"An exciting who-done-it"

After flunking out of law school, Abby Knight buys Bloomers, a New Chapel, Indiana flower shop from the original owner Lottie who sold the store when her husband's medical bills nearly forced them into bankruptcy. For the Fourth of July weekend, one of Abby's clients ordered begonias in red, white, & blue but the supplier sent pink carnations forcing Abby to spray paint them red.

She is also the bridesmaid at her cousin Jillian's wedding, the same relative who stood up four husbands-to- be. Abby makes sure that her cousin goes through with their wedding but after the nuptials, she finds a dead body in the gazebo. The dead man is the father of Melanie's child (jillian's cousin) who had a fight with Melanie's father. Instead the police arrest the boyfriend of Abby's assistant because he threatened the victim after he discovered he was embezzling from his company and has a record that says he murdered someone in Texas. Abby sets out to prove he is innocent even though it puts her life in danger.

Dearly Depotted is an exciting who-done-it because there are so many suspects who had reasons to kill the victim that readers will become absorbed in the story and will finish in one sitting. The heroine is loyal to her friends and is determined to find a suspect other than Richard while she is trying to figure out if her friend Marco who she is attracted to is ever going to take her out. Kate Collins' amateur sleuth tale is original and charming with so many unexpected twists that readers will have a hard time trying to figure out who the murderer really is

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted June 28, 2005

Summary

Well, it looks like my cousin Jillian is heading for the altar again, and guess which bridesmaid is doing the flowers? Yep, me, Abby Knight, law-school dropout, owner of Bloomers and—did I mention?—ex-fiance to the best man! I'd say that's a bumper crop of trouble, even before finding a gate-crashing guest dead in the garden...

PUSHING UP DAISIES

Abby has her hands full at Jillian's wedding doing triple duty as florist, bridesmaid, and grandma-sitter—all while wearing a horrendous flowered creation that makes her look like a clown. But the real trouble starts when the groom's ninety-year-old grandmother goes missing from the reception. While hunting for her, Abby turns up the body of Jack Snyder, one of the guests, behind the pulpit in the gazebo. And when Abby's assistant Grace finds her new boyfriend a suspect, Abby decides she has to discover who killed Jack in the pulpit!