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Charleston is inaugurating a new film award as part of the equally new Charlestown Film Festival. Many film notables are there, and at first Theodosia expects to be just the caterer, providing the special teas and cookies that have made the Indigo Tea Shop famous. But then the main celebrity, a notorious film director, is shot to death, his murder silhouetted 20 feet high on the silver screen. Two of the judges quit and Theodosia is asked to step into their place, to do the other thing she is famous for – quietly investigating homicides. She is the closest thing to an eyewitness, the murderer having brushed by her in the dark during the escape. And they're off, mixing film gossip and cooking hints in equal measures. It's no surprise that there's plenty of mayhem hiding below the southern hospitality, and there are plenty of people who wanted Jordan Cole dead. THE SILVER NEEDLE MURDER is the ninth in the Tea Shop Mystery series, and maybe that's the problem, because I have a tendency to lose interest in a series somewhere between books five and seven. All the characters are as vibrant as ever, and the add-ons can't be beat – Childs is always extra-generous with recipes, crafts, and tips. Yet it took me several tries to start the book and I struggled to finish it. Not only was there nothing new with Theodosia and her friends, as the suspects have been cliches for decades – the brutal, dictatorial director; the cheated inamorata; the mistreated business partner, the rival, the ambitious youth. The investigation is equally by-the-numbers, with the conveniently placed key, the clue the police miss, the mysterious note summoning Theo to a meeting in an out-of-the-way place (honestly, does anyone fall for that?) By the time the action-packed climax happens, it is yet one more expected item checked off the list. As I say, I can't tell if it's my own ennui or not – perhaps other fans of Theo will adore this book – but it's my job to say what I think, and I'm afraid I think I was terribly bored.
Reviewed by Linnea Dodson, April 2008
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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