Lethal Lily

Author:  Jim and Joyce Lavene
Genre:  Mystery

Five Stars

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Part-time garden shop owner/part-time forensic botanist Peggy Lee is trying to discover if the death of Ann Fletcher 20 years ago was an accident - or foul play. In return, she hopes to receive more information about her late husband's death. She knows John Lee was murdered, but questions have arisen as to why he was killed.  She is working with a private detective who stumbles across his own feet, but her Internet friend, Nightflyer, says that Harry Fletcher has the answers.  When Harry is murdered by convallatoxin, from the lily of the valley plant, Peggy begins to understand her role in everything. Now she has to stay alive long enough to prove her theories - and keep her son, Paul, out of trouble, too!

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 Peggy Lee owns a garden shop and is also a part-time forensic botanist with the ME's department, and gives lectures at the local university.  When she receives information that her late husband, John, was murdered and did not die accidentally, Peggy knows she needs to find out the truth, since she has always suspected the same.  But the answers have to come from a hapless private detective, Harry Fletcher, who wants something in return for the information he may have on John.  He wants her to prove that his late wife Ann did not commit suicide and was murdered also. 

So when she finds out that in order to gain access to the files, which are at a storage unit and up for auction, she arrives ready with checkbook in hand.  But she is outbid by another person, Arnold Hauck, who has his own reasons for wanting the files.  It seems Ann was Arnie's sister, and he thinks that Harry murdered Ann, and wants Peggy to go through the files to find out the truth of that...and therein lies the beginning of Peggy's troubles.

Peggy is thrust not only into the problem of finding out the truth about John; while her now-husband Steve, an FBI agent that John was working with, wants her to leave it alone; her son Paul wants the answers in his own way; John's partner Al wants her to let it go but knows she won't, and if that's not enough, she's being stalked and threatened and knows that she's getting close to the truth and must continue with her investigation even if she doesn't want to.

I absolutely loved reading this book; so much so that I read well into the night until I finished.  The authors know how to draw the reader in and keep them interested all the way through the book.  The plot has twists and turns that the reader needs to keep abreast of, because otherwise you will find yourself going back to check pages you've read for the clues. 

When I finally got to the end, I only wanted to read the next book in the series to find out how everything turns out.  A highly recommended read for everyone who likes mysteries; even for those who aren't interested in gardening.  A superb book.

http://www.amazon.com/Lethal-Peggy-Garden-Mystery-Volume/dp/1499295952/