For retiree-turned-PI Poppy Harmon, spending her golden years running the Desert Flowers Detective Agency is far from the glamorous life she once knew. But becoming ensnared in two twisted Palm Springs crimes might be her worst look yet . . . If Poppy didn’t believe she was in too deep as the only female juror in a high-profile assault case involving an infamously hot-tempered crooner, she’s … hot-tempered crooner, she’s sure of it upon meeting blast-from-her-past Rod Harper. A former TV co-star from her short-lived acting days, Rod is as dashing as ever, and now he wants to partner again—this time to locate his missing daughter . . .
Returning a pampered songstress with a penchant for running away back home unscathed shouldn’t be too challenging. But dodging Rod’s charms while on the job is another story—and so is finding a dead body! When Poppy discovers a fellow juror face down in a swimming pool, she’s unwittingly thrust into a murder investigation with sinister parallels to the troubled chanteuse’s disappearance . . .
As Poppy struggles to survive a steamy love triangle while deciphering the connection between two seemingly unrelated cases, the Desert Flowers Agency must outsmart a ruthless killer who will do anything to keep hideous secrets hidden away . . . including ensuring Poppy becomes the next forgotten ex-actress to bite the dust . . .
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This is POPPY HARMON and… so the story (and series) does focus on Poppy and what she does. I never wrote the honest review I promised when I received the ARC from Netgalley when I first read the book and it was so long I re-read the book after reading the 3rd book, Poppy Harmon and te Pillow Talk Killer.
As I recall from my first reading I thought the book was merely OK. Re-redaing after reading the 3rd book, I liked it a bit more because I was more into the characters, so I split the difference between my eperiences and give this a 3.5 rating.
The mystery is solid with the Dessert Flowers staff all doing their thing, but Violet, Iris and Matt need more development (even after book 3 I still think so). We’re given a very superficial reason for Matt being the face of Desert Flowers and not actively persuing his “dream”. Violet and Iris are pretty one dimension and are justing doing their customary responses except for one important chapter.
In this second book of the series Poppy finds herself on the jury of a high profile assault case. Did she mention she was the only female on said jury? While on the jury she runs into Rod Harper, a man from her past who needs her help in finding his daughter who is missing. Poppy thinks she’ll be able to handle the case no problem but can she ward off Rod’s charms before she gets herself in trouble. As Poppy works the case she ends up finding a fellow juror floating dead in a pool. What is going on and who would have killed the man is all she can think of. She decides that she will take on the murder case in addition to her missing persons. She soon begins to wonder if the two cases are indeed connected but if so how? I’m the midst of looking for clues she soon learns that the killer doesn’t want to be discovered. Can she figure out the answer of who the killer is before she herself becomes his next victim? This is such a fun series, it will make you laugh, root for Poppy, and wish you had a grandma like her. She is such a fun loving and vivacious character, I look forward to seeing what she gets into next!
After enjoying the first book in a new series I brace myself when starting the second entry, wondering if the sophomore slump will strike. Joy of joys, this is even better than the first. I’m ready to pre-order book three. Poppy, Iris, Violet, Sam and Matt are back. Poppy has served on a jury that ends as a hung jury because of one holdout. Poppy is sure that she saw a wink and a nod between the juror in question and the defendant. When the juror is later killed, Poppy is convinced that it’s murder and it’s all connected to the trial. As if that wasn’t enough, the Desert Flowers Detective Agency (Poppy, Iris and Violet) has a paying case complete with strings attached to Poppy’s days acting in a tv series that brings to mind Perry Mason and Remington Steele. Boy, those were great shows. Just like Remington Steele, Poppy and her partners hired a young man, Matt, to be their front man. Somehow prospective clients accept Matt faster that they might accept three over 60 ladies. Their loss. This new client starred with Poppy and wants her to track down his missing daughter. At the same time he has hope that he can rekindle their spark from those days.
There isn’t anything I didn’t like in this mystery. It satisfied my list of must haves in my cozies – likable characters, clever premise, properly complex puzzle and enough red herrings to keep me guessing. I hope this series has a long run. I want to spend more time with the Desert Flowers Detective Agency.
retirees, actors, private-investigators, crooks, investigation, cozy-mystery, situational-humor, verbal-humor, California
Poppy’s a widowed retired actor, a fellow juror exhibits more than a little suspicious behavior, her daughter is about to be paroled, the investigation agency she shares with friends gets hired by a former costar, and then there’s that murder. Lots of sleuthing in Southern California and lots of name dropping, too, but it’s the situational humor that got me! Loved it!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley.