Death in Bloom

"There are always flowers for those who want to see them." ~Henri Matisse

I love reading cozy mysteries either in different location settings or accentuating different businesses. The artwork for this cozy mystery highlighting a florist is so welcoming I wished I could walk right up those steps and venture in to browse and surely purchase of a mixed seasonal bouquet for my own home would have extended the joy of my visit.

It is always a treasure to delight in an author's creativity that has given charming names to businesses that characters own and/or will visit during a new series. For this series, delightful business names are Flower House, Coffee Art Café, Light Steps Dance Studio, and the tea room of Tea for You.

Sierra Ravenswood show more has returned to Aerieville, Tennessee after her pursuit of a music career in Nashville didn't turn out as to her dreams. Sierra is working part-time at Flower House as she did in high school. However, boss Felix Maniford seems to be taking advantage of Sierra's familiarity with the business to go off for his favored delight of Geocaching. Sierra also becomes the dedicated caregiver for Felix's cute corgi named Gus. As Sierra begins teaching the start of a new bouquet arranging class in the evening after business hours no one is aware that not all of the students may be going home after class.

There are multiple suspects and as most mystery readers are armchair sleuths I am no exception. As rewarding as it is to solve the investigation along with the amateur sleuth it is always interesting if due to the author's creativity I'm still vacillating after I've narrowed the suspects down to 2 possibilities. I'm looking forward to the next possibilities for Sierra and Flower House. show less

Sierra Ravenswood is back at home in Aerieville, Tennessee after her music career in Nashville suffered some set-backs. She's working part-time at the Flower House and planning her future using lots of positive affirmations.

Things go terribly wrong when her boss Felix takes off on a geocaching trip leaving her in charge just before the first flower arranging class. She certainly didn't expect that one of the attendees, garden shop owner Abe Ranker, would drop dead during their snack break. He is an abrasive person commonly known as Dishonest Abe, and many of the other attendees had motives for wanting him dead.

Flo and Richard run the bakery café next door to the Flower Shop and have had run-ins with him. So has Valerie who runs the show more local dance studio. Sierra's friend Richard who's the local handyman while also working at the bank has had issues with him too. So has Letty Maron who is a shy, local elementary school teacher. The only one who lacks a connection to Abe is Deena who was also a classmate of Sierra's and who has just returned to town.

Between Abe's death and Felix's disappearance leaving his puppy Gus behind, Sierra is finding it hard to conjure serenity despite her affirmations. Add in Calvin Foxheart who arrives the next day saying that Felix had agreed to rent him the apartment above the Flower Shop, and who is a sort of suspicious character in his own right. She also has to deal with her family who want her to dump the Flower Shop and come back to work at Dumbbells which is their fitness center, and who love her but don't understand her.

Sierra, Deena, and sometimes Calvin begin trying to discover who killed Abe. They uncover lots of secrets and resentments along the way. Sierra also discovers her future with friends and a canine companion.

This was a fun story. I liked positive-thinking, but sort of naïve, Sierra. Gus was a great canine character. Her new friends - once she cleared them of suspicion - were interesting people. show less

Death in Bloom by Jess Dylan is the debut of A Flower Shop Mystery series. Sierra Ravenswood wishes to be a country music star, but things did not go well in Nashville. She is back in Aerieville, Tennessee where she works parttime at the Flower House. She has two protective parents and a younger brother named Rocky. There are some interesting characters in this story with my favorite being Sierra’s grandmother, Granny Mae. Granny Mae is a kindly woman known for her home remedies and other special concoctions. It was nice to see Sierra change by growing stronger and more confident. She seemed to be a person at loose ends and unsure of herself at the beginning of the story. The author took the time to set the stage for the series by show more describing the town (the main residents, shop owners) and giving us Sierra’s background. The mystery needed to be stronger. It is a simple whodunit that can be solved quickly. It was obvious who was going to be murdered (the mean guy) as soon as the person was introduced. The clues needed to solve the mystery are obvious (I wish they were more subtle). The murder happened so early in the book that we did not get a chance to know the victim or the suspects (or their motives). I like how the language of flowers was incorporated into the story (it is fascinating). I loved Gus, the Pembroke Welsh corgi pup that Felix owned, and Sierra took in. He is a cutie that provided smiles and laughter. I like the side story involving Felix and his jaunt. I hope we find out more details in the next book. Death in Bloom is a good start to A Flower Shop Mystery series. I am sure the author will up her game in Petals and Poison. Death in Bloom is an upbeat cozy mystery with a poisoned powder, a cute corgi, a missing manager, a mystery renter, beautiful blooms, and a sleuthing singer. show less

small-business, small-town, family-dynamics, friendship, vandalism, amateur-sleuth, Tennessee, cozy-mystery, corgi, murder, murder-investigation*****

The publisher's blurb is a good hook for this new series. The characters are well drawn and believable (even if not all are what they seem), there's even a character who excels in the pun department. The sleuthing is pretty good for an inexperienced amateur sleuth with little backup. Good plot twists and sneaky red herrings made it a good read. Loved it!
I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley. Thanks!

Death in Bloom by Jess Dylan is a 2021 St. Martin’s Press publication.

Sierra Ravenswood is the latest in a string of part-time employees at the Flower House- a Florist shop located Aerieville, Tennessee- after her dreams of making it in Nashville fell through.

When her boss, Felix, takes off on a geocaching mission, he leaves Sierra holding the bag. She must now teach a class on flower arrangements by herself, and she's hardly an expert.

The class goes horribly awry when one of those in attendance dies suddenly after an altercation around the snack table.

When it comes to light that the victim was poisoned, that Felix is not coming back anytime soon, and has sent word that Sierra should oversee the shop in his absence, just as show more someone appears to be sabotaging the Flower House, Sierra takes matters into her own hands, hoping she can expose the murderer and hopefully save the store at the same time…

This first in a series cozy is not terrible, but it didn’t overly impress either.

The flower shop premise is not original- with several veteran series on the market for a long while now, as well as several self-pub series set in a garden or floral environment. Therefore, the plot and the characterizations needed to be spot on- but sadly, the plot is not cohesive, is predictable, unoriginal and thin.

On the bright side, the characterizations show promise and it's a fast, easy read.

Although this new series has gotten off to a bit of a rocky start for me, I have the second book queued up, as I understand how hard it is to get a new series off the ground.

Introducing characters, and building a well-plotted mystery is a challenge for even the most seasoned authors.

The author also very wisely chose to leave some questions hanging so readers might be compelled to pick up the next installment. I’m just interested enough to go along… For now…

3 stars show less

Sierra is at loose ends when she comes home after chasing a music career in Nashville. She works part time at the Flower House and suddenly finds herself in charge when owner Felix heads off on a geocaching adventure. While hosting a flower arranging class, unlikable garden center owner Abe keels over, dead. Suddenly, it seems almost everyone is a suspect. A unusually helpful tenant to live in the Flower House building and Sierra also cares for Felix's dog, Gus. It was very entertaining to learn about these new characters, flower properties and the area.