Locked in with a killer.Arranging flowers is the only way out.When Fergus tells Diana he’s taking her on a flower arranging retreat for her birthday, she should have been more suspicious. Especially when he announces that he’s coming with her.After discovering the whole truth about the retreat, Diana is still considering how to murder Fergus…. when one of their fellow flower arrangers is found … murder Fergus…. when one of their fellow flower arrangers is found dead – stabbed in the back with a mystery weapon.
With the retreat on complete lockdown, Diana and Fergus have a mystery to solve that wasn’t part of the itinerary.
Will they find the killer before the clock runs out?
You’ll love this hilarious British cozy series with its floral inspiration, because everyone loves a comedy crime-fighting duo!
Read it now.
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Fergus decides to surprise Diana with a flower arranging retreat for her birthday, which should have put up red flags for an ulterior motive. They soon discover that they are locked in for a few days without communication to the outside world with a dead body. The only way to escape is to complete the floral arranging challenges and solve the murder before the murderer strikes again.
I love the yin-yang personalities of Diana and Fergus along with their unique friendship. This is a delightful and hilarious cozy mystery filled with lots of madcap adventure, mystery, intrigue, and twists and turns. It is a mystery that will have you guessing all the way until the end as to whodunit and why!
Diana and Fergus are back and this adventure is just as much fun as the first one. With a well-written mystery and the humorous moments, this one will keep you guessing until the end. The perfect cozy read!
I enjoyed this story a lot. Diana and Fergus are quite the quirky couple of friends and very entertaining. I am really looking forward to their next adventure. As per usual, the story is quite educational too!
This was a fantastic adventure! I was thrilled with how well Diana put the very few clues together and solved what seemed like a most impossible murder! Brilliantly done!
When ambitions to perfect your flower-arranging skills turn deadly!
November 20, 2018
Format: Kindle Edition
4 and a bit stars
A good yarn with flower-seller amateur sleuth Diana Flowers and her pesky sidekick Fergus mixed up in a murder who-dun-it that has shades of Agatha Christie’s Ten Little Indians (aka And Then There Were None) as a group gets sequestered for a harrowing weekend in a bunker with a dead body! I liked the way author Loren handled the big reveal of the planning and reason for the murder. I also learned a bit more about deadly and noxious plants (hope it’s knowledge that NEVER comes in handy!)
The idea of a sequestered flower arranging course and the payback for badly completed challenges was original if a bit odd. And Fergus’s goal in taking Diana to the course seemed a bit forced. However, the detecting heart of the story is classic cozy mystery fare and kept me guessing, as it should. And the developing friendship between Diana and Fergus made it a sort of a buddy adventure as well. An enjoyable read.
I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.
Nice deviation from the locked room mystery. they are locked in the room and need to work together to figure out the mystery. Never saw the ending coming.
Missed book one in this series so I can say that the book can be read by itself (standalone) very well. Although , there was a comment made that I would like to go back and read book one to get more details on.
This is my honest and freely given review. i did receive an ARC book. My apologies to the author for the lateness of this review.
I love Ruby Loren’s books. This one had a mystery dinner feel. I loved this book.
I loved this book. The mystery is a real surprise as I couldn’t figure it out before the end. The author had a wonderful way of building a world that is perfect for the characters she has created. They are good solid characters and thankfully also have a sense of humor. My recommendation to you is that you need to get and read this book and the others in this series right away. You’ll thank me once you have as you will love them as much as I do. Buy them!!! Read them!!! Totally enjoy them!!!
I received an arc copy of this book and I just had to leave an honestly and freely given review.
A good story. Diana and Fergus make an awesome not-couple. Diana was able to claim a solution before I was, hence it was properly unpredictable. I enjoy Ruby Loren’s stories and hope that you will as well.
Based on the Kindle Unlimited version borrowed on 20 November 2018.
Another great story by Ruby Loren!
This time Diana and Fergus are working together to solve a murder. So much fun reading this book haha.
A locked down military installation, and an extreme flower arranging course guarantee all kinds of mystery and mayhem.
Learning about different types of flowers and greenery is an added bonus. Love this series of books.
I very much enjoyed reading this newest entry into the series. The premise for it was a new one to me – locked room flower arranging. It’s a really inventive way to start the story out.
This is a solidly written story. The characters are well-drawn and the storyline for this entry into the series is neatly plotted. I had a good time reading it, even though it’s not quite what you’ve come to expect from this author. It’s good to see a different approach to this one.
I voluntarily read an Advance Reader Copy of the book and just had to have it for my library. I can definitely recommend it to you.
Diane birthday is coming up and her friend Fergus signed them up for a flower arranging course..It also turns out the they only got in because one person canceled so they ended up having to stay in the same room. Lucky there were two twin bed. Needless to say Diane did not get much sleep with all the snoring of her roommate but also all the going on in the halls. Someone was murdered in a room with the door locked from the inside. There was no calling the police because they were all locked down for this course and all their phones etc were picked up before they started. So Diane and Fergus are set to find the killer and why. Lots of twist, turns and on the edge of your seat reading in this book. If you like a good mystery this is a must read.
