Alyse Carlson

Another one of those series that I neither loved nor hated. Solid writing, well-drawn characters (although I think the MC's best friend Annie, has all the best lines) and relatively solid plotting.

I thought this one was the best of the three in a lot of ways - I found myself caring about the characters a lot more - but I did have a hard time keeping track of who was who and which character belonged to which political campaign and who was whose wife or sister or sister-in-law or step-mother. About 2/3 of the way through I just let it go and the story still ended up working ok for me. Still, it would have been one star higher rating had I been able to keep everyone straight.

The murder plot was just as jumbled - I'm not sure anyone was innocent by the end of it all, but it made for engaging reading.

I have the feeling that there won't be a fourth book in this series - it's been over a year and I haven't seen any announcements. I don't think this series was bad enough to cancel, but I'm not devastated that it ended either. (If it did.)

[PopSugar 2015 Reading Challenge: A book you own but have never read.]
[Sock Poppet's 2015 Read-By-the-Month Reading Challenge: first book of the New Year]… (mehr)

Camellia Harris is great at PR for her company, and she's achieved a major coup in being able to photograph Neil Harris's garden done by a famous photographer, Jean-Jacques Georges. But during a party the night before a photo shoot, she overhears a conversation between him and a friend, and she discovers that he's about as French as she is.

She's also disgusted by his rude behavior, when she sees him goosing her sister Petunia and several other women. But before she can make her feelings known to anyone, the next morning she arrives at the home of Mr. Harris and sees that there's a dead man in the main garden -- and he's dead. Finding out it's Jean-Jacques, and that her brother-in-law Nick is the main suspect, Cam is determined to find the killer before he's convicted for a crime he didn't commit. Now if she can just keep her wits about her and out of the eye of the killer she just might find the truth and make it out alive...

This is the first in the series, and unfortunately, it was one of those that was thrown over by Berkley Publishing when they decided to cut their cozy mystery line. Since I haven't seen more than the three that were written, I still decided to read the book to see if the rest were worth my time.

The book started out slow for me. For some reason, it just couldn't grab my attention and it took longer to "get going," as it were. Perhaps it was the fact that Cam seems to have no personality; I think Annie would have been a better choice as the protagonist of the book, but oh well.

First off, who forgets to eat for ten hours? You'd get woozy, and maybe even nauseous. The body is a giant computer that tells you things important. Sorry, but I'm not buying into this one. She's 5'8" and only 117 and gets offended when her boyfriend Rob tells her she's skinny. Eat a sandwich. I'm 5'8" and if I weighed that little my husband would think I was anorexic.

The plot was decent enough, with the man being killed in the garden, and when Cam started investigating, she found a plethora of suspects, who all might have had a reason to want him dead. So when she starts digging, she discovers that many of them had secrets - including her brother-in-law and her best friend, Annie. Secrets that could have led to either one of them being the murderer.

I did think it was rather small of Jake to keep mentioning Annie's "record." She smashed a car window because she found out the guy she was dating wasn't who she thought he was. She didn't rob a bank or get arrested for drugs or an illegal gun. Geez. What a tool. Jake even thought Annie was guilty of murder because of this. Seriously? It also irritated me that the characters needed to get drunk every time they got upset. Drinking doesn't solve problems and it only brings more - like hangovers, liver issues, etc. But these characters found a reason to drink every chance they got. Sheesh.

Aside from this there were plenty of red herrings, and plenty of distractions. Every time you got led down one rabbit hole, another appeared. While you're thinking it's one person, another appears. So you never quite get the answers to the questions, because once you do, more questions pop up. The only person you know didn't commit the crimes is Cam's father, Nelson. It was all completely confusing, all through the entirety of the book. A lot of chaos with everyone running around and then comparing notes about who was doing what.

I got the feeling that the author couldn't decide who to make the murderer, so made nearly everyone a suspect while she continued to write the story and figure out who she didn't like most. The characters weren't developed at all, they just kept investigating - clumsily - and drinking to think things through. Because everyone knows that booze helps you think clearer. Honestly? And Annie didn't have anyone to help her at her bakery, so depended on Cam and Rob when she needed to make a few dozen brownies. (And, of course, they needed to drink so they could bake). Okay, then...not to mention Cam's sister Petunia needed Cam's help when she was catering for her restaurant. Do these people know what the word 'employees' mean? When Annie was in jail, did her bakery fold up while she was gone? Wouldn't that be bad for business? How were either women making any money?

In the end, when everything is revealed, and the police have the right murderer - you think - Cam comes up with other questions and then there's more questions and the end of the book gives you the right answers. I think. It sort of just leaves you hanging, with the murderer about to be caught but never gives you complete closure and finishes up, so how did they get everything closed with the murderer caught and how? So will I read the other two in this series? That's a big NO. Sorry. I like my mysteries tied up nicely with a feeling of satisfaction, not wondering 'what happened here?'… (mehr)

‘Everything’s coming up roses’ for the Roanoke Garden Society. America’s premier magazine for gardening enthusiasts Garden Delights will be featuring them in an eight-page spread in June and award-winning photographer Jean-Jacques Georges will be scheduling a shoot in local historically registered gardens at La Fontaine.
Cam -short for Camellia - Harris is arranging the event, from coordinating the photographer and magazine staff to ensuring her sister Petunia, and boyfriend Rob, cater the event. RGS founder and owner of La Fontaine, Neil Patrick is opening his home for the event and the whole of Roanoke’s society will be on hand for the grand opening day. Just when nothing can go wrong Georges’ body is found stabbed to death with pruning shears before the shoot even starts. Cam, scrambling to save the day, brings in her best-friend and flat-mate, Annie, to take over the shoot but when the second body is found and Rob and Annie are both in jail, suspected of murder, it is up to Cam to save her friends and find the real killer before the RGS wilts.
Hart Johnson, writing under the pen-name Alyse Carlson, has taken on a project of massive proportions. Following in the steps of Sue Grafton and her alphabet series Carlson appears to be ready to cozy up to the letters in the first of what she describes as ‘a garden society mystery’. I hope that there are 26 plants to see the series out, in order that we can continue to enjoy this masterful series. We can look forward to more of Virginia as we learn the ins and outs of Roanoke, ‘America’s Most Livable City’ and entwine our lives with those of Cam and her loveable bunch of friends and family.
In her debut cozy Carlson treats us to a sexy little thriller that gives us a new written aroma, and opens desire for future fragrant floral novels as we eagerly await the next in the series, The Begonia Bribe.
… (mehr)