Dearly Depotted (Flower Shop Mysteries, No. 3) [Mass Market Paperback]

Kate Collins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 5, 2005

Abby has her hands full at her cousin Jillian's wedding as florist, bridesmaid, and grandma-sitter-all while wearing a hideous dress. Then the groom's 90-year-old grandmother goes missing from the reception. On her search, Abby finds the corpse of guest Jack Snyder. Now she must find out who killed Jack in the pulpit.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Move over, Stephanie Plum. Abby Knight has come to town."
-- Denise Swanson --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Signet (July 5, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451215850
• ISBN-13: 978-0451215857
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #40,011 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kate Collins is the author of the national best-selling Flower Shop Mystery series and historical romance novels. For her mystery plots, Kate draws upon her own love of flowers and intrigue, and an intimate knowledge of life in a small college town. She states firmly for the benefit of all who live near her that none of the zany characters that populate the fictional town of New Chapel are based on people she knows. Honest.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars That'll Ruin A Wedding, September 2, 2005

By 

Beth D (Omaha, NE) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dearly Depotted (Flower Shop Mysteries, No. 3) (Mass Market Paperback)

A wedding, love in the air and a dead body in the gazebo. What else could go wrong?

Abby Knight, owner of "Bloomers" hadn't thought things could get worse. Not only was she the florist at the wedding, but a bridesmaid (In a hideous clown gown) and grandma sitter, for the 90 year old grandmother of the groom.

Plus she had to convince her cousin Jillian (a many times engaged but never made it to the altar, bride) that she really, really, really did want to marry Claymore Osborne.

Then the groomsman she was paired with is injured and can't make the wedding and Jillian expects her to find a substitute.

Fortunately, her "boyfriend" Marco Salvare, owner of "Down The Hatch Bar And Grill" agrees to escort her down the aisle.

Then she loses grandma at the reception, only to find her outside at the gazebo having found a dead body, which turns out to be Jack Snyder, who had recently got out of jail.

Who would want this former jailbird dead?

What about Jillian's cousin Melanie who Jack had gotten pregnant and then dumped her, never seeing or supporting their daughter.

Or Melanie's father, Josiah (Just because he got into a fight and beat Jack up in the middle of the wedding shouldn't put him at the top of the list should it?)

But the police seem to be more interested in Richard Davis, who was dating Abby's friend and employee Grace. It's Grace who asks Abby to help find the real killer before Richard is tried and convicted of a murder she's sure he didn't commit.

Highlights:

This is a wonderful series. This is the third book and it just keeps getting better. Abby is a very believable character.

Her boyfriend Marco fits perfectly with her. He doesn't constantly tell her to stop investigating, but instead, (as a former cop) helps her all he can.

Abby's family. Everyone except her father is crazy, but you just love them.

Nikki, her best friend and roommate, employee's Grace and Lottie, clients like Trudee DeWitt and her wonderful cat, Simon have all become more involved in the storyline. In the first book, Abby was pretty much a lone wolf, doing everything herself and didn't have a lot of interaction with other characters, but that has improved over each book.

Pryce Osborne - Abby's former fiancee, and brother of the groom, who dumped her when she dropped out of law school. He is such a jerk that you just love the zingers Abby sends his way.

Lowlights:

I did figure out the killer a little before Abby, but that doesn't interfere with the story at all.

Abby could use a little more backbone when dealing with her family.

Overall a very good entry in this series.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun series!, August 9, 2005

By 

D. K. Stokes - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dearly Depotted (Flower Shop Mysteries, No. 3) (Mass Market Paperback)

Dearly Depotted takes up where the previous Slay It with Flowers left off, with Abby busy with her cousin Jillian's wedding and Trudee DeWitt's 4th of July extravaganza--all on the same day.

And of course things go wrong. There are pink instead of red carnations, a groomsman with a sprained ankle, and a wandering grandmother. To top it off, she has to wear The World's Ugliest Bridesmaid Dress™ in front of the hunky Marco.

But all that tends to pale next to finding another dead body when Abby goes looking for the groom's missing grandmother. Abby had promised her friend Grace to stop meddling in murder, but when Grace's new boyfriend turns out to be the prime suspect, Grace reluctantly asks for Abby's help.

This series is a fun blend of clever mysteries and an engaging and quirky cast of characters that just get more interesting with each book. I'm looking forward to the next, and hoping this will be a good long series.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well Done Cozy Mystery, April 10, 2006

By 

drebbles (Arlington, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dearly Depotted (Flower Shop Mysteries, No. 3) (Mass Market Paperback)

Abby Knight is thrilled that her cousin Jillian is getting married. Sure, she's not thrilled that her bridesmaid's dress makes her look like a clown, but Jillian has hired her to do the flowers for the wedding and Abby, owners of the Bloomers Flower Shop, can use the money. Abby's even willing to look after Jillian's grandmother-in-law during the wedding. Life is never dull with Abby around as a fistfight breaks out during the wedding. But the real trouble starts when Grandma wanders off and Abby finds her near a dead body. Abby's not one to shy away from investigating a murder and is especially anxious to solve this case, as one of the suspects is the boyfriend of Grace, her shop assistant.

"Dearly Depotted" is a delightful entry in this charming cozy mystery series. Abby is a plucky heroine, not afraid to get involved in a mystery; outspoken, often without thinking ahead of the consequences; bright, yet confused about her relationship with hunky ex-cop Marco. The book is also filled with Abby's delightful sidekicks: shop assistant's Little and Grace (I chuckled when Kate Collins described Grace meeting Elvis when he was in the army); Abby's roommate Nikki and her playful cat Simon; her client Trudee DeWitt; and her incredibly selfish cousin Jillian. Besides the mystery, there are several subplots going on that help make the characters seem real. The mystery itself was well written and plotted and I had no idea who the murderer was until the very end.

Well done.