Beverly Allen

I’ve read several fantastic “first in a brand-new series” cozy mysteries lately, and BLOOM AND DOOM is definitely on that list! The main character, Audrey Bloom, was flat out hilarious. She had me laughing throughout the book.

Audrey runs The Rose in Bloom flower shop with her cousin Liv in the quaint town of Ramble, Virginia. Their business is on the verge of booming when word gets out that Audrey’s bridal bouquets are good luck. No couple she’s ever worked with on their wedding show more has broken up. I guess all good things come to an end! When Audrey’s ex-bestie Jenny comes to her for a bridal bouquet, the groom ends up murdered, and there’s strong evidence implicating Jenny as the killer.

The flower shop was an intriguing character on its own, and it had a big presence in this book. I loved how the “language of flowers” was interwoven throughout the story. Audrey’s passion is creating arrangements based on the Victorian meanings of flowers to suit her customers’ needs. For a dose of wisdom, add an iris. For fidelity, use ivy. I had no idea there were so many flowers with meanings! Interesting stuff.

The mystery was good, though it took a while before some serious investigation went on. With such incriminating evidence against Jenny, Audrey is afraid the police won’t look for other suspects. Audrey is a kind person and wants to help clear Jenny’s name, even though Jenny dumped her as a best friend years ago. The mystery wasn’t easy for me to figure out. Many clues were presented, along with a couple red herrings, and it was a challenge to put the puzzle pieces together.

BLOOM AND DOOM was a fun and enlightening cozy mystery that I greatly enjoyed. There’s even a hunky baker named Nick who has his eye on Audrey, and vice versa. It will be fun watching their relationship bloom in future books, along with the flowers.

Source: Review copy from the publisher show less

Bloom and Doom has nothing to do with the fictional seed company in the 'Plants vs. Zombies' computer game. Instead, it's the first entry in what I hope will become a long-running cozy mystery series.

Audrey Bloom and her cousin, Liv (Olivia) Rose, own and operate the Rose in Bloom flower shop in their small Virginia town, Ramble (the inhabitants are called 'Ramblers'). When this book opens, the shop has done bridal bouquets for 156 local brides since they opened five years ago. All of those show more couples are still together.

Audrey and Liv are the daughters of identical twins, but get their looks from their respective fathers. We don't meet Audrey's brother, Philip, in this book, but he'll probably turn out to be handsome. Both ladies get their love of flowers from their late Grandma Mae. Her cottage was sold to finance the shop, but Audrey dreams of buying it back.

Liv is already happily married to Eric, a man with a small construction company (she uses her maiden name professionally -- if his surname was given, I missed it). No children yet.

Audrey shares an apartment with her gray cat, Chester. Neither her neighbor, Tom, nor their landlord like Chester. Hope Audrey can afford that cottage soon. Besides their love for flowers, we learn that petite Liv is the conductor for Ramble's town band and Audrey plays the tuba (see chapter 2).

Nick Maxwell, owner of the new Baby Cakes Bakery, walks into the shop in chapter one. He's handsome, has wavy brown hair, his white clothes show off his tanned muscles, and he towers over Audrey's five-foot-ten inches (1778 cm). Hmmm, a hot guy who can bake. Nice! Too bad he must have a girlfriend -- why else would he keep buying bouquets?

Audrey's childhood friend, Jenny Whitney, might spoil the shop's perfect record. She's being pushed to marry town playboy, Derek Rawlings, by her widowed mother, Ellen.
Derek is being pushed by his rich father, who wants his only child to settle down and produce heirs for his sprawling estate (and many properties).

Aside from dumping Audrey after she lost a lot of weight, Jenny is a nice girl, not a bridezilla like the mayor's daughter, Carolyn. Ellen makes up for that, but isn't nearly as scary as Carolyn's mother, Rita.

Jenny is arrested for the book's murder. Can Audrey clear her name while she, Liv, their wise assistant, Audrey Lee, and some student part-timers get ready for a huge funeral and equally huge wedding for the same weekend?

Audrey loves the language of flowers, a subject I first learned about in 'The Four Suspects,' one of the stories in Agatha Christie's 13 Clues For Miss Marple. We aren't told which of Audrey's books on the topic is her favorite, but Kate Greenaway's Language of Flowers has charming illustrations.

By the way, chapter 13 is where you'll find the theme song for the Pippa the Penguin cartoon (Pippa's likeness is memorably featured in two scenes).

That's also where Audrey mentions flower fairies from Victorian children's books. Could she mean the flower fairy books by Cicely Mary Barker, even though those published during her lifetime came out from 1923 to 1955? In any case, the flower fairy books are well worth having for the lovely illustrations (the poems, not so much).

Audrey's complaint about flower fairies made me chuckle, as did some of her other remarks. I do love a cozy with a sense of humor. If you can't afford your own copy, do check it out at your local library. This series deserves to be a success. show less

Although this book falls very squarely into the “retail cozy mystery” genre, I find Allen’s writing to be superbly sharp and slyly witty. I’m disappointed that there are only 3 books in the series, as I don’t want it to end, but am happy she is currently writing another series under her actual name, Barbara Early.

A very solid start to what I'm optimistically thinking could be an enjoyable cozy series. A few things scattered throughout the story had me rolling my eyes enough to detract 1/2 a star but it's far from being a bad read.

The book centres on Audrey primarily; her cousin Liv serves as a sidekick as well as her business partner in the flower shop. The setting is a fictional small-town in Virginia, but the writing doesn't do much for illustrating it in the mind of the reader. The flower shop is show more vividly described though - right down to the amount of debris on the floor after a marathon of flower arranging in preparation for a funeral. I grew up in a family owned flower shop and everything here felt very familiar.

The main and secondary characters are all likeable; a few are even endearing. I disliked the author's choice of making the sheriff...not stupid really... not lazy... but no decent sheriff would act like that if he valued his job or professionalism. The closest I can come to describing him is somewhat petulant. Audrey scores points right out of the gate because so far she appears to be endowed with common sense and the ability to not take herself too seriously. There's a romantic interest, but it's definitely not a focal point of the story.

I think the murder plot might have been done well, but I guessed the murderer very early in the story. I don't think it was because the author telegraphed it so much as a casting issue. I don't want to say any more than that; it might end up being spoiler-y.

Overall, I found a bit of the writing (not the dialogue) overdramatic but well done. The author veers into waxing lyrical a few times and it just made me roll my eyes, but that is probably more personal taste. I am hoping that the lack of TSTL moments means this might be the beginning of an enjoyable series. While I didn't love the read, I enjoyed it and I'll look for the second book when it's published. show less