Slay It with Flowers

Written by Kate Collins

Narrated by Elise Arsenault

Law school drop-out turned flower shop owner Abby Knight has been asked to be a bridesmaid by her cousin. But before the couple says "I do," a groomsman disappears, and another member of the wedding party is found dead. Abby has to hurry down an aisle of suspects to unveil the truth and make sure the bride still gets to the church on time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Jun 28, 2016
• ISBN: 9781515977506

Kate Collins

Kate Collins is a writer of long-form and short fiction. From West Cork, Ireland, she now lives and works in Oxfordshire. A Good House for Children is her debut novel.

Reviews for Slay It with Flowers

[Sarah Crame · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Racist, xenophobic, inaccurate, sloppy writing, and bad plot. I will not be continuing with this series.

[bettesbooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A cozy mystery with the protagonist a flower shop owner. Her cousin's groomsman has been murdered and if Abby the protagonist wants to pay for her bridesmaid dress and the flowers she has ordered for the wedding, she will have to solve the murder or the wedding is off.A cozy mystery that can be read by any member of the family and of any age. No bad language, no sex, just a few clues to follow.

[maydacat_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Abby is a bridesmaid as well as providing the flowers for her cousin’s wedding. It’s complicated, since the groom is the brother of Abby’s ex-fiancé. It gets even more complicated when one of the groomsmen turns up dead and another is held for his murder. The bride is upset that the wedding may be cancelled and Abby is worried that she will be stuck with loads of flowers and no payment for them. Abby wants to solve the murder, but she really gets in over her head in this one! It’s an exciting mystery, with engaging characters in an intricate plot.

[murderbydeath · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I liked this book more than the first - but still find the constant admonition from all the other characters to "stop meddling" really annoying. Makes me feel like I'm cheering on the local busybody (who is usually the victim of cozies, not the protagonist). Still, I did enjoy this one more and I'm ready to start the third after a short break.

[jiraiya_5 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A more than promising beginning leading to a tempered middle and a nefarious end. That's how I sum up the essence of this book. Something undefinable took me out of the story. I could see how the author began this book. She had the idea of the plot lacing elements with the subplot. The actual execution lacked punch (no pun) and it was obvious that the author ran out of steam midway. There was no concealed villain working in the shadows, plotting intricately. The murder revolves round a cruel but big fat dumb slave ring cartel. This book also had the distinction of being the first murder mystery where the killer left prints on the weapon. And still the police and the FBI couldn't do anything. I needn't say more. But I will. This book is stupid.

[bookswoman · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed the book for the most part, but I was bothered a bit by the TSTL actions of the heroine, especially near the end of the book.

I understand curiosity, I understand wanting to help someone you think is in trouble. I don't understand taking off by yourself to a place you know is extremely dangerous.

I'm enjoying the bits of flower lore, the building relationship between Abby and Marco. I find the cousin annoying but mostly a minor annoyance and the rest of Abby's family is hysterical.

I'll keep reading the series, for the most part it is a lot of fun.

[cozylover · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another great one by Collins. Love the interaction between the main characters and it has a great plot.

[minjung_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In the second instalment of the Flower Shop Mystery series, Abby's cousin Jill is getting married (well, maybe - she gets engaged a LOT). And not only is Abby serving as the wedding florist, but she's a bridesmaid and seemingly the only sane bridesmaid, at that. But when one member of the bridal party is murdered and another member of the bridal party is arrested for the murder, Jill asks Abby to serve as the bridal investigator, as well. Soon, Abby has all kinds of suspects, most of them other members of the bridal party.In the meantime, Abby becomes convinced that the new massage parlour in town is really just a front for an illegal prostitution ring. She conspires with the hair salon owner (conveniently located next door to the massage parlour) to investigate this, too. I'm not sure that Abby has the most common sense as she decides the best way to investigate is by taking pictures of the men (and their license plates) going into the parlor in broad daylight and without bothering to be behind any kind of cover.Once again, she is helped by Marco, the owner of the bar down the street. And her disapproving employees are there along the way, too, reminding her that meddling can only lead to trouble. Which, of course, it inevitably does.But Collins writes in a light, entertaining, breezy way, and this makes for a quick, fun read. Especially if you don't mind reading about frat boys named Punch and Bertie.

