Mum's the Word: A Flower Shop Mystery (Flower Shop Mystery, #1)

by Kate Collins

Abby Knight is the proud owner of her hometown flower shop, but a new low-cost competitor is killing her profits-and a black SUV just rammed her vintage Corvette in a hit-and-run. She's determined to track down the driver, but when the trail turns deadly, the next flower arrangement might be for her own funeral.

• ISBN10: 0451213505
• ISBN13: 9780451213501
• Publish Date: 2 November 2004
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Books Australia
• Imprint: Signet
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 304
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780451213501

Reviews

[layawaydragon]

Well, this is a cozy mystery. Full of the cliches known to this genre. I like the main character, Abby Knight, well enough. She's the standard "quirky, spunky, stubborn independent woman". There's also the standard male interest. Oh sure he fills the role of white knight to save the damsel but he's armor is black and looks dangerous. Yeah, standard fair. Abby is stupid often though, just running into things while missing obvious clues. It was terribly frustrating that for at least half of the book, I saw the connections that Abby kept missing. She's privileged and often clueless. I was seriously annoyed at how Abby treated the abused wife at first and when she was attacked by her spouse. I have a feeling the author doesn't know much about abuse or bullies. It was very annoying that she kept repeating the same ideas over and over, like her belief about bullies. What she's saying is not often true and it's frustrating to hear the same bullshit lies being repeated about bullies.

Did I mention it was standard fair? Standard roles, standard cast, standard plot, standard villain and standard "common sense" being repeated.

I love strong female leads but it's a trope that they always get rescued by a man. For once I'd love it if the woman stayed true to the strong female they are suppose to be and save someone else instead of having to be saved. I find it very patronizing and condescending that the woman is trying to be strong only to find salvation in a man's arms. I find the men that talk down only to warn them away instead of taking the woman's ideas and concerns fucking annoying. I don't care about the looks, can we get a male lead that actually likes the strong independent woman instead of trying to restrict and change them? Haven't we moved past this yet?

I liked most of the characters and it was fun. I enjoyed Abby's voice. It was a quick one sitting read for me. It was okay, not a great work of literature but a quick fun read that I don't regret reading. I look forward to reading the second in the series. I just hope the author doesn't stick to the formula too much, otherwise, I will mostly abandon it. It's hard to stay connect to a series that is so strictly formulaic and full of tropes. I guess that's why I'm not a huge fan of cozy mysteries in the first place.

But when cozy mysteries are done well it leaves you feeling cozy from a fun pleasant read. This book did that for me. Barely.

[MurderByDeath]

This series was recommended to me by my fellow cozy readers, but I have to say, this one didn't do much for me (the books get much much better as the series progresses). I found Abby to be a bit over the top, and everyone keeps calling her a meddler and nosy. It was really off-putting to me. The mystery was good, with a lot of suspects.

Luckily my fellow readers assured me each book is better than the last, and I'm glad I stuck with the series.