Series: Saffron Everleigh Mystery #2 (Standalone)
Publication Date: 06th June 2023
Genre: Historical Cozy Mystery
2.5 stars
One Liner: Shows promise, doesn't deliver much
1920s London
Research assistant Saffron is determined to prove her worth in the male-dominated field. Life at the University of London is not easy, especially after exposing the culprits at the top. However, she is busy working on a project with Mr. Michael Lee, reporting cases of poisonings in the countryside.
Detective Inspector Green approaches Saffron to help him with a case. Women seem to be getting murdered after receiving a bouquet of flowers with a black ribbon. Saffron delves into floriography and gets involved in the cases with Dr. Lee at her side. However, the risk is high, and Saffron has to be sure she doesn’t get her own batch of fatal flowers.
The story comes in the limited third-person POV of Saffron and Dr. Lee.
What I Like:
The cover design is so clever! It is not only attractive but hints at the case and is perfect for the book.
The mystery deals with floriography. It’s interesting to learn the meaning of different flowers (apart from the regular ones). As someone who likes such stuff, the scenes decoding the bouquets are my favorite.
The first half of the book is quite good. We see Saffron in her new position at the university and her determination to prove her worth in a male-dominated field.
Elizabeth is right in her element and easily gets more points than all other characters in the book (including Saffron).
The mystery starts strong and has several elements that could have made it a great case. However…
What Could Have Been Better for Me:
First, the mystery, though solved successfully, doesn’t end up as the main part of the book. Apart from a couple of loose ends (possibly kept as recurring characters for the coming books), the actual case somehow manages to be less appealing than it should be.
Second, I don’t like it when one character’s arc is sacrificed to suit another character's actions. This happens quite often in retellings. Here, Ashton’s character is sacrificed to create the love triangle and make Saffron appear blameless. Not only does he come in the last quarter of the book, but also acts differently from book one.
Third, I’m not a fan of love triangles. In most cases, we don’t even need them. It’s the same here. Saffron and Lee could have been frenemies, and the plot would have been smoother and sustained its focus on strengthening the mystery. Two people working together don’t always have to be attracted to each other.
Fourth, Saffron says she has changed (says it more than once). Unfortunately, I can’t really see it. She’s just as impulsive and jumping into dangerous situations because she wants to. Feminism and all that is of no use if she gets killed because of her recklessness and disregard for her safety.
Fifth, the plot would appeal differently to readers who read book one and those who didn’t. I don’t think that’s how we make readers root of either love interest. If the ending is any indication, I don’t really see the need for all that triangle. Let’s be honest. Saffron really needs to grow up and be sensible.
Sixth, the two scenes with misogyny feel like mandatory insertions rather than necessity. This was very well handled in book one. In fact, despite a few issues, book one was a lot better than book two.
To summarize, A Botanist's Guide to Flowers and Fatality could have been a great entertainer but ended up pretty mediocre for trying to include unwanted elements. I’ll read book three (I really want to) as it hints at Ashton’s life and could be his chance to start healing from the PTSD of war.
Thank you, NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books, for the eARC.
#NetGalley #ABotanistsGuidetoFlowersandFatality
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