Peggy Lee is not having a good day. It starts with her being late to a lecture on African Violets because she runs her bicycle into the side of a Saturn. Fortunately there's no harm done and the spike in her blood pressure has little to do with the accident and a lot to do with the handsome driver. When she returns to her shop, The Potting Shed, she discovers the body of wealthy womanizer Mark Warner lying dead in the window display.

After spending hours going over her discovery of the dead man with the police, Peggy wants nothing more than to spend a quiet evening at home. An obviously mistreated dog the size of a small horse ends that dream by showing up in her back yard. While Peggy has never considered herself a dog person, there's no way she's going to allow animal control to take the pooch away. The high point of her day is discovering that her new neighbor, a vet, is also the driver of the Saturn she crashed into earlier.

There's an almost endless list of suspects in the death of Mark Warner and heading that list is someone working for Peggy. Sure that no one in her employ could murder anyone, she's determined to find the real killer before the local homeless man, or one of her employees, is convicted of the crime. Along the way, Peggy starts dating the vet, deals with an irate pet owner, acquires a dog, and encounters a cyber-stalker who knows way too much about what's going on in Peggy's life and her investigation not only into the Warner murder, but also another murder in a nearby town that may or may not be related.

Joyce and Jim Lavene have crafted an outstanding whodunit in PRETTY POISON, with plenty of twists and turns that will keep the reader entranced to the final page. Peggy Lee is a likable, believable sleuth and the supporting characters add spice, intrigue and humor to the story. While reading, I was sure there was no way they could bring all the loose ends together in a satisfying and believable conclusion and was pleasantly surprised when they did just that. Well, except for not revealing the identity of Peggy's cyber-stalker, and I believe they've given readers a clue or two to his (or her) identity. I can't wait to read the next story to see if I'm right!

Book Summary

It's another busy fall day for Peggy. A quick café lecture on African violets is followed by a minor bike accident involving a good-looking Saturn driver. Upon returning to her shop, Peggy discovers one of the wealthiest men in town- -and one of the biggest philanderers--sprawled face down across one of her seasonal displays, apparently beaten to death with a garden shovel.

When the cops pin the murder on a local homeless man, Peggy must rake through evidence and dig up secrets to root out the real killer.