A BOTANIST'S GUIDE TO FLOWERS AND FATALITY

A series of murders marked by unusual bouquets puzzle a botanist familiar with poisonous plants.

Though she’s already solved a murder, Saffron Everleigh is still fighting harassment and low expectations as a female researcher at University College London in the 1920s. Now she’s teamed with the attractive, mischievous Dr. Michael Lee in a project to investigate accidental poisonings and identify the toxins. She’s intrigued when DI Green calls upon her for help with several murder cases in which toxic bouquets have been left. Saffron has no trouble identifying the poisonous plants, and when she turns to a Victorian book about the language of flowers, she finds that the meaning of the bouquets is “a whole, alarming story.” Lee’s interest is piqued by the discovery that all the victims had drugs in their systems, and the two reluctantly form a sleuthing partnership for different reasons. After finding some commonalities between the victims, they seek information in a jazz club where wealthy aristocrats hang out. Saffron, who, like Lee, comes from a privileged background, uses a fake name to hide her connection to her family. As Lee begins to understand the battle Saffron wages against misogyny, he develops romantic feelings for her, putting her in a quandary when her love interest, Alexander Ashton, returns from an Amazon expedition and is horrified to find her involved in another murder investigation. Her refusal to stop places them all in mortal danger.

An intriguing mystery with plenty of esoteric plant lore and a touch or two of romance.