Snipped In The Bud - A Flower Shop Mystery

No catchy title today - sorry, one just isn't coming to me yet. I'll try harder on the next review. I've been MIA lately, all over bloggerland, my sister came to town and I've been visiting with her and my family over at my parents house and today is my errand day but I loved this book and wanted to share before I got on with today's business.

I just realized that the last two books I have reviewed were books in a series and truth be told, this book - and the two others I will be posting reviews for soon - are also books in a series. I promise, I do read stand alones and will post one soon. But on with the review.

From the back cover: When I swapped the thorny problems of law school for the budding business of my flower store, Bloomers, I vowed that I, Abby Knight, wouldn't be caught dead visiting that hateful campus ever again. But sometimes a girl's got to face down her dragons....

Someone orders a black rose for Abby's old law school nemesis, Professor "Snapdragon" Puffer. But her plans for a speedy delivery are foiled when he catches her putting the bloom on his desk and sends it straight into the trash. Abby flees in terror, only to run smack into Carson Reed, the professor who recently had her arrested at an animal rights protest. After a biting exchange, Abby storms out of the building. But if there's anything she can't stand, it's injustice and bullies. So, even though she knows bad luck comes in threes, she ignores the advice of her sometimes boyfriend, hunk-a-licious Marco Salvare, and heads back in to retrieve her dignity and her flower - only to find the rose now decorating a dead professor, and herself the prime suspect......

(Note:I have to give the person who wrote this copy a virtual high-five. They did an excellent job setting up the book without giving a thing away. And, as you all know, it's a rare thing for me to give kudo's to back cover copy.)

Snipped in the Bud is the fourth book in the Kate Collins Flower Shop Mystery Series. I have been following the series since book one Mum's the Word . And I have to say, they just keep getting better. It seems that Collins is finally hitting her stride with Abby and I am very excited for the next release. Something that hasn't happened before. Yes, I have bought every one of the books, but none of them were ones I remembered release dates for, Snipped has changed all of that.

Abby Knight is the 26 year old owner of the small flower shop "Bloomers". At only 5'2" she's a shorty with a big heart and flaming red hair. She's also a meddler. Abby likes to see justice served and loves to fight for the little guys. Naturally, her tendency to meddle often finds her in the middle of murder investigations. Usually she's fighting to clear some one else's' name, but this time, Abby needs to clear her own name before she winds up in jail for murder.

Abby's world is filled with people that love her, the two women who work for her - Grace and Lottie, Marco Salvare - the hottie owner of Down The Hatch a bar and grill just down the street from Bloomers, her mother - who loves to create works of "art" (you should read about some of the so called art this woman creates), her father - an ex cop who was shot in the line of duty only to suffer a stroke during surgery, her roommate Nikki - childhood friend since forever, and her cousins Jillian - who has severe marriage issues.

The cast makes for laughs, not ones that have you LOLing, but ones that have you smirking from start to finish. And although Abby knows they mean well, she tends to get just a tad annoyed with them sometimes. The thing is, the way Collins has crafted these books, written in the first person, you too, start to feel Abby's victories, disappointments, and even her lusts. I just love Abby Knight.

So, for a fast fun read, pick up Snipped in the Bud right a way. You do not need to read the first three books in this series to follow along, but trust me, as soon as close the book, you'll be heading to your local bookstore to find the other three. They are so addicting.

Take Care