A book and a little explanation

Hello dear tea friends,

It has been eons since my last post. I must now confess that there is a good excuse. Yes, the writing projects I've mentioned before have certainly been consuming more time. But the other, more important reason, is that we are on the verge of welcoming Baby #3 to the family. I'll be sure to share the good news when it happens...and I expect that to be quite soon. Needless to say, I've been a bit preoccupied with life to give the blog the attention it needs and deserves.

I also wanted to acknowledge that last week we reached the 3rd anniversary of this blog. I'm really proud of that accomplishment and I look forward to kickstarting things again in a couple of months when my head is on a little straighter! I'd like to focus more on tea facts and information along with the usual tea and book reviews. I'm definitely open to suggestions as always.

My third little note is that the "Tea Memories" book has been shaping up beautifully. The full manuscript, illustrations, and photos are with the publisher now. We're hoping that the book will be released late next year. I'll let you know as we hear more!

And now, the most important part of this post - a NEW TEA BOOK! WOO HOO! You know how I love such things. A few weeks ago I received an email from a PR firm asking if I'd be interested in reviewing a newly released book. Who was I to say no? The book, "Dark Road to Darjeeling," by Deanna Raybourn was released on October 1 by MIRA Books. "Dark Road" is the fourth book in the Lady Julia Grey series. The main character, Lady Julia, lost her first husband and, much to the dismay of her well-heeled family, has deigned to marry a private investigator. The first three books in the series all focused on mysterious events occurring in England. This most recent book takes Lady Julia, along with her brother Plum, sister Portia, and husband Brisbane to India (or Sikkim...they are never quite sure which.) They have been called by Portia's ex, Jane, to investigate the mysterious death of her husband.

I absolutely fell for this book. Many times during my reading I just wanted to stop and locate the first book in the series so I could start again from the beginning. The characters were wonderful. Julia has a stubborn independence and drive to be successful that I couldn't help but admire. Her husband Brisbane always seems a bit dark and mysterious, but cool and collected. Portia is spirited and emotional and provides a wonderful foil for Julia. The other characters are well painted and I enjoyed being introduced to them.

This book is set in the late 1800s and it was interesting to note how Raybourn folded in many of the social issues and cultural/class concerns of the era. There were times when I wondered at the level of independence afforded some of the female characters, but it is possible that the fact that they were in India at the time, as opposed to England proper, and the economic class of the Grey family made those things possible. I also found it interesting that the story line of Portia and her ex, Jane, was treated very matter-of-factly. Again, not knowing enough about the era and social norms I wasn't sure if it rang true, but I found it incredibly refreshing.

I am definitely a sucker for mysteries, especially British mysteries. Elizabeth George and Agatha Christie are my heroes. If you have a similar love of the genre, I don't think you'll be disappointed. (Ironically, this one was written by a sixth-generation Texan!) And let's be honest, it's all set on a tea estate. How wrong can you go?