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Roots of Murder
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Product Description
Now that she's a widow, and given up recreational eating, Bretta Solomon has made The Flower Shop her whole life. But for the newly svelte Bretta, the flower business in River City, Missouri, is more than just wreathes, zinnias, or roses. It's about people, joy, grief, and love. And now, it is also about murder...
Isaac Miller was a quiet Amish farmer found dead in his own field of carmine asters, baby's breath and statice. When Isaac's brother, suspicious of the authorities, asks Bretta to intervene in the investigation, she enters the world of the devout, isolated Amish, their not always-so-understanding neighbors, and a thorny patch of deals between flower growers and purveyors. Soon, Bretta knows that someone wanted something that Isaac had kept secret. But finding out what that is will mean weeding out some dangerous truths from some deadly lies-and cutting a killer down to size...
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #1436281 in Books
- Published on: 2000-07-15
- Original language: English
- Dimensions: .1 pounds
- Binding: Mass Market Paperback
- 256 pages
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
A genial balance of gardening and murder, Harrison's debut introduces River City, Mo., flower-shop owner Bretta Solomon. When Bretta is contacted by a local Amish man, Evan Miller, about his brother's unexpected death, she calls on the skills she honed with her recently deceased cop husband. Evan's brother, Isaac, was the best local flower grower, and his blooms were always in demand. Lately, Isaac had been poring over books and propagating chrysanthemums, nothing that should have resulted in his murder. With little to go on, Bretta decides to meet with those involved in the local flower trade. She discovers a greedy trucker who delivered Isaac's flowers and a peculiar broker who sold them to the shops. She is perplexed by Isaac's neighborsAone hates the Amish community, another has a wayward goat that destroyed much of their crop. As she sleuths, Bretta meets the newly elected Amish bishop, who disapproved of Isaac's use of his fertile field to grow flowers instead of wheat. All the while, Bretta also stews over the tragic death of three teenagers who drove off a dangerous curve near the Amish property. Knotting these disparate ends together, Harrison gives readers a winning look at what promises to be an intriguing cozy series marked by quick pacing, engaging characters and a touch of romance. Agent, Lori Pope of the Faith Childs Literary Agency
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Widow Bretta Solomon, owner of a flower shop in River City, MO, shows herself to be outspoken, stubborn, and rather reckless when she investigates the death of an Amish flower grower. The victim's brother asks for her help, but cultural differences still get in the way, as does a local "power" struggle over control of the victim's prize plants. Advertised as a "cozy," this first novel delivers as promised: small-town ethos, a few strange characters, mixed-up police, and a determined sleuth. Recommended for larger collections.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
A nicely composed debut cozy with a fine lead character. Forty-five-year-old Bretta Solomon owns the Flower Shop in River City, Missouri. She's recovering from the sudden death of her husband and focused on her business. As a former fat person, Bretta has a keen sense of food and its abuses, and her honest approach is deeply engaging. We are engaged, too, when she is horrified by the murder of one of her suppliers, an Amish farmer whose fields of flowers were coveted by several characters, some colorful and some simply unsavory. Bretta cannot help but get involved when the Amish family who now own her childhood homestead ask her to find out who caused Isaac the flower-grower's death. Harrison's friendly voice doesn't falter in its depictions of the daily habits of florists and funeral homes, police investigators and local hangouts. She handles Bretta's matter-of-fact, pervasive sorrow with a generally sure hand. GraceAnne A. DeCandido
