Murder Sets Seed [Hardcover]

Janis Harrison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2001

The past six months have been tough on River City, Missouri's leading florist Bretta Solomon. Still getting used to being a fairly young widow and upset over having regained some of the weight she worked so hard to lose, Bretta is throwing herself into her latest project: the restoration of her new home, the historic Beauchamp mansion.

Bretta and her flower shop staff have been working overtime, decorating for the upcoming public open house. But a week before the big event, catastrophe strikes: the mansion's former owner, River City matriarch Cameo Beauchamp is strangled in a roomful of people during a momentary blackout. But that's not the worst thing. The murder site is Bretta's ballroom during a dinner-party preview of the house, and several of River City's upstanding citizens are present. Cameo had just accused--but not named-someone in the group of blackmail, and the manner of her death makes them all murder suspects.

Ignoring her promise to local sheriff Sid Hancock not to get involved in the investigation, Bretta becomes determined to discover what deadly secrets the blackmailer had uncovered and reveal Cameo's killer - before becoming the next victim.

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

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Soon after buying and partially restoring historic Beauchamp Mansion in River City, Mo., florist Bretta Solomon finds herself back for more horticultural sleuthing in this pleasant Yuletide cozy (after Roots of Murder). At the request of the former owner and last matriarch of the family dynasty, Cameo Beauchamp-Sinclair, Bretta puts on a preview dinner for a few of the city's more prominent citizens. From the moment the guests arrive, the atmosphere heats up and the tension escalates. Queen bee Cameo antagonizes each of her handpicked invitees, alleging that one of them is blackmailing her. Then the power suddenly goes out. When it returns, Cameo is sitting in her wheelchair, strangled by a string of Christmas lights. Unfairly pegged as the chief suspect, Bretta has to contend with Cameo's irascible housekeeper, Inez, and difficult daughter, Topaz, as well as with the hated local gossip columnist and an overeager librarian. Meanwhile, the days are getting shorter and the mansion staff edgier with all the holiday deadlines. Bretta concludes that the solution to the murder lies in the pastAin particular, in the diary that Cameo had kept in emulation of her ancestors. Searching for the now-missing journal propels the intrepid flower lady into greater peril. While her tale is overwrought at times, Harrison pulls everything together for a satisfying finale, besides sowing seeds for another sequel. Agent, Lori Pope, Faith Childs Literary Agency. (Aug.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Series protagonist Bretta Solomon (Roots of Murder), whose florist concern seems to be doing well, purchases an old family mansion in River City, MO, and plans an open house there to encourage business. Before the open house can occur, however, the domineering and manipulative old lady who sold Bretta the estate is murdered. Harrison uses the murder-when-the-lights-go-out scenario to great effect, focusing on a historian, a genealogist, a reporter, a photographer, and a lawyer as suspects. This entertaining tempest in a small-town teapot should be a hit.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 347 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Pr (June 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786233516
• ISBN-13: 978-0786233519
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.9 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,048,679 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Murder Sets Seed, September 26, 2000

By 

tregatt (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder Sets Seed (Hardcover)

Bretta Solomon has decided to begin putting her life back together after her husband's untimely death by buying the historic Beauchamp mansion and restoring it. Bretta and her flower shop staff have been working hard at decorating the house in time for the shop's annual Christmas open house. Unfortunately, a week before the event, the manipulative Cameo Beauchamp, erstwhile owner of the Beauchamp Mansion, persuades Bretta to hold a select dinner for a few friends (read River City's most upstanding citizens) so that they can have a sneak peek at the restorations.

Of course Cameo has an agenda of her own that she fails to appraise Bretta of! Just before dinner, Cameo drops a bombshell: someone at this ill-fated dinner party has attempted to blackmail her and she's not going to stand for it. And then dramatically, the lights go out and when they come back on, Cameo is found strangled. Bretta is all for staying out of this investigation but when the town's leading gossip columnist accuses her of the crime, Bretta goes all out to find out who did actually kill Cameo Beauchamp.

I enjoyed this mystery alot more than the first one ("Roots Of Murder"). Bretta Solomon is a charming and sympathetic woman, and I thought the other characters were developed well as well. But I really didn't understand the sheriff's attitude or hostility towards Brettta, especially as Bretta's husband had been a rather close friend. His antagonism seemed all out of proportion. Also, I had to read the last three chapters twice in order to make sense of who had committed the murder and why. And while I did understand it the second time around, I think the novel would have been stronger if there had been a few more clues strewn about in the preceding chapters.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read, October 5, 2000

By 

Brenda "MYSHELFDOTCOM" (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Murder Sets Seed (Hardcover)

I have been absolutely thrilled with the new mysteries, especially the series that have started up in the last year or two, and Janis Harrison's Gardening Mystery series is just one example of theses great new series.

A Murder Sets Seed is the second of Janis Harrison's Gardening Mysteries. Widowed Bretta Solomon, owner of a flower shop, is our amateur sleuth. She is a fabulous, full-bodied character who holds up the story with her personal strength, humor, and wisdom. The entire of cast and the story line of A Murder Sets Seed are impressive and complete, so readers can expect to react, thank goodness. The mystery, with its developments and revelations, pulled together expertly.

Cameo Beauchamp-Sinclair, a rich socialite, has a couple of problems: she is being blackmailed and needs a surrogate daughter. After she meets Bretta Solomon, she sells the Beauchamp Mansion to her and turns to Bretta for help with the problems. During one of Bretta's formal dinners Cameo denounces her unknown blackmailer in front of the other guests, which causes a snowball effect into murder and mayhem.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A likeablemystery, July 19, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Murder Sets Seed (Hardcover)

Over eighteen months ago, Bretta Solomon's beloved spouse, a deputy sheriff, died. Bretta still mourns her loss, but their love is so powerful that even death cannot keep them from conversing with one another. Bretta runs a River City floral shop, but that is inadequate to keep her mind off of her husband's death. So when Cameo Beauchamp-Sinclair offers to sell her family mansion to Bretta, the florist leaps at the opportunity.

Bretta performs a miracle restoring the mansion to much of its former glory. To celebrate her accomplishment, Bretta hosts a dinner to include Cameo and many of the elderly woman's friends and relatives. During the meal, Cameo announces that she has discovered the identity of the person trying to blackmail her. However, the lights go off and when illumination returns, Cameo is dead. Having successfully solved a murder before, Bretta begins investigating this homicide without yet realizing how close she comes to joining her husband in the afterlife.

The heroine of MURDER SETS SEED is a likable, understandable, and empathetic individual. However, the remainder of the cast seems two-dimensional, symbolizing a stereotype rather than a person. Though not enhancing the tale, that flaw fails to hurt the story line because the plot totally belongs to the brave Bretta. Janis Harrison writes an enjoyable amateur sleuth tale that sets the roots for a warm sad character starring in a gardening mystery series.

Harriet Klausner