A Florist's Guide to Homicide

Clara Whitman traded a failing marriage and Boston winters for a pink 1972 flower truck and a fresh start in Sunny Shores, Florida. Her plan: sell flowers, learn to sweat gracefully, and absolutely not get involved in anything.

The plan lasts about a month.

After a spectacularly hostile encounter with Sherri Sanford, Sunny Shores’ only other florist, Clara finds her dead on the beach. And when the police learn that the new-in-town flower lady had plenty to gain from her rival’s sudden exit, Clara’s fresh start begins to look a lot like motive.

Clearing her name would probably be easier without help. Instead, she’s got Paisley, her sixty-something roommate who has zero concept of boundaries. She also has Herbie, a ten-pound Brussels Griffon with a sour expression and a penchant for snacks. And there’s Detective Gabriel Cypress, who is alternately amused and alarmed by Clara and Paisley’s sleuthing.

Between a Garden Club with more secrets than mulch, a wedding the whole town is obsessing over, and a killer who may not be finished, Clara is learning the first rule of small-town Florida: everybody’s growing something. Not all of it is legal.

A FLORIST’S GUIDE TO HOMICIDE launches the Beach Blooms series, funny contemporary mysteries featuring Florida weirdness, zero gore, a touch of slow-burn romance, and a heroine discovering that starting over at midlife might be the best thing she’s ever done. Perfect for readers who love quirky small towns, found family, midlife sleuths, and mysteries with plenty of laughs.