Nightshade on Elm Street by Kate Collins

Nightshade on Elm Street (Flower Shop Mystery, #13)

by Kate Collins

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.

Reviewed by MurderByDeath on

4 of 5 stars

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This was really more of a 3.5 star read for me but I don't know if it was just the mood I was in, or if the book just wasn't doing it for me. I usually like the later books in this series, so I'm going to give the benefit of the doubt and say it was my mood.

I can say, categorically, that I can't stand the character of Jillian, Abby's cousin. This woman supposedly has a Harvard degree but by all signs is as stupid as a rutabaga. Seriously, seriously stupid, and not nearly as funny as I think the author is shooting for (at least not to me).

Otherwise, this book has great characters and an interesting plot with a mystery that wasn't obvious. Lots of suspects, a surprise in the middle, and a few red herrings. Abby becomes TSTL towards the end of the book, but as 75% of the heroines in cozies usually do, you can't fault her too much for it.

Fans of the series will enjoy this one.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 19 January, 2013: Finished reading
  • 19 January, 2013: Reviewed