Snipped in the Bud (Flower Shop Mysteries, No. 4)

Abby Knight is nervous. She's delivering a black rose to her old law school nemesis, Professor Puffer. Sure she could have had someone else delivery the order, but she refuses to let the fact that he terrified her in her short term at law school keep her from doing her job.Things didn't start out well, when she almost runs him over in her car and then while trying to sneak the flower on his desk he walks in and catches her. Yelling and screaming at her, he throws the flower in his trash and sends her running out of the room where she runs into another professor, Carlton Reed, who had recently had her arrested at an animal rights protest.Making it safely to her car, Abby decides that she wasn't going to leave a perfectly good flower die in the Professor's trash can, so she sneaks back up to pluck it out and finds Carlton Reed dead in Professor's Puffer's chair with one of the Professor's signature pencils stuck in his neck.Now things are really a mess as Abby realizes that she is at the top of the police's list of suspects. (So what if she had forgot to mention she had handled the pencils earlier, just because the one used in the murder had her fingerprints on it didn't make her a killer, did it?)You would think being suspected of murder would be the worse thing that could happen to you, but unfortunately for Abby, that distinction falls on her cousin Jillian, who in the last story Abby spent most of the time convincing that she really, really, really wanted to get married. Jillian has left her husband on the honeymoon and has moved in with Abby and her roommate Nikki.It's up to Abby, to find out who killed Carlton Reed, who is stealing pets from the neighborhood, and can she get Jillian to go back to her husband, or at least to move out of her apartment. With the help of her "boyfriend" Marco Salvare - owner of "Down The Hatch" bar and grill, Abby sets out to solve the mystery before she ends up in prison herself.Highlights:Abby and Marco. Marco is a former cop and instead of always telling Abby to stay out of investigating, he actually encourages and helps her all he can. Being a former cop, he still has contacts with the police department and they make a great team.Abby's flower shop employee's. These women are always willing to help Abby in her investigations, which usually consists of them having to do all the work at the shop, as Abby can't show her face due to all the reporters hanging out in front.Abby's disguises: Due to all the reporters, Abby has to resort to disguises to get around town and do her investigations. Unfortunately, she is relying on her cousin Jillian to dress her up.A very good mystery which reaches out in several different directions, causing Abby to suspect a lot of people of the crime. Abby solves it by really investigating, discovering information and following up on it, not just having the killer announce, "it's me, I did it."Jillian - the runaway honeymoon bride. She was exasperating in the last book and you want to smack her upside the head in this one as well.Lowlights: Only minor ones.Not enough of the flower shop employee's, they weren't used in investigating this time, only to cover the shop while Abby did all the investigating.Abby's mother's creations. Abby's mother is into creating art and the pieces she has unloaded at the flower shop to sell are a riot. Nothing outrageous this time around.A great series. Hasn't had a miss so far. The only problem had been Abby's lone-wolf persona in the first book, which has evaporated over the series into a lot of great relationships.

Kate Collins' "Snipped in the Bud" is the fourth in her Flower Shop Mystery series. In this one, Abby Knight, owner of Bloomers flower shop, has recovered from her cousin Jillian's wedding and has made up an order in the shop of one black funeral rose to be delivered to a professor at her former law school. When she runs in to deliver the rose, which happens to be one of the finest in her shop, to Professor Puffer, he is outraged because he didn't order the flower and says he wouldn't order it from Abby anyway. On her way out of his office, Abby literally runs into another professor, Carson Reed. He was no more fond of Abby than Puffer was because Abby had been arrested at a protest rally against Dermacol, a research lab that tested on animals and used outdated methods when more humane methods were available. Carson Reed was at the protest with the CEO of Dermacol.Abby returns to her car, but makes the decision that the beautiful rose that the professor had toseed in his trash can should not go to waste, so she decides to recover it. When she goes into Professor Puffer's office to retrieve it from the trash can he threw it in, she finds Professor Carson Reed in Puffer's chair, quite dead. And as usual, Abby becomes the main suspect in the mystery of who killed the professor.This is a well-written cozy mystery and this series is always enjoyable because of its humor and also the information on flowers. Abby puts together some great arrangements and the book tells which flowers she uses to do so and which kind of vase or container she uses. Her love interest is Marco, a man with "strong Mediterranean good looks" and was a former cop. He will ultimately help Abby in the investigation during which she uses disguises to avoid the press and TV reporters, but some of her disguises were funny but a bit over the top. Abby can seem a few years younger than her chronological age at times, especially around Marco, which I could use less of, but all in all this is a good mystery with a lot of suspects in the wings. And to add even more of a mystery, someone is kidnapping people's dogs. A lot goes on in this book with a lot of characters, but it is one of the best of the first four.You may not come out of this book being able to conquer physics, but you will have enjoyed sitting in your reading chair, feet up, hopefully, and laughing at Abby's antics and hoping that the right person becomes the lead suspect in these most enjoyable books in the sub-genre of cozy mysteries.

I recently started reading this mystery series, and I have read all three of the predecessors. I love this book, I couldn't put it down. I loved the other three also, but I clearly think this one is the best. Abby is a great amateur sleuth with a sharp wit and a nose for murder. Collins creates wonderful, believable characters that will keep you coming back for more. I loved Abby's disguises in this book, they were hilarious. I also am quite fond of the cat Simon, who Collins seems to work into every story, which I appreciate. I love her descriptions of the flowers and Abby's banana colored convertable. This is a great new series and so far I haven't been disappointed. I hope Kate Collins continues to produce these books because I can't get enough!

I am reading the Flower Shop Mysteries in order. This book takes place after her cousin Jillian's wedding. She finds one of her former law professors dead and becomes one of the suspects. These books are delightful to read. I have enjoyed the 1st four and am in the process of enjoying the fifth book. This book is an easy read.

I enjoyed the previous books in the series better but still a really fun read.

I like the easy to read mysteries. They are fun to read.

Every Flower Shop Mystery is great. I've read them all and can't wait for another. Her heroine, Abby Knight, is such a real person that with no book to.read it's kind of lonely. Be sure to read them in order so you don't get spoilers, you just feel like you are having conversation with an old friend.

Simply written series, like able characters, and easy to read! This series reminds me if Nancy Drew from when I was s kid.