A Botanist's Guide to Flowers and Fatality (A Saffron Everleigh Mystery, #2)

by Kate Khavari

Brilliant botanist Saffron Everleigh is back and ready for adventure in Kate Khavari’s next mesmerizing historical mystery.

“A cleverly plotted puzzle” (Ashley Weaver) in the vein of Opium and Absinthe, this second installment is perfect for fans of Rhys Bowen and Sujata Massey.

1920s London isn’t the ideal place for a brilliant woman with lofty ambitions. But research assistant Saffron Everleigh is determined to beat the odds in a male-dominated field at the University College of London. Saffron embarks on her first research study alongside the insufferably charming Dr. Michael Lee, traveling the countryside with him in response to reports of poisonings. But when Detective Inspector Green is given a case with a set of unusual clues, he asks for Saffron’s assistance.

The victims, all women, received bouquets filled with poisonous flowers. Digging deeper, Saffron discovers that the bouquets may be more than just unpleasant flowers— there may be a hidden message within them, revealed through the use of the old Victorian practice of floriography. A dire message, indeed, as each woman who received the flowers has turned up dead.

Alongside Dr. Lee and her best friend, Elizabeth, Saffron trails a group of suspects through a dark jazz club, a lavish country estate, and a glittering theatre, delving deeper into a part of society she thought she’d left behind forever.

Will Saffron be able to catch the killer before they send their next bouquet, or will she find herself with fatal flowers of her own in Kate Khavari’s second intoxicating installment.

• ISBN10: 1639102787
• ISBN13: 9781639102785
• Publish Date: 6 June 2023
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Crooked Lane Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781639102785

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

A Botanist's Guide to Flowers and Fatality is the second mystery by Kate Khavari featuring botanist research assistant Saffron Everleigh. Released 6th June 2023 by Crooked Lane Books, it's 336 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback format due out from the same publisher in second quarter 2024. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats; super useful for checking things easily in the text. 

This book (and series) incorporates so many favorite cozy tropes: intelligent female protagonist, an academic setting, with all the jealousy and subterfuge that entails, historical setting (1920s London), some danger and intrigue and "fair play" well constructed mystery plot. 

Saffron Everleigh is a botanist and research assistant, with all the misogyny and difficulty that entails at the time at a large research university. Honestly, it's *still* not a walk in the park for female academics in the sciences. She's a legacy in academia, her late father was also an academic.

It's a character driven mystery, and the author is quite talented at descriptive prose without descending into overwrought passages or overly contrived dialogue. The author does nod to period formality without decreasing readability at all. 

The mystery and resolution are self contained in this book, so it works well enough as a standalone. There are references to the first book, so readers who choose to read them out of order should expect some spoilers. 

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 11 hours 19 minutes and is expertly read by Jodie Harris. She has a well modulated classically trained voice and does a great job with a number of disparate regional accents, and a range of character ages of both sexes and various socioeconomic strata. 

Four stars for both print and audio versions. It would make a nice short binge/buddy read.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

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Thank you, NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books, for the chance to read and review A Botanist's Guide to Flowers and Fatality by Kate Khavari! 

 

A Botanist's Guide to Flowers and Fatality is the Kate Khavari’s second book in the A Saffron Everleigh Mystery series. It came out on the 6th of June and is 336 pages long. Like other Crooked Lane books, Penguin Random House Publisher Services handles the distribution to retailers. 

 

I’m not going to eat it—I’m not an idiot

 

I'm not going to lie; I dislike the name Saffron, but I love the book. Saffron was an incredibly realistic character, one that a lot of us will be able to relate to. 

 

For instance, at one point, I felt that Saffron's attitude towards Amelia was a bit judgmental; yet, as the book went on, I realized that the author did this deliberately to show Saffron as a human being, warts and all. Even though we can see that Saffron herself is doing something amazing and hard and is absolutely a feminist, there is definitely some internalized misogyny at play, something we're all guilty of. And we also see Saffron not respond well to her colleagues horrible treatment of her. I like this because this, once again, makes her a more interesting character, and one that we see ourselves in.

 

Inspector Green made a dismissive sound in his throat. “As much as I do not care for you coming uninvited to a crime scene, perhaps it is a good thing you did.” 

Saffron looked at him through a haze of moisture that might have been tears. 

He regarded her without reprehension, the slight softness in his eyes easing the harshness of his next words. “Perhaps it will remind you that this is not an adventure or scientific experiment.”

 

In general, I liked the way Kate Khavari handled all her characters. This might be a bit spoiler-y, but I don't hate Alexander for how he acted –he is a product of his time and can only rise above so much. We also saw things coming from a mile away with Lee and Saffron, and that’s a ship that I love. And while I wholeheartedly ship them, I do have to say that I preferred the ending. 

 

I just want to be clear that even though the book is part of a series, it works well on its own and can be treated like a standalone, although I am tempted to pick up the first book because of this.

 

I don’t have any criticism for the author. The book ranges between 4-5 stars, but that entirely based on personal preference and less to do with the quality of it.

 

Tldr: will be picking up the next one!