Dragonwell Dead by Laura Childs

When my mom came to visit in November she brought me the latest in the Laura Childs' Tea shop mystery series. I picked it up in the mood for something light and not terribly thought-provoking. I knew the characters, I knew the setting, I knew the basic plot premise. I finished it last week and it was mindless enough that I can't actually remember whodunit... Thinking... Oh yeah, okay. Now I remember.

I like Laura Childs' books for light fluffy cozy mysteries. But she just started a third series. Now she has Charleston SC Tea Shop, New Orleans LA Scrapbooking store, and now the Cackleberry Club series about a "cozy cafe" - complete with recipes. Hey wait, she includes recipes in her other two series. And they're both about "cozy" locally-owned stores. Hmm, can we say marketing ploy to get more readers?

Personally, I would rather that Childs spent more time really developing her characters and her stories in one series that keep repeating basic themes in three different/yet ironically the same series. In the last tea mystery the main character ordered supplies from the scrapbooking store in Series #2. Ah, how quaint.

Long story short, I think I've read too many cozy mysteries for a while. They all blend together. The novelty is gone. They're great for mindless distraction. I would take a whole series with me to the beach, but I need something with a little bit more guts... oomph... plot? for now.