Reap a Wicked Harvest

December 15, 2003
Set in the Missouri Ozarks, Harrison's fifth accomplished cozy (after 2003's A Deadly Bouquet
) to star widowed florist Bretta Solomon offers an ingenious puzzle, well-drawn, credible characters and loads of orchid lore. When Bretta's father, Albert McGinness, finds the bloody body of lab assistant Marnie Frazier, her neck pierced by a metal plant marker, on the lawn of greenhouse owners Dan and Natalie Parker during their Customer Appreciation Day Celebration, Bretta once again turns amateur sleuth. Realizing that the victim had been looking for something in the greenhouse records, Bretta asks herself, "What had Marnie known or suspected that made her a threat?" The disappearance of a number of women who left Parker Wholesale Greenhouses after short-term employment further complicates the suspenseful plot. Sexy Bailey Monroe, the elusive next-door neighbor who played an important role in A Deadly Bouquet
, makes a welcome return, while Albert proves an irritating but surprisingly helpful self-appointed detective. If Bretta's reflections on her late husband verge on the mawkish, she remains an appealing heroine with whom readers can readily identify. Agent, Lori Pope. (Jan. 20)

Forecast:
On the jacket, the solid orange background clashes with a cluster of violet orchids in what may be a misguided effort to reinforce the idea of "violence." Nor does the blood stain on the dagger-like plant marker next to the orchids go well with the orang
e. Harrison's reputation for quality should survive a weak jacket design.

January 1, 2004
Florist Bretta Solomon (A Deadly Bouquet) spends her day off at a funeral covering for a sick employee-then runs into murder at a wholesale greenhouse. Solomon's sleuthing abilities clank into high gear. Lightweight and enjoyable.

Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

December 1, 2003
For a nursery, Parker Greenhouse is not what one would call a nurturing environment, especially as far as the young, female employees are concerned. In the midst of a festive garden tour, the body of Parker's newest research assistant is discovered lying in a pool of blood, a murder that prompts floral designer-turned-detective Bretta Soloman to dig deep into the garden center's past to unearth the killer. Her investigation yields a disturbing harvest when she discovers that three other young women had left the company under suspicious circumstances. Turns out the greenhouse is a fertile environment for more than just plants: the girls were pregnant, unwitting victims of a baby-selling ring whose lust for lives has deadly consequences. With more twists and turns than a creeping vine, the intriguing plot puts Bretta, her family, and employees directly in the killer's path. In this perennially blooming series, Harrison's hardy heroine stalks the killer with the skills of a seasoned sleuth as she entertainingly reveals gardening's dirtier side.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)