Set in the Missouri Ozarks, Harrison's fifth accomplished cozy (after 2003's A Deadly Bouquet
) to star widowed florist Bretta Solomon offers an ingenious puzzle, well-drawn, credible characters and loads of orchid lore. When Bretta's father, Albert McGinness, finds the bloody body of lab assistant Marnie Frazier, her neck pierced by a metal plant marker, on the lawn of greenhouse owners Dan and Natalie Parker during their Customer Appreciation Day Celebration, Bretta once again turns amateur sleuth. Realizing that the victim had been looking for something in the greenhouse records, Bretta asks herself, "What had Marnie known or suspected that made her a threat?" The disappearance of a number of women who left Parker Wholesale Greenhouses after short-term employment further complicates the suspenseful plot. Sexy Bailey Monroe, the elusive next-door neighbor who played an important role in A Deadly Bouquet
, makes a welcome return, while Albert proves an irritating but surprisingly helpful self-appointed detective. If Bretta's reflections on her late husband verge on the mawkish, she remains an appealing heroine with whom readers can readily identify. Agent, Lori Pope. (Jan. 20)
Forecast:
On the jacket, the solid orange background clashes with a cluster of violet orchids in what may be a misguided effort to reinforce the idea of "violence." Nor does the blood stain on the dagger-like plant marker next to the orchids go well with the orang
e. Harrison's reputation for quality should survive a weak jacket design.
