Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Fun characters and story
Cons: A few weaknesses, but they are minor overall
The Bottom Line:
Death at a wedding
Just complicates Abby’s life
As she tracks killer
Stiff Penalty for Crashing This Wedding
Several years ago, I started the Flower Shop Mysteries. I enjoyed the first two, and bought the
third. And there it sat on my to be read
mountain range for at least a couple of years.
But I finally dusted it off and gave Dearly Depotted a read. I’m wishing I’d
gotten to it sooner.
The series focuses on Abby Knight, the owner of a
florist/coffee shop in a small Indiana
college town. If you think flowers are
safe, you are sadly mistaken since this is the third murder Abby’s been
involved with in as many months.
Abby’s 4th of July is anything but restful. First, she’s providing flowers for a
party. Then, she has her cousin Jillian’s
wedding. Not only is she doing the
flowers there, but she also is a bridesmaid and it turns out she has to provide
a last minute escort for herself.
But that’s nothing compared to her job of keeping the
groom’s grandmother from wandering off during the reception. When the grandmother does disappear, Abby
tracks her down – next to the corpse of a man who crashed the ceremony
earlier. With a friend of Abby’s as the
chief suspect, she springs back into action to find the killer.
Even though it had been a while since I read the previous
book in the series, the characters and their relationships quickly came back to
me as I got into the story. And I
discovered just how fun they are all over again. Abby is nosy, but she’s also loyal and
determined. She can be a bit blunt when
dealing with others, but it is a flaw she is working on, and it causes her some
problems as she investigates. The rest
of the cast is equally as charming, although they could use a tad more
development at times.
There are several sub-plots that weave their way in and out
of the mystery. I had many of them
figured out before Abby did, although that didn’t hamper my enjoyment at
all. Likewise, I did peg the killer
before the end, but I wasn’t completely sure.
The mystery could have used another twist of complication along the way.
It’s easy to sit here and nitpick this or that, but the
truth is this was a fun read. The flaws
are there, but the entire time I was reading, I was wishing I had gone back to
visit Abby sooner.
The writing is strong and flows well, which made it easy to
get lost in the story.
I’m wondering why I let Dearly Depotted fall so far down my to be read pile. I’ve got to make time to read the next in the
series soon.
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