Murder in the Tea Leaves

Informationen zum Autor Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, New Orleans Scrapbooking Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO of her own marketing firm, authored several screenplays, and produced a reality TV show. Klappentext "A movie director's death on set at a haunted manor launches Theodosia Browning into an electrifying investigation in this latest installment of the New York Times bestselling series. Theodosia and Drayton were expecting a mellow break from the bustle at the Indigo Tea Shop while catering a film, until the director ropes Theodosia into a role as a fortune teller. At the haunted Brittleback Manor, Theodosia's character will read tea leaves and give a bitter prediction. But when it's time for her close-up, the lights flash and the movie director spasms on the floor until he is dead. Amid the conflicts on set and the spooky legend of Brittleback Manor, where the film is set, Theodosia must investigate all the suspects-living or dead-to find the culprit"-- Leseprobe 1 "Quiet on the set! Quiet on the set!" As if someone had suddenly spun a dial and cut the volume, there was complete and utter silence in the darkened living room of the dilapidated Brittlebank Manor. "Roll film, and . . . action!" shouted Josh Morro, the film's director. Theodosia Browning watched, fascinated, as actors recited lines, cameras dollied in for close-ups, and producers, assistant directors, storyboard artists, set dressers, grips, writers, gaffers, production assistants, makeup artists, and costumers all stood by, ready to jump at the director's every command. It was the first day of filming for Dark Fortunes, a Peregrine Pictures feature film. And the first time tea shop owner Theodosia had ever seen a full-fledged movie in the making. Of course, she wasn't actually in the movie. But this week was still extra special for Theodosia and Drayton Conneley, her dapper, sixty-something tea sommelier. They'd been tapped to handle the craft services table, an all-day munch fest for the cast and crew. It was proving to be a fun break from their normal roles as hosts at the Indigo Tea Shop on Charleston's famed Church Street, where they spent their days juggling morning cream tea, lunch, tea parties, afternoon tea, special events, and catering. Catering. Yes, that's exactly why Theodosia and Drayton had loaded their craft services table with a bounty of tea sandwiches, lemon scones, brownie bites, banana muffins, cranberry tea bread, and handmade chocolate fudge. And of course tea, which was Drayton's specialty. "This is exciting, yes?" Theodosia whispered to Drayton. The director had called a sudden halt to filming and now the crew milled about the darkened set like shadows flitting through a graveyard. "Exciting but strange," Drayton said, touching a hand to his bow tie. "I had no idea so much work went into filming a single scene." He peered through the darkness to where the director was whispering to a cameraman. "And that director seems to be in a constant uproar." Josh Morro, the director, was most certainly agitated. "Gimme some light, will you?" he barked. And lights immediately came up revealing the shabby interior of a small, old-fashioned sitting room. "And we need something more dynamic here. A line or action that propels us into the heart of the storyline." Morro turned to Craig Cole, the scriptwriter, and raised his eyebrows in a questioning look. "It's already in the script, babe," Cole shouted back at him. Cole was Hollywood hyper, rail-thin with a pinched face and shock of bright red Woody Woodpecker hair. "No, it's not. The script is dreck," Morro cried as he leaped from his chair, knocking it over backward in the process. He was tall and angular, dressed in jeans and a faded Def Leppard T-shirt. Good-looking, handsome even,...

Product details

• Authors: Laura Childs
• Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 05.03.2024
• EAN: 9780593200988
• ISBN: 978-0-593-20098-8
• No. of pages: 304
• Dimensions: 137 mm x 212 mm x 27 mm
• Series: A Tea Shop Mystery
• Subject: Fiction > Suspense