Lilies That Fester [Mass Market Paperback]

Janis Harrison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 2002

When Flower Shop owner Bretta Solomon leaves her hometown of River City, Missouri, and heads for a florist convention in Branson, she's surprised to find a letter from Vincent and Mabel McDuffy slipped under her hotel room door, begging for help. The McDuffys seem to know of Bretta's success as an amateur sleuth around River City, and that, coupled with their admiration for Bretta's late husband, a police officer, has inspired them to ask Bretta to find out what happened to their daughter, who died of a heart attack a few months ago.

The trouble is, Bretta can't find the McDuffys-after leaving her several messages at the hotel, they seem to have vanished. And although she's curious to track them down and find out exactly what they want her to do, she's got her hands full already running the design contest at the annual florist convention, coping with back-stabbing competitors and suspicious colleagues.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The third mystery to feature Missouri florist Bretta Solomon, widow of Deputy Sheriff Carl Solomon, proves a less fruitful offering than its predecessors (Roots of Murder and Murder Sets Seed). Bretta travels to nearby Branson, a small Ozarks town, to attend the first Show-Me Floral Designers' Competition and Conference. After checking in at her hotel, she finds a letter from some friends of Carl's, Vincent and Mabel McDuffy, stuck under her door, asking her to "right a terrible wrong." She tries to contact the McDuffys, but the couple has disappeared and a newspaper article leads her to think they may be murder victims. Add to this mystery spiteful attacks on competition contestants, and the situation is ripe for Bretta to jump in and investigate. What does the attractive man with the butterfly group have to do with all this? And why does he, a guest at the hotel, answer the phone at a local business? Though the plot is basically sound, Bretta lurches willy-nilly from episode to episode without continuity or logic, occasionally guided by the voice of her late husband, who still speaks to her in moments of stress. There's a large cast of secondary characters, stereotypical and tiresome, about whom it's difficult to get concerned. Harrison brings off a surprise ending with ‚lan, but the story has already gone to seed.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Coordinator of a floral design contest at the statewide florist conference in Branson, MO, newly svelte Bretta Solomon (Murder Sets Seed) tackles several heavyweight personalities on her way to success. Numerous envious competitors want to discredit her, an attractive but mysterious man shows suspicious interest in her, and a couple who wanted their daughter's death investigated winds up dead. True to form, Bretta carefully sleuths her way to the truth but not without personal peril involving knives, razors, and heights. A special delight for series fans, this entry features a sympathetic heroine, comfortable prose, and an intriguing plot.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (December 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312983174
• ISBN-13: 978-0312983178
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,915,329 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Special Interest to Mystery-Lovers Maintaining Weight Loss, August 6, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Lilies That Fester (Hardcover)

An interesting, well-written mystery with a much-appreciated twist. This book will be enjoyed by mystery and gardening fans, and also by another group of readers who are rarely, if ever, represented in books of any kind -- folks, especially women, who struggle throughout their lives to lose and maintain the loss of large amounts of weight. Ms. Harrison's protagonist is a woman who has lost 100 pounds, and is maintaining that loss, but fights a daily battle against cravings for high-calorie food. Other characters in the book are in a similar situation, and the danger posed by individuals who prey upon the desperation of those trying to maintain large weight losses is central to the plot of this novel.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a very absorbing read, December 5, 2001

By 

tregatt (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lilies That Fester (Hardcover)

"Lilies That Fester" is an extremely absorbing read, that really keeps you guessing as to the identity of the villain until the very end.

Bretta Solomon may be feeling good about herself now that she's shed some weight, but the headache of coordinating the first floral competition at the Branson Florist Convention, has done quite a bit to sour her mood. Dealing with avid competitors who will not stop hounding her to reveal more about the different categories that Bretta has thought up for the competition, plus in-house wrangling amongst the board members has been enough to make her wish that she had never agreed to oversee the competition. The only bright spot in the horizon is that she seems to have picked up an admirer -- good looking, single and an amateur gardener to boot! And then just before the festivities start, Bretta receives an urgent message from a couple, the McDuffys, that her dead husband used to know. Knowing about her ability to solve perplexing mysteries, they leave urgent messages with her, pressing for a meeting. Having had no success with actually meeting Bretta so far, they leave a letter and a cassette, with instructions for Bretta to read the letter if they fail to make the planned meeting for the following morning. However the McDuffys fail to turn up the next day. Reading the letter, Bretta discovers that the couple want Bretta to discover what had happened to their daughter just before she died of a heart attack. Her behaviour had changed drastically the few months before her death, and the McDuffys suspect that someone was at the root of all her unhappiness that caused her death. Bretta is of course saddened by the letter, and is not sure what she can do. And then she discovers that the McDuffys seem to have mysteriously vanished. Although her hands are quite full with trying to mange the competition, as well as deal with her many back-stabbing colleagues, she feels she must track down the McDuffys, if only to talk to them. But where to start? And then someone starts playing a series of dangerous pranks on Bretta, and her would-be beau starts behaving strangely. What exactly is going on? And how are the McDuffys connected to all this? Bretta is determined to find out.

This is by far the best Bretta Solomon mystery novel, and I was quite engrossed. There are so many things I liked about this mystery novel: the mystery was an intriguing and interesting one, and the plot unfolded smoothly and flawlessly till the very end where Janis Harrison pulled everything together brilliantly. Bretta Solomon is a wonderfully clever, warm hearted and feisty amateur sleuth, and "Lilies That Fester" showcases this character superbly. (I absolutely loved the wry tone she used when observing the silly antics that other members of the board indulged in) "Lilies That Fester" is definitely a first rate read.

4.0 out of 5 stars DID SOMEONE MENTION WEIGHT LOSS??, January 21, 2010

By 

ITZME "JEANNE" (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lilies That Fester (Hardcover)

Bretta Solomon Gardening Mystery #3. This takes place in Branson MO where Bretta is holding a Flower Arranging Contest during a workshop for almost 200 florists and interested parties. She encounters Bailey Monroe, who holds her interest in a beguiling way. There are murders involved, as usual, and many characters from the workshop. Fun romp.