I've been complaining in that last couple books about the interesting Parker Scully, Theo's absentee boyfriend. Why don't we see more of him? Since he ends up the victim in this installment, we won't be seeing him again, that's for sure. And Theo has a new man. I'd like to warn him that her track record isn't too good. Her first boyfriend in the series ended up with a dead sister, her second ends up dead himself, so Max had better watch himself. He is turning out to be an absentee boyfriend, as well. Off in New York for most of the novel and then offering some impotent warnings near the end. Really? It's so important to the author to have her main character be strong that she just needs a kiss here and there and nothing else from her man? No equal partnership? Apart from Theo's love life, the clues are a little thin on the ground, although I did smell something fishy about the murderer early on, so I turned out to be right. The society milieu and fancy meals are slightly hilarious to read about and the gang at the tea shop is fun, as always. The opening of the aquarium is a major Charleston event, and Theodosia has been hired to cater tea, scones, and sandwiches for the private party to honor dignitaries and big buck donors. Things are going swimmingly, until Theodosia escapes the party for a momentary rest, only to discover the body of a man entangled in a net, drowned in one of the aquarium's state-of-the-art tanks.To make matters worse, the victim is Theodosia's former boyfriend Parker Scully. The EMTs on the scene think Parker's drowning was an accident, but when Theodosia notices what look like defense wounds on his hands, she realizes that someone wanted Parker dead. The local police aren't keen on hearing her theory-especially because of her ties to the victim-so Theodosia knows that if she wants Parker's killer brought to justice, she'll have to jump into the deep end and start her own investigation.I have enjoyed these tea shop mysteries. Feel I have learned a lot abut tea (who knew tere were so many kinds) and I have found some yummy recipes.
