Peggy Lee is visiting her dear friend Darmus Appleby, when his home explodes. Despite her valiant efforts to rescue the man from the fire, Darmus dies and Peggy ends up in the hospital. When Darmus' younger brother, Luther, is found dead of an asthma attack a few days later, her suspicions are aroused. But Peggy has more than these unexplained deaths to deal with; her mom and dad, an aunt and a cousin are coming to visit. And they haven't met Steve, the new man in her life.

With her parents in residence, investigating the deaths of the Appleby brothers isn't smooth sailing, but her pistol- packing dad is more than willing to lend his assistance. When her Internet chess buddy, the mysterious Nightflyer, suggests there's more going on than meets the eye, Peggy is determined to get to the bottom of more than one mystery before anyone else dies, or an innocent person is convicted of a crime they did not commit.

With equal parts humor, sadness and absolute terror (I still shudder when I think about the funeral home visit!), Joyce and Jim Lavene have constructed an outstanding who-done-it in POISONED PETALS, the latest Peggy Lee Garden Mystery. Peggy is an amazing heroine with real-life troubles that everyone can identify with...except perhaps all the dead bodies she encounters! Peggy's relationship with her father offers many shining moments in this story. The Lavenes have a gift for tapping into one's emotions. POISONED PETALS is a wonderfully developed mystery, something to be savored. Enjoy!

Book Summary

Peggy Lee is just about to deliver some endangered sunflowers to Darmus Appleby when a gas explosion blows out his door-and Peggy finds her fellow botanist dead on the kitchen floor. Two weeks later his brother dies, with an overpoweringly sweet purple hyacinth tucked in his pocket. Now Peggy must follow her nose-and some cryptic clues from an internet informant-to root out a killer before he strikes again.