With the upcoming nuptials, she expects problems, but not these headaches. Detective Mel VanDyne is a homicide detective with a generous heart and a dedication to his career field. After talking at the restaurant about Jane and Shelley taking a Women's Safety course at the community center, Jane proposes marriage to Mel.

Troubles start the next morning. Addie VanDyne, Mel's mother, attempts to take over the wedding, making it a social calendar event to promote her career, rather than the marriage of her only son. Jane's already ahead of her. There will be two weddings: one before the justice of the peace with immediate family present and a second mock one to satisfy Addie's social standing. Still Addie adds fuel to the upcoming nuptials by repeatedly upstaging the bride's wedding wishes, and her antics once discovered are reigned in.

The wedding preparations and the combining of two households goes into full planning mode. While cleaning house, Jane realizes how much personal space Mel needs. As a wedding gift to her betrothed, she has an office added at their dining area and enlists the advice of her Uncle Jim.

Jane and Shelley attend their first Safety meeting with Miss Elinor Brooker Welbourne. The excellent tips on acting defensively/offensively are very practical, and they get a lot out it. At the second class they learn that a student, Sara Tokay, was murdered in a domestic dispute. Before they arrive at the third class, Ms. Welbourne is found dead. The cause of death is unclear. Which occurred first: the natural event or the blunt force trauma to the back of her head? If she wasn't alone at the natural event, why didn't they summon help?

At a luncheon Thelma, Jane's current mother in law, arrives with a forged addendum to Jane's husband's will. If Jane remarries, her share of the company is forfeited. Although she hates being the bad person, Thelma has gone too far this time. Jane storms out and tells Ted, her brother-in-law and Thelma's son. How does she break the news to her children? What happens if Thelma continues on with this crazy plot?

The review THE ACCIDENTAL FLORIST was difficult to write. Although I had read one other book in this series, I never felt driven to read "what happened next." If that's what you're looking for in this novel, you'll get it. Jane and Mel go through the steps of daily life towards consummating their relationship and loose ends are tied up in a satisfying manner for the fans of this series. However, I wasn't pleased. I thought Churchill's novel didn't live up to the genre, romance/mystery. It read like these events were happening in the author's personal life, and she cut and pasted them into this novel. Every scene and character seems like a string of two dimensional events. I felt like I was being dragged along. Although I admire that she shared the Women's Safety lessons with her readers, I would have liked to have seen it put into practice within the story.

Book Summary