Roanoke, Virginia, is home to some of the country’s most exquisite gardens, and it’s Camellia Harris’s job to promote them. But when a pint-sized beauty contest comes to town, someone decides to deliver a final judgment …
A beauty pageant for little girls—the Little Miss Begonia Pageant—has decided to hold their event in a Roanoke park. Camellia is called in to help deal with the botanical details, the cute contestants, and their catty mothers. She soon realizes that the drama onstage is nothing compared to the judges row. There’s jealousy, betrayal, and a love triangle involving local newsman—and known lothario—Telly Stevens. And a mysterious saboteur is trying to stop the pageant from happening at all.
But the drama turns deadly when Stevens is found dead, poisoned by some sort of plant. With a full flowerbed of potential suspects, Cam needs to dig through the evidence to uproot a killer with a deadly green thumb.
I just couldn't get into this book at all. I liked the first book well enough that I looked forward to this one, but it just fell flat. I had a hard time remembering who was who from the first book at first, so it took me a while to sort it all out. Then, well, meh.
The characters are all likeable, the plot was serpentine and convoluted and almost too complicated, but it kept you guessing. It was well written. And beyond the pageant stuff - which I have zero interest in on a good day - I like the gardening talk. So I can't really say why this book fell to short for me.
I'll wait for the next book before deciding whether or not to drop this series - it could be just a sophomore slump.
Reading updates
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1 June, 2013:
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1 June, 2013:
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