Reviews

Dearly Depotted by Kate Collins

htruck's review against another edition

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4.0

To call these "flower shop mysteries" seems a bit of a misnomer.. the main character owns a flower shop. She's not often at work, and the mysteries have nothing to do with flowers. Flowers are mentioned more in each subsequent book, but they are not a main theme.

But they are light, easy reads. Fun characters you get to know a little better in each book. Very pg - no sex, no gore. They are improbable, as most cozy mysteries are, but not ridiculous. Well, the time line might be a little ridiculous if you think about all three of the first books taking place in such a short period of time.. but is IS fiction. :-)

I'm thoroughly enjoying this series.


sally_v23's review against another edition

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4.0

Dearly Depotted has been my favorite from the Flower Shop Mystery series thus far. The seemingly inevitable plot line actually had an unexpected twist at the end of the novel regarding Abby Knight's cousin. I am becoming more familiar with the author's writing style and, although at some points it seems contrived, I do enjoy how simple this series is to read. The more condensed timeline of this book is also something that I appreciate since normally books span multiple years, but this book only occurred over a week, which allows the reader to feel closer to the characters. I felt that this book earned a four star review since it was simplistic, yet an enticing read.
Triggers I noticed in the novel: a description of murder and physical fighting

ptcruisergirl's review against another edition

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4.0

I didn't figure it out! On to the rest of the series.

melsdaven's review

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2.5

Better than book 2, but it was a low bar. 

bikes_books_yarn's review against another edition

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4.0

The 3rd book in the Flower Shop Mystery Series.

Fun and light read. Not quite to the fun level of Janet Evanovich - but in the ballpark.

cindifer20's review against another edition

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Dearly Depotted

raeanne's review against another edition

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2.0

{sigh}

SpoilerPredictable and standard. The series has a formula and sticking to it. Abby has learned nothing, no character progression at all.Other characters are pointing out things she needs to work on, and Abby claims to be working on it...but we all know how her promise not to meddle worked out.

It seems like their is never any character progression in these kinds of books and that really kills it. Oh, people like this so let's keep it going. Really? Do you know what happened to Stephanie Plum and her now 18 book long series where things never change? What universe are these books set in? Pleasantville? For a florist they really are lacking in color in this setting. There are pretty obvious ways to grow and change for these characters but it remains to be seen if the author has the courage to go forward or cling to present state of things.

I did enjoy learning about the other characters more. (Annoying tidbit, after learning more about Grace, Abby jumps to wondering if Graceland is named after her friend. *eyeroll*)

I do love the voice of Abby's narration but her biases are grating. She's shallow. Not the uber rich country club type shallow. She's the middle class shallow. Everyone below her is too poor and stupid (except her dear struggling friends of course), everyone higher is too stuck up and pretentious. She was surprised a man just out of prison knew the word persecuting. Sarcasm or not, it shows her biases, assumptions and naivete. Everyone that is poor is stupid, lewd, and tasteless or just so pitiful and sad. Can she at least realize this and work on it? Show some character progression perhaps?

Oh, conveniently Abby claims that Jillian picked The Garden of Eden Banquet Center for Jillian's wedding due to the view of the fireworks show but that's not how it happened in the last book. Abby had to suggest it to Jillian after the original place kicked her from the date for the President's event and every other place was already booked.

I also don't buy that Don, the insecure husband, would be okay when finding out the young buck he thought was hitting on his wife was actually found naked and sweating with his daughter alone in her room. It'd be a progression move, all things considered, but I'm sure there was more turmoil at that house due to this than the author showed.

Totally knew the woman around Marco wasn't a romantic interest and couldn't possibly be one simply because that's the formula. That's how it always happens in these kinds of books.


Basically, same old same old. A basic cozy mystery. It's okay for what it is but it could be a lot better. Followed the same path as the last book. No surprised or anything that you couldn't see from a mile away. Abby still has a wonderful narrating voice but her biases, stupidity and naivete is getting more grating. Cops are still blind and stupid, ignoring leads to follow (of course they'd be easier to follow if Abby was forthcoming) and Abby solves the case. Or more like she sticks her nose into everything claiming to be helping (and being a know-it-all) stumbling and bumbling until finally the killer(s) decide to off her bothersome ass. Cue Marco & Co (mostly cops) to save her in the nick of time. Cue the romantic kiss, the romantic set-up which is squashed to get rolling on the next thing for Abby. Abby isn't the strong lead I'm looking for. Sure, spunky with comebacks. Sure, independent if you want to define that as living on your own and rebelling against cautious advice by doing dangerous shit anyways. But this is a damsel in distress and she's always in distress. She couldn't handle the simplest things without Marco and her friends.

Learned more about other characters, which was the best part, and it was a short (second best part of the book), easy-breasy enjoyable book. For the most part anyway, if you don't think about it much it's a better read. I've at least enjoyed getting from point A to point B in a timely matter with things all nicely wrapped with a bow at the end. There's still potential for the series since usually you need build up to get into the good stuff and the author could get the ball rolling on making changes now. Let's hope that's the case here. Otherwise, it's going the way of Stephanie Plum just in shorter timing.

*crosses fingers*

catladylover94's review against another edition

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5.0

really good book, i am loving the series so far, and will probably continue to read them

ncrabb's review against another edition

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5.0

Abby Knight and Denise Swanson's Skye Denison are among my favorite cozy mystery characters. They both live in the Midwest, and I suspect they're similar in age. I picture Abby being a bit shorter and somewhat smaller than Skye, but they're both wonderfully independent strong people who exhibit courage, intelligence, and humility in their sleuthing efforts.

We've finally arrived at Abby's cousin, Jillian's wedding as the book opens. The groom's grandma is entering into the fog of dementia, and among her other duties, Abby must watch Grandma during the reception. Abby's over-protective Uncle arrives with his entirely cowed daughter, Melanie. Melanie's ex-husband, Jack, is there, too, and he is there to convince Melanie to run away with him--something she's entirely unwilling to do.

Before the reception ends, the groom's grandma and Abby find Jack murdered, and Abby's work of building her suspect list begins.

This is a fun and interesting mystery driven primarily by Abby's memorable character. You can't help but invest in her and want to come back to another installment of the series to see how she is. Before the book ends, someone else will die, and while I figured out the killer, I didn't get there until almost the same time Abby did, which added much to the book's fun.

cmbohn's review against another edition

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3.0

Abby's neurotic cousin, Jillian, is finally getting married and Abby has agreed to do the flowers and be a bridesmaid. She wasn't counting on dead bodies. But when the groom's grandmother discovers one under a table, Abby jumps in to investigate. The police already have a suspect - her friend's new boyfriend. But Abby thinks they are too quick to draw conclusions. Oh, and what's going on with her hottie escort?

This is the third in a fun series. I enjoyed this one and the others, but I just don't enjoy books like this as much as I used to. The idea of a amateur detective gets a little hard to believe after a while. And why can't she figure out what's going on with Marco? This is the third book and there's been an attraction between them the whole time. Then she FALLS ASLEEP when she finally gets to spend an evening alone with him? What's up with that? I'm all for taking things slow, but she hasn't even decided if they are dating or not. How long is that going to take?

If you like cozy mysteries, this is a fun series. I like the characters, although Jillian is a bit much, and there's not this shove-it-down-your-throat thing that a lot of the 'theme cozies' seem to have. Yes, she's a florist, but it's not a DIY book for aspiring green thumbs. For myself, I would probably read another in the series if I got the chance, but I'm not going to go out and look for one.