out in paperback?
Favorite places you’ve been: Paris, London, Hong Kong, Bali.
Places you never want to go again: Beijing (because of the dangerous air quality!).
Favorite genre: Mysteries, thrillers, history, art history – basically all books.
Books you would ban: None. I don’t believe in banning books.
Things that make you happy: Hearing from all my readers. They are my biggest inspiration to keep coming up with inventive and crazy new plots.
Things that drive you crazy: People who think I really don’t have to work at this.
Most embarrassing moment: Not getting picked for softball in 5th grade.
Proudest moment: Making the New York Times bestseller list – then doing it again and again.
Biggest lie you ever told: My agency partner and I were pitching an agricultural account and he told them my dad was a turkey farmer. I didn’t deny it. (Yes, we got the account)
A lie you wish you’d told: I wish I’d pitched Lorne Michaels of Saturday Night Live on my credibility as a comedy writer. (This was when I wrote some United Way public service spots that his cast recorded.)
Best thing you’ve ever done: Financed a dog training school for a good friend. (It’s still going gangbusters after 19 years!)
Biggest mistake: Should have bought more real estate.
Most daring thing you’ve ever done: I started my own advertising agency when I was 29. All these older art directors and account guys warned me not to – they said it was too risky. At the end of my first year, I was earning twice what they were.
Something you chickened out from doing: Parachuting with my Uncle Bob to celebrate his 90th birthday.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Laura Childs is the New York Times, USA Today, and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbooking Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. Recently, Book Riot named her mysteries to their list of “25 of the All Time Best Cozy Mystery Series.” In her previous life Laura was CEO of her own marketing firm, authored several screenplays, and produced a reality TV show. She is married to Dr. Bob, a professor of Chinese art history, enjoys travel, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.
Connect with Laura:
Website | Facebook
Buy the book:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble
