Author: Kate Collins
Genre: Mystery
Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book (Audiobook Available)
ISBN #: 9781496740021
Kensington Cozies
368 Pages
$8.99; $6.99 Amazon
January 24, 2023
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Athena Spencer works with her big Greek-American family (whom she also anonymously blogs about) at their garden center near Lake Michigan. She's also gained a reputation for crime-solving -- and that's what brings flower-shop owner and fellow sleuth Abby Knight Salvare to her door...
Abby has come from Indiana to this Lake Michigan town to help her cousin, Jillian, who was emceeing a local fashion show and now stands accused of murdering one of the models. Some of Sequoia's most prominent citizens were on the catwalk, so there's increasing pressure to have the next event be a perp walk.
The clueless Jillian is in jail after ignoring orders not to leave town, and she isn't happy -- orange is not her color. Along with her handsome PI partner, Case, Athena starts making inquiries, while tiptoeing around the wives of the town's mayor and police chief. In the meantime, the two detectives are becoming fast friends. After all, in addition to homicide, Abby and Athena share an interest in horticulture -- though right now the only thing they're growing is their list of suspects...
✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽
Athena Spencer works at her family's garden center while raising her son, Nicholas. She also, after solving a few murders, has a new PI agency with her partner and love interest, Case Donnelly. Their latest case involves the death of a local model, who was found dead in her dressing room. The main suspect is a woman named Jillian, who happens to be the cousin of another PI.
Abby Knight Salvare, who owns a flower shop and a PI agency with her husband Marco, is is town asking for Athena's help in finding a killer. She's going to stay as long as it takes to find out the truth. Unfortunately, two of the other suspects are the wives of top officials in Sequoia, and they aren't happy to be on the hotseat. But it's up to the three to figure out what happened and why, and they aren't giving up until Jillian is a free woman -- even if it puts their own lives in danger...
This is the fourth book in the series and I have read them all. I was surprised to see a "cross-over" in this book, but I enjoyed it immensely. Abby is the protagonist of the author's Flower Shop Mysteries, and a successful sleuth in her own right. In this book, we have the two women joining forces, and Athena gets to see how Abby goes about conducting her own investigation. While Athena isn't as assertive as Abby, she's learning from the seasoned veteran, and the two women together are formidable indeed.
It turns out there are even more suspects in the wings, and eventually they get help from an unexpected source (a person I would like to see more of in future books); and while Case is working on another case out of town, the two women are much on their own. Between working the case, Athena also has her other duties to take care of, and of course, spend time with her son. (Just reading about it all makes me exhausted!).
There is plenty going on here, along with a county fair, her sister Delphi keeping secrets, and, of course, her mother trying to set up another one of her daughters in a relationship. It all makes for an entertaining read that's intriguing and full of fun, and when the ending comes and the killer is revealed, it's a bit of a surprise; also surprising (but great) the climax itself. This book is probably my favorite of the series so far, and I heartily look forward to the next one. Highly recommended.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.
