Book 52, 2023
A Root Awakening by Kate Collins
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
At work today I finished reading A Root Awakening by Kate Collins. This is the 16th part of the "Flower Shop" mystery series, although it's the first one I've read. Story is in first person pov of the main character, florist Abigail "Abby" Knight Salvare.
Newlyweds Abby and Marco are in the midst of house-hunting. While visiting a Victorian that's currently undergoing renovations, they witness one of the painters take a tumble from his ladder. The painter's wife hires Marco, a PI, to investigate, but Abby can't help but focus on the family that were living in the house as tenants. Something about their daughter, especially, seems off. While Abby focuses on them, she keeps her end of the investigation from Marco in an effort to prove that her hunches were right. In the meantime, Abby still has a flower shop to run, she needs to hire more help, her mother keeps bringing her hideous artwork to the shop to sell, and there's still the matter of finding a house.
I found this to be a likable story for the most part, but Abby took some foolish risks just so she could one-up her husband. It was stupid of her, and it made me want to smack some sense into her. Characters were done well, and I really liked Rosa, the flamboyant wife of the hapless painter. Abby's mother is a teacher, but she came across as a ditz. Then, there was the solution that dropped out of the sky. In an unbelievable stroke of luck, Abby just happened to be at the hospital with her very pregnant cousin Jillian, who just happened to have another false alarm and who then just happened to suggest Abby come with her to visit the hospital's maternity ward, which was inaccessible. However, they just happened to encounter a nurse, who happened to recognize Jillian, and who happened to use her fob to let them in, all while she just happened to mention that the reason the maternity ward is off limits is for security. It seems this nurse just happened to work at a hospital where, ten years ago, a woman dressed as a nurse stole a baby. This jogged something in Abby's mind, and she just happened to realize that the tenants' son is about ten years old, and what if... I mean, that series of unfortunate events was so incredible as to be absurd. Why not have Abby think there's something familiar about the tenants' daughter and finally realize she's seen her face on a missing poster or some such? That would have been far more believable. Moving on.
Favorite lines:
♦ All it needed was a squadron of flying monkeys and a pair of red shoes.
♦ "I don't think even a leprechaun could have taken all that green."
And, my favorite, the 'holding my breath' line:
♦ I saw no spiders and let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.
I'm really waffling between a three and a four. I liked the story, but Abby's stupidity and that clue from heaven really turned me off. Let's put it to my
1. Does the mc work at/as one of the following: baker/bakery/sweet shop/tea shop/coffee shop, library/librarian, antique/vintage shop, book store, fashion/boutique, bed & breakfast? Yes, she owns a flower shop.
2. Does the mc live at her (or his) place of occupation? No, she does not.
3. Is the love interest involved in law enforcement? (Police officer, sheriff, detective, PI, FBI) Yes, he's a PI.
4. Does the mc have a dog/cat as a pet? Yes, she has a dog.
5. Is the mc's BFF either a gay guy or a ditzy/zany woman? No
6. Did the mc find the body? She was one of several people on site when he fell.
7. Did the mc wind up in mortal danger at the end of the book? Yes, she did
8. Is the mc's mother either: dead, absent, far removed, ditzy and dithering, or overbearing/disapproving/meddling? Yes, her mother is a ditz.
9. If mother is dead/absent, does the mc have another mother-figure (grandmother, aunt, mom's friend, or an older friend)? Um, kinda-sorta?
10. Is the mc child-free? (Either no children or else grown children--i.e. no small children to look after) Yes, she's child-free
Six 'yes' answers bumps this score down to a three.