Poison in the Pansies

Dale Mayer

Feb 2022 · Lovely Lethal Gardens (eBook Series) Book 16 · Valley Publishing Ltd.

About this ebook

Riches to rags … Chaos has calmed … At least while out on the lake … Until poison is found, blowing up the peace again …

Enjoying a beautiful day on the lake, while Doreen tries her hand at paddleboarding, ends up on an odd note after finding poison in a bed of pansies. She garners a tidbit of information out of her BFF, Corporal Mack Moreau, about a man who’d recently walked into the emergency room, complaining he’d been poisoned.

Only on a threat of good behavior (surely it doesn’t count if given under duress), Doreen agrees to stay out of his case. But, as it happens, the mention of poison to her beloved Nan brings up another recent death and an old woman who’d been saying someone was poisoning her for months. Only no one listened. Now she is dead.

When Doreen’s case and Mack’s collide, she’s delighted, and so is he. Not. But, when Nan decides to join in the sleuthing, with her pal, Richie, it’s Doreen’s turn to worry—and with good reason!

Ratings and reviews

As you know by now, I'm a huge fan of Doreen and her fur babies, so of course I was excited with this one and knowing the relationship between Mack and Doreen is growing with each book I got more excited and this book totally delivered, the romance is sweet although it's a baby step, but it does put a big smile on my face, I just adore and so invested in this couple. As for mystery part. This time it's a poisoning cases and one of them is related to Nan, yup our beloved Nan is trying to join Doreen to solve this case, and as I was expected it's chaotic and full of fun. As always, there's action from those wonderful fur babies which I've expected. Loveable characters, cozy easy-to-read mystery, cute animals companion, sweet slow-burn romance, definitely a highly recommended cozy mystery read.

After paddleboarding Doreen and Mack are having a picnic lunch on the beach when Doreen notices that there are a bunch of dead flowers in the flowerbed. Mack comes to look and finds a box of Rat Poison. Doreen jokes about someone dying from poison, and when Mack doesn’t answer, she realizes someone must have recently died from poison. Mack doesn’t let Doreen get involved in his active police cases, but she finds a way around this when she finds out that someone who supposedly died of natural causes had claimed to be poisoned. Doreen decides to investigate and see if it might be related to Mack’s case. While these books are whimsical murder mysteries, the best part of these books are the characters. Doreen is known for her pet dog, cat and Parakeet that are always with her. Then there is Mack he has been her friend since she moved to Kelowna teaching her how to cook and helping her any way he can. There is also Nan, who gave her the house and provided antique furniture and designer clothes that she could sell to make money. If you read this series, you will love getting to know all of them. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Mack doesn't want Doreen anywhere near active cases so much to his dismay her Nan provides her with a potential cold case and while they may both involve poisoning do they really? I have to say I really wish Nan and Richie had taken head of Doreen's wish for them to keep things on the downlow and I am sure I got a new grey hair when Doreen found Nan after Thaddeus, Mugs and Goliath lost it and headed to Rosemoor. This one definitely hit home more with what happened Nan and then the frustration of trying to work out how an older lady and a young man's death could be linked, thank gawd Doreen is on the case to get to the truth! I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.