Book Review: Apprehend Me No Flowers by Diane Vallere (Madison Night #7)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Strong characters and story

Cons: A few inconsistencies and editing snags

The Bottom Line:

Business is on hold

Shadow of Doris passing

Series entertains

Flowers for the Murdered

Doris Day’s death in May 2019 probably wouldn’t have been more than a footnote to me without the Madison Night Mysteries.  And I wasn’t surprised that the event was mentioned in Apprehend Me No Flowers, the seventh book in this series from Diane Vallere.

You see, Madison bears a resemblance to the famous actress.  As a result, she has had a lifelong love of the actress and her movies, and she has built her decorating business, Mad for Mod, around mid-century modern designs, using Doris Day’s movies as an inspiration.  Of course, being a mystery series, Madison also keeps finding herself around dead bodies, but that’s what makes it fun for us.

This book takes place in May 2019, and Madison has found herself in the local spotlight as a result of Doris Day’s death.  Since she has a level of celebrity in the Dallas area, reporters have come to her for reactions for articles.  Unfortunately, that’s not the only reason she’s been in the spotlight.  She’s being sued professionally and has had to close her business.  She hopes it is only temporary, but the lawsuit is dragging on.

But things take a deadly turn when she and her new boyfriend, police captain Tex Allen, meet in a local park for a picnic.  When Madison goes to throw away the trash, she finds a dead body in the garbage can.  Meanwhile, some hikers have found one in another part of the park.  When the bodies are identified, it captures the media, causing even more problems for Tex.  With time on her hands, Madison tries to figure out what is going on.  But will she just make things worse?

Obviously, Doris Day’s death isn’t the focus of the book, but I did find it interesting how it played into the overall untethering that Madison is feeling in her life as this book unfolds.  I continue to love how Madison grows as the series progresses.  Just like real life, things are messy, and there aren’t necessarily easy answers, but it is fun watching Madison struggle to figure out how to deal with the latest things that life has thrown at her.

This might not be a mystery in the completely traditional sense, and that’s great.  The plot is still extremely entertaining, and I was hooked the entire way through.  Obviously, there is a lot going on here, and, since I love Madison, I wanted to see just where she would be when she came out on the other side.  The climax was logical and answered my questions.

Unfortunately, I did find a few inconsistencies and other things like that in the book.  It’s not enough to ruin the story, fortunately.

Each title in this series is a play on a Doris Day movie, and it contains a few nods to that particular film.  As preparation for reading this book, I watched Send Me No Flowers, which I enjoyed.  However, as soon as I finished, I felt like the specifics didn’t stick with me.  I did catch a couple of obvious connections in this book, but I feel like there were probably a couple more I missed.  This is something fun for fans of the movies, but if you pick up this book without any knowledge of the films, you aren’t missing anything.

I’m also enjoying how a character I thought was going to be a minor one note character keeps getting more page time and more development as the series goes along.  I’m definitely interested to see how the character and Madison’s relationship to her grows next.

As usual, the ending of Apprehend Me No Flowers left me anxious to find out what happens next to Madison.  This series is different and fun, and if that appeals to you, I recommend it.

Enjoy the rest of the Madison Night Mysteries.