Genre:

Enjoy her wedding shower…or receive a cold dunking?

In addition to running her flower shop, planning her wedding, and juggling two mothers who both want to host an elaborate bridal shower, Abby Knight is facing another complication. Her ditzy cousin Jillian asks her and her longtime beau, Marco, a private detective, to find a woman who’s gone missing from the exclusive beach house belonging to Jillian’s in-laws, the Osbornes. The missing woman is also the fiancée of Pryce Osborne, a wet noodle with a big bank account who dumped Abby just before their wedding several years ago. Merely being anywhere near Pryce makes Abby’s insecurities grow like kudzu….

Then a woman’s drowned body surfaces, and Pryce becomes a prime suspect in her death. Unless Abby and Marco can get a killer to come clean, their bridal shower will turn into a complete washout...and Pryce will be exchanging a sunny beach for a prison cell.

Series: Flower Shop Mystery

Review

For fans of: Madelyn Alt

Florist and part-time sleuth Abby Knight has her hands full running her flower shop and trying to prevent her family and her future mother-in-law from throwing her an elaborate bridal shower.  So when her ex-fiancé, Pryce Osborne, calls upon her and her current fiancé, bar owner and private investigator Marco Salvare, to help locate his missing fiancée, Melissa, Abby’s first instinct is turn Pryce down flat.  Then, however, Abby’s newly pregnant and incredibly hormonal cousin Jillian starts in on her (Jillian is Pryce’s sister-in-law), and Marco points out the many ways in which they could use the money, and Abby’s resolve falters.

Pryce admits to arguing with Melissa shortly before her disappearance, so at first, Marco and Abby assume their assignment will be an easy one; Melissa’s probably just taking some time to cool down and will return on her own in short order.  But then a dead body washes up on the shore outside of the Osbornes’ summer cottage, and just like that, their uncomplicated little missing-persons case turns into a messy, high-stakes murder investigation…

Nightshade on Elm Street is the thirteenth of Kate Collins’ Flower Shop Mysteries, and it’s a worthy addition to a must-read series.  Cracking the cover on one of Collins’ books is like opening the door to greet an old friend; you just know you’re in for a good time.  Collins’ narrative style is warm and breezy, her prose is full of wit and a goofy sort of charm, and her stories never fail to leave you happier than they found you.

The mystery around which the plot of Nightshade on Elm Street revolves is a fresh and interesting take on the classic manor house mystery.  It’s complex, clever, and seamlessly constructed, and is liberally seasoned with twists, turns, and red herrings.  There’s no shortage of viable suspects, each with his or her own unique and compelling motive.  And every single one of Collins’ characters is fully fleshed and richly developed, making it easy for the reader to become completely engaged in the tale.

Abby is a fabulously likable and relatable main character, made all the more endearing by her stubbornness and insecurity.  Her relationship with fiancé and partner-in-crime Marco is passionate, tender, and wonderfully nuanced; yes, Marco cherishes Abby and is quite protective of her, but he considers Abby his equal, and treats her with respect – something I don’t think you see enough of in mystery series romances.  Abby’s flighty cousin Jillian provides pitch-perfect comic relief to every scene in which she appears (I’d happily sign on for a series that does nothing but chronicle her antics!).  And in a surprise twist, Abby’s ex-fiancé Pryce – a series character who’s mostly been played for laughs to this point – shows surprising depth here.  In fact, one of the best scenes in the book is the one where Abby and Pryce conduct an impromptu post-mortem on their relationship; it’s poignant and provides great insight regarding both characters, and I can’t wait to see how this exchange will affect their interactions in books to come.

Reviewed by Kat

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