I’m loving this new series. Diana and her friend, Fergus, attend an intense flower arranging retreat. They are allowed no contact with the outside world, which becomes a problem when one of the participants is murdered. Very cleverly plotted, well written, and filled with interesting characters. I received a free copy of this book and chose to make a voluntary, unbiased review.
My favorite character Diggory and his buddy Barkimeds are back in Ruby’s new cozy. If you read the last story you would remember about the land given to Diana well she has decided to sell and move to a new place. Fergus is again in our story looking for a vampire and a golden coffin a really interesting character our conspiracy nut is. Then the unexpected happens and we are off. This story was so imaginative and unique I adored it. If you want a different mystery this is the one to pick up. I did receive a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.
Diana and Fergus find themselves in a sticky situation. A very interesting with more twists and turns than you would expect. Fun to read.
Love this series. Diana and Fergus make a good team. Can hardly wait to see what other troubles they can get into together. I was given a free ARC by the author. My review is freely and honestly given
A surprise birthday present for Diana. Fergus gives Diana a birthday present that is a three day course on flowers. This begins the adventure that Diana is not sure she really wants. What’s Fergus motive for this extravagant gift? There has to be something else he has in mind. The course starts with ten people that have nothing in common except for their love of flowers. It is a strange group of people. The first day proves to be tense and then that night, a murder. But with the site locked up tight, who is the murderer? Diana’s mind starts to whirl. She and Fergus work together to find answers. The group of invited guests are the suspects and there appears to be no connection to one another. But who could have done it and why? Diana has two days to solve the murder. Fergus passes the course and Diana solves the mystery just in time. Read to discover how Diana discovers who among all the guests and two guides committed the murder and why. A great mystery with so many suspects, it was had to figure out. A great book.
I really like Ruby Loren’s cosy mystery books, she always manages to bring an original twist to her story lines and her characters are always very believable and well written, she also obviously carries out a lot of research before she writes, in this series it is about plants and flowers, and in this book in particular there is a focus on poisonous plants.
This book is up to standard on all these aspects, she writes confidently and accurately about the plants and flowers encountered in the story and the characters feel as if she is writing about real people that she knows. The plot is certainly unique in its setting, although the storyline is obviously inspired by the Agatha Christie ‘Ten Little Indians’ (now re-titled to ‘And Then There Were None’). I also really liked the rather unlikely, but very genuine friendship between Diana and Fergus which progresses nicely in this book. The way the mystery developed and was solved was also ingenious.
However, despite these positives, for me it wasn’t quite as enjoyable as the previous books in this series, or the Madigan Amos books. This is down to a couple of things, firstly I found that having the 10 other people on the ‘course’ all introduced at once made it a bit difficult to remember who was who and what their relationship with each other was; secondly the fact that in this day and age there was no emergency contact with the outside world is inconceivable (although the reason for this did become obvious at the end); and finally I just found the whole concept of a flower arranging course in an ex military bunker was really just rather bizarre.
So an original, enjoyable read which can be read as a stand-alone but also fits well into the series. I am looking forward to the next book and seeing what adventures Diana and Fergus have.
Delphiniums and Deception is the latest Diana Flowers book in this series. In the latest story, Fergus takes Diana to a flower arranging retreat as her birthday gift. Of course, this is no ordinary retreat. All communication with the outside world is cut off from the participants, so when someone dies there is no way to contact the authorities. A fast read for me, because I don’t want to stop reading, and I never would have guessed the outcome.
Delphiniums and Deception #2 – This story had me so immersed in it that I just let it carry me along. The bunker had overtures of several sources, including the Saw series, so I saw several ways this could have worked out. Several people in a isolated location with a murderer and the deceased. But Ms. Loren made this theme her own and unique, and it was hard to put the book down. I figured out three possible murderers, but I missed.
I liked the way the Floral Arrangement retreat was arranged; and certainly enjoyed the punishment feature of the classes. There are many interesting storylines for the characters. Fergus really shined brightly in this story, from his heartwarming gift to his ability to surprise. I contacted the author to review her books. 5*
Diana Flowers series:
The Florist and the Funeral #0 – The prequel to the Diana Flowers series. A quickly read, fun story about a chemist, with a high IQ, interested in growing and selling flowers to meet the growing demand. Along the way there’s a death, which she solves since she is smarter than the old Lt. There’s quite a bit going on in this novella and the “killer” is a big surprise and not what you expect. Another series that may be the match for Madi’s zoo series. I contacted the author to review her books and received this one. 5*
Gardenias and a Grave Mistake #1 – My favorite series by this author is the Madi Amos Zoo Mysteries, but this is an interesting series so far. The prequel should be read first to get the foundation, The Florist and the Funeral. I like both Fergus and Diana; they’re perfectly matched to each other, tin-foil hat optional. The other characters worked in their roles. The story took a little bit to get rolling but it did get interesting and had some good twists. Diggory is a character all of his own. I was disappointed that Di let the nematodes get to her; there’s an easy, nonpoisonous fix to get rid of those critters, but there’s always a change that works out better in the end as I found with Madi’s series. Included with the story is a free offering of the prequel and a list of edible flowers. I contacted the author to review her book. 4.5*
Diana Flowers series end.