Flower Shop Mysteries Books In Order

Publication Order of Flower Shop Mysteries Books

A former teacher and Indiana native, Kate Collins is the author and creator of the best-selling Flower shop series. After graduating from the University of Purdue with a master’s degree, she first became a teacher at a local elementary school for six years. After she had given birth to her first child, she decided to give up on her teaching career to become a full time, writer. Immediately after quiting her job, she began writing short stories for a children magazines. So as to also supplement her income she also worked as a legal secretary. In the year 1995, she sold her very first romance novel. Ever since she released her first novel, she has continued to publish more and more works. At the moment, she has published close to eight mystery novels and seven historical romantic suspense novels with most of them making the New York bestsellers list, Independent Booksellers and Barnes and Noble mass marker best sellers list.

Mums the Word

Mum’s the Word is the first installment of the Flower Shop mystery series. As the first book in the series, we are introduced to one Abby Knight, who happens to be the proud owner of Bloomers flower shop. As the main character in the book, Abby has gone through a lot of predicaments. Hence, the reader can only feel sorry for her. Apart from being thrown out of law school, Abby Knight was also dumped by her boyfriend just two months before their wedding. At this point in her life, she is struggling to pay her bills especially due to the fact that her business is not doing as she expected ad is also facing tough competition from a nearby florist. Despite everything that is going on in her life, Abby is still able to enjoy her day to day life. But one day, her happiness is shattered as an SUV vehicle rams into her restored Corvette and takes off. Since the Corvette was one of her most valued assets, Abby is more that determined to track the driver ad make or her pay for the damage that she or he has caused on her vehicle.

As she conducts her investigation, Abby discovers that a murder had occurred the same morning that the crush had taken place. Hence, she is convinced that she could be a witness to a daylight murder. With the assistance of a retired Private Investigator, Marco Salvarare, Abby is able to take her investigation to a whole new level which in turn makes her an assassination target. As the first book in the Flower Shop series, Mums the Word is a truly enjoyable masterpiece for the mystery lovers. From a reader’s perspective, the book had all the elements that an ideal mystery novel or series should contain; a likeable character, an interesting setting and several great supporting characters.

On one hand, Abby is an exceedingly likeable character who is more than determined to locate the assassin who smashed her vehicle while on the other hand Marco is a character who seems to be always there when Abby needs her. With that being said, there are several sections in the book where you are going to find yourself laughing out loud due to the fact that may at times, humor tends to go well with mysteries and the writer ensured that this book had plenty of them. All in all, if you are a fan of Donna Andrews, Heather Webber or Muddy Hunter, then you should definitely give this first installment a try.

Slay it with Flowers

As the second installment of the Flower Shop mysteries, the story-line continues from where the author had left off. The main character Abby is not only the bridesmaid to her cousins Jill wedding, but she has also been mandated with the distribution of flowers to wedding. Since this is more of a business transaction, Abby expects to bring in extra cash for her business. Irrespective of Abby’s optimism, the plot takes a twist as one of the guests disappears while another one is found dead. Since Abby is a great investigator, Jill Abby’s cousin insists that Abby should be the one to conduct the investigation. Since she really needs the money, from the wedding, Abby has no choice but to agree. As she conducts her investigation, Abby discovers that she is surrounded by suspects. Apart from that, Abby is also convinced that there is a prostitution cartel and that the two incidences at the wedding are somehow connected.

Just like the previous installment, not everyone is happy with Abby’s involvement in the case. Hence, she has to finish the case before she becomes a victim. When compared to the first installment, Abby has now fully developed, and her involvement, in this case, is truly understandable. All in all, her involvement in the prostitution ring has not been fully explained by the author. Since she is an inexperienced investigator, she still conducts herself in an unprofessional manner such as photographing license of the men whom she suspects could be visiting the prostitutes in broad light. Apart from Abby the author also does an excellent job of developing the other characters such as Marco, the ex-cop whom we met first in the first book, Lotty ad Grace, who are Abby’s co-workers. Furthermore, despite of all the precarious, frightening and hair raising circumstances that Abby finds herself in, this installment still remains an upbeat jocular sleuth novel that will definitely leave you the reader at the edge of your seat.

Conclusion

Most light heart mystery series are usually descried as funny when in the real sense they are either sweet or amazing. The Flower shop mystery is extremely funny. Apart from being funny, the Flower Shop series is considered to be a cozy mysteries because it is very easy to follow and to read. A huge majority of readers who read the series have given it positive reviews and currently, the Flower Shop series is one of the highest rated mystery series. In addition, the series has also been filled with several subplots which will not only keep you guessing but also intrigued from the first book to the last one in the series. As an experienced cozy mystery writer, Collins will leave you deducing from the first book to the last book. All in all, this book is a very quick upbeat read that not only has good pacing but also an excellent character development.