[drebbles · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Abby Knight, owner of a struggling flower shop, is not only a bridesmaid in her cousin Jill's upcoming wedding, she is in charge of the flower arrangements, which will bring much needed money into her shop. As if Abby didn't have enough to do, when one of the men in the wedding party disappears and another is murdered, Jill insists that Abby solve the murder. Abby has no choice but to agree (she really needs the money from the wedding) and as she investigates she finds herself surrounded by suspects. Abby also is convinced that there's a prostitution ring in town, so she starts to investigate that as well, thinking the two might be connected. Not everyone is happy with her meddling and Abby needs to solve the case soon before she becomes the next victim. I liked this book much better than the first one in the series "Mum's The Word". Abby is much more likable and, unlike the first book, her involvement in the murder investigation is understandable. Unfortunately, her "meddling" in the prostitution ring, although a necessary plot point, is not as well explained. And Abby still does some stupid things that strain a reader's patience, like photographing in broad daylight license plates of men that she thinks are visiting the alleged prostitutes. The other characters are well drawn: Marco, the hunky ex-cop is not as much a cliché as in the first book; Grace and Lottie, Abby's coworkers, are delightful; Jill, Abby's cousin, is shallow and stupid, as are much of the wedding party outside of Bertie, whom I'd like to have seen more of. I'd also like to see more of Abby`s roommate, Nikki, perhaps she'll get more involved in solving cases in future books. There are some minor flaws in this mystery, but there are some nicely humorous scenes (it's worth reading just to see what Abby's mother's latest sculpture is) and I can't wait to read the next one!

[chinquapin_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I really did not care for this book at all, even though I generally love reading cozy mysteries. I found the characters to be rather annoying. Abby Knight did a lot of incredibly idiotic things. And everyone seemed to think that how one looks and how much money one makes are the sum total of a happy existence. The mystery itself was very boring to me and flowers were mentioned only briefly and had nothing to do with the story. Also, the town was nondescript and boring, and location is usually a very important element for me when reading a cozy. All in all, it was a disappointment and I don't plan on getting any more in this series.

[icequeentn · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

After reading the first book, I was slightly hesitant to continue the series. It was just an "ok" book to begin with. Hoping that the series would get better, I read the next in the series. It didn;t get better, but it didn't get worse either. The character is likable, but plain stupid most of the time. I'm hoping she starts to get smarter in the next book, or I may have to cry "uncle" and just give up and move on to a better book.

[darla_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

2nd in the series. Abby's cousin's wedding is in jeopardy, as is Abby's fee for the flowers, when the best man turns up murdered.

[scoutlee_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the 2nd book in the Flower Shop Mystery series. Abby Knight has been asked by her cousin, Jillian, to be a bridesmaid. Abby, not quite thrilled, agrees and will also provide the flowers for the ceremony. Honestly, Abby is more interested in receiving the paycheck to keep her business afloat than being a bridesmaid. Abby has doubts about the wedding anyway because Jillian is known for getting engaged annually and dumping her fiance before the wedding day.Not only does Abby have to wear a hideous dress, she also has to see her former fiance, who is the groom's brother. Still, Abby wants to do the right thing and tries her best to make sure her cousin gets married. The bride and groom walking down the aisle soon becomes doubtful as one of the groomsmen goes missing and the another is found dead. Despite Abby promising not to meddle, she soon finds herself in the middle of the investigation.I really like this series. I like Abby Knight as a main character. She's a young woman trying to move on with her life by following her dreams. She struggles with her mom (who really wants her married with children) and living in her brothers' shadows (they are extremely successful with families of their own). She lives with her best friend, Nikki, and her friend's cat, Simon. She recently met Marco, the owner of the bar across the street from her shop. Her one flaw is she can't keep her promise of not meddling. From this, she finds herself being kidnapped, stalked and threatened. I will continue to read the rest of the series.

[darrol_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

About as flaky as Stephanie Plum books are getting, but this is only the second in the series. About the only interesting character is Simon the cat.

[nemesisclaws · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Pretty decent read, but there were times I wanted to strangle the main character's cousin. Then again, that's pretty accurate to most family members today. :) The action didn't really pick up till mostly haflway to the end of the book, but otherwise, it was enjoyable.