Kate Khavari - A Botanist's Guide to Flowers and Fatality

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?

Comment: The bright bold purple cover of this book caught my attention and I liked the blurb as well. I've convinced a friend to buddy read this one, and even though there is a previous book in the series, we stuck to trying this one anyway.

In this story, set during the 1920s in England, we meet heroine Saffron Everleigh, whom we learn comes from an aristocrat family but she is now working at the university as a botanist. Inferred is her help, as well as of a colleague, in a case (plot of book #1 which I have not read) which ended up placing them both in danger. Now, although her work is important, Saffron feels she would be a good investigator, especially among the circles the police can't easily access. This time, she dr Michael Lee, with whom she shares her office at the university, are tasked with working on a study on poisonous plants and suddenly, someone is found dead with a strange bouquet of flowers. Upon investigating, they learn the flowers have a specific meaning and they decide to help the police. But will this new investigation be even more dangerous than the first?

It might seem as if the sequence of events is too tricky to follow and explain, since I have not read the first book, but I feel this is easy to read on its own. There are many references to the other book's details and many things one can simply understand by those references. Perhaps some things in that other book are not that important anyway because I have the feeling Saffron is not set on any particular situation and the investigations change from installment to installment.

This is also the first book by the author I try, and I have nothing to compare it with, but I think the style is easy enough. Something I've noticed is that, while this is third narrator, the focus is on Saffron but we also have some parts - I don't recall it properly but it's not full chapters - from dr Lee's perspective and even of Alexander Ashton, which I got to understand must have been the probable romantic interest in the previous book. This character has been in a expedition on the Amazon river but returns during the events of this novel.

I don't mind these changes in narrator's POV but they come suddenly and that can feel a little jarring. Thankfully, they are separated by a graphic break between paragraphs and that helps to imagine the change in one's mind too. As for the need to have these different POVs... is the goal to convince us of this love triangle? Or that it could be one? It's true the two men show interest in Saffron and she is conflicted for a while about her own feelings. I can accept this but it made for a less fun part of the story for me, I feel it's too much distraction and not enough pay off, since in the end I think Saffron is not more decided on any of them than when this starts.

Saffron is a good enough heroine I'd say, dedicated to her interests, mostly a good person (I feel we are supposed to see her enjoyment of adventure and somewhat flighty intentions as proof she is more ambitious than her role at the university might suggest) but she also makes choices throughout the novel which I feel are a bit too modern and too risky for someone in her position and background. Still, I could accept this more easily if the plot had been more appealing, but it wasn't.

I was interested in what was happening, no doubt, mainly why bouquets were being sent to dead women and what would it mean. This mystery regarding the secret message of flowers was captivating and did keep my interest but I hoped it would be something more.. specific. When we learn why this element was used, I confess I felt disappointed over its randomness. I also think the villain wasn't as strongly presented as it could have been, nor the choices really matching the personality we are supposed to believe was a matter of fate.

I also disliked that so many characters were immersed int he world of drugs, even though in 1920 things had a seriously less impact than what we are used to see now, but it felt so sad how already it affected people's lives. In a way, this was important for the plot, but I could have done without. This and the somehow weak development of the villains' plans and then what was going on with Saffron made for an easy read but not one that truly excited me.

All things considered, this was a nice experience but I can't say I'd look for another book by the author on purpose, unless some review/recommendation impossible to ignore were to convince me.

Grade: 6/10