Snipped in the Bud (Flower Shop Mystery, #4)

by Kate Collins

[layawaydragon]

Oh boy. Where to start?



This is seriously a copy & paste job from the last book. Abby didn't learn her lesson from last time. "Oh my! That person was so nice and gave me all this information about the case! Boy, do I run into them a lot, what a coincidence!." Oh but you link up other coincidences that mean nothing together, like that stupid rule of threes. Well, no shit Sherlock that nice, helpful person who was hanging around you and you didn't suspect turned out to be the murderer. That's what happened last time

Oh, there's a subplot that deals with this minor issue in the background. Oh my god, it's so shocking that it's involved with the murder! That's what happened in every book.

Oh, the romance is heating up! Cue insecurities and a stupid minor "conflict" to create tension. Cue lots of compliments and drag on descriptions of how hot Marco is every time Abby sees him. Finally, the murder caught, case solved. Time to fuck Marco! Oh, wait something happens to interrupt them to get the next book rolling. That's how every book ended.

Abby is truly fucking stupid. She's all about thinking she's so smart and bristled when ever anyone brings up her stupid actions. It's not about dropping out of law school. That doesn't make her stupid. Jumping to conclusions, holding on to first impressions no matter what and rushing head first into everything. She complains about Jillian not being a grown up, but Abby has her own issues to work on. Like being so desperate to right all the time, clinging to assumptions and first impressions, jumping to conclusions, so desperate to prove herself and for attention, love and affection. Have the book was her saying "No! They couldn't be having an affair, she's not his type. I can't see it" or "No! She's such a good person, she couldn't hurt a fly!". "Let's be witty to the cops! I can do his job better anyways. I'll find out who the real murder is!" and you wonder why the cops don't like you Abby? I can't even stand Abby anymore. People have pointed things out to her but she doesn't change or learn.

Abby is extremely privileged. I was pissed that she couldn't believe someone would be struggling and standing in a soup line if they didn't have their job at a horrible company. Yes, the company is horrible and should change its practices. I'm absolutely against the animal testing going on this book. That doesn't mean you should harp on people just trying to support their family. You want to guilt trip the janitor? Employees aren't responsible for the grievances their employers cause. Yes, it sucks. Ideally, people would be able to work at great places and chose their employment at will. But this is reality. It doesn't work that way. Show some understand and class, Abby. Most people don't have the luxury or privilege to chose their employers, they just need to work to survive. Abby grew up in a small town and doesn't realize this? Didn't think people would be defensive for calling them animal tortures when they work at an immoral company to survive? Hello, as the author ever dealt with real people or small towns? I grew up in a small town in Michigan. I know what happened with the mills and the car companies in Detroit. I saw the devastation and the desperation for jobs when shit went down.

So I'm left with either not believing Abby as a character, or coming to the conclusion she's self absorbed and couldn't care less about people, just her principles. Who cares about those struggling people, they can get other jobs! It's so easy after all. They are unprincipled people who don't care about animal torture. No possibility they care, they just need to work to support themselves? Of course not! Not in Abby's black and white world. Everyone get in line, you need to be painted by the florist who knows only two fucking colors.

Funny, how now people are upset about a murder. Where were the mobs in the last books? Do you really blame people for assuming Abby is the murderer considering the evidence they know? Abby jumps to conclusions all the time. If someone else had done the stupid shit Abby did, Abby would be assume they were the murders too. That's what she's done in the last books. Time for some realizations and character growth? Of course not! We have a format to follow.

I like how the book flows, so I must assume I like the author's writing style because I really can't stand Abby anymore. The author is a good writer for what it's worth, her stories just suck. Not every character is a bust, but the most important character, Abby, is. Maybe that's just me but I've grown to find Abby extremely annoying at least. At worst, she's a stubborn know-it-all judgmental little snob who claims to be helping but only makes thing worse.

TL;DR

If you liked the last book, you'll probably like this book. It's a copy pasta job. The author can write so at least reading won't be painful. Unless you find reading the same story over and over with only name changes discomforting. Abby has lost me. I can't stand her anymore. She's worked on none of her faults and feels self-righteous about what she does. She's painfully stupid. She's the woman in the horror movies who walks blindly towards a sound the killer made and gets murdered. Only this is a cozy mystery so she's saved her hunk in the nick of time. *eyeroll*

The cons of this series as finally outweighed any pleasure from this short, supposedly fun read. I'm done with the series.

It's suppose to be a fun escape from reality, only to make it work it needs to be relate able. This story universe claims to be in our own, but is clearly disconnected from reality. The timing on the events in this books makes no sense and only works with perfectly choreographed people. I can see the puppet strings and am bored by this sorry performance. The previous books have been plagued by plot holes and lacking common sense. This time around I was so annoyed and couldn't wait to be done with this book so I didn't pay attention. I knew what was coming and just wanted to get it over with.