DaLynn M. (dalynnrmc) reviewed on 1/1/2008 + 24 more book reviews

I really enjoyed the allusions to scrapbooking, and had to giggle at its inclusion closer to the end of the book after the murderer has been revealed. Other than that and a few neat peeks into pre-Katrina New Orleans, I was not overly impressed with this book.
I've not read anything else by Ms. Childs, and though I'll read the second book in this series, that is only because of the scrapbooking theme, the fact that I've already started the series, and the next book is sitting on my shelf. It's debatable whether I'll continue after book 2, and I will probably not pick up the Tea Shop books.

The author repeats herself, restating facts every 2 or 3 chapters. She does this probably a half dozen times, and I began to feel like she doesn't think her readers are intelligent enough to follow the story. The plot was overly obvious to me, though our heroine seems to completely miss it until the very, very end and just before the revelation. She is completely surprised at the revelation, whereas it simply confirmed my own suspicions.

As a scrapbooker of 10 years, though I enjoyed the allusions to the craft, the tips themselves were not impressive. I did enjoy the fact that they are there, and hope that future books in the series have tips for the more intermediate or advanced level scrappers. I was pleasantly surprised to find a few recipes in the back of the book, though I found the talk of food and cooking a bit out of place with the craft theme.

Overall, a decent read, but not something I'll seek out in the future. I gave 3 1/2 stars for shear enjoyment - and the simple fact that it DOES include a satisfying amount of scrapbook chatter.

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