[.ca] Roots Of Murder (ISBN 0312975007)

Weak prose, flat characters, comic failure:
I selected this book based on the customer reviews. You folks sure let me down this time! Roots of Murder is so bad that I declined to share it with my circle of mystery-reading friends. The prose is flat and simplistic, written at about a 6th grade level. The characters are undeveloped stereotypes, with the possible exception of the protaganist, and she is a pitiful excuse for a detective. I expected to learn something about gardening, flowers, or the Amish, but there's no attempt to educate the reader. The worst thing is that there are some plot elements with the potential for hilarity -- like when the heroine is cold-cocked by a dangling corpse or when she tries to drive with a python slithering around her leg -- but it falls flat. Don't waste your time on this one.

Nevermind the Bad Critiques:
Nevermind the bad critiques, folks. Janis Harrison's first Bretta Solomon mystery is a delight, even if you don't like gardening! I, personally, never understood how anyone could enjoy