I have read the first Saffron Everleigh mystery, and was interested in reading the second.
1920s London sees Saffron Everleigh continuing as a research assistant of botany at the University College of London following her near miss with death. Though it is a male dominated environment, Saffron is conducting a study with the assistance of Dr. Michael Lee, traveling the countryside in response to possible cases of poisoning. However, Inspector Green has remembered Saffron’s disdain for his colleague’s lack of forensic insight, and enlists her expertise in a case. Women have been murdered and each one received a bouquet of poisoned flowers. Using floriography, the language of flowers, Saffrom discovers that there is much more going on than even the inspector knows. With Dr. Lee’s help, the two traverse a jazz club, lavish country estate, and a theatre all in the hopes of stopping a murderer.
I love how determined Saffron is to make it in this world. She isn’t relying on her name, in fact she appears to have shunned all of that. I will admit that I took a point off because of the potential love triangle, and I sincerely hope that is not the case with book 3. I did miss Alexander Ashton in this one, but he does make an appearance. The cliffhanger ending has me on gasping to want the next book sooner rather than later.
The mystery was superb. I admit to having a feeling of the killer, but it wasn’t confirmed until the very end. I did flip flop between two, and then was pleasantly surprised to see I was 50% right. Plenty of red herrings, plenty of motives, plenty of suspects, and a wonderful dose of practical with hints of emotional.
Overall, I rate this novel 4 out of 5 stars.
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