Detective duo Mrs Jameson and Marjorie Swallow are called to investigate when a renowned garden designer suspects that someone is sabotaging her priceless Himalayan Sapphire Lilies, ahead of the 1923 Chelsea Flower Show. But soon it’s not just the flowers that are dying. Rival gardeners, intrepid plant hunters and even King George V himself are caught up in a poisonous bouquet with its roots deep in the mountains of Tibet. The third in the Marjorie Swallow 1920s murder mystery series requires all her wit, charm and pluck to solve.
Anna Sayburn Lane is the author of page-turning murder mysteries set in jazz age London, and of award-winning short stories and contemporary thrillers. Her debut novel, Unlawful Things, was shortlisted for the Virago New Crime Writing award, and her first historical mystery, Blackmail In Bloomsbury, has been described as ‘like slipping on a pair of elegant evening gloves and slipping back to the golden age of detective fiction’. Before turning to fiction, Anna worked as a journalist for local newspapers and medical journals – useful for thinking up novel ways of bumping off fictional characters. She lives in the UK, sharing her time between London and a small seaside town.
My thoughts: I really enjoy this series, I love Marjorie and Mrs Jameson and this particular investigation is very fiendish. After an act of sabotage, which they’ve been called into investigate, a gardener is killed, which is puzzling, and then another body drops at the famous Chelsea Flower Show – in front of the king! That just won’t do.
Is it because of the mysterious flowers due to be exhibited – rare Himalayan Sapphire Lilies or is there something even murkier in their acquisition that’s behind the deaths? There’s lots of shady figures in the flower world it seems, and Mrs Jameson and Marjorie must solve all of this – by Royal request, as murder in front of the monarch is a big problem.
Witty and clever, there’s little time for socialising and lunch in fancy restaurants this time round, and Marjorie is increasingly becoming the quicker detective as she hones her skills of observation and interrogation. Delightful.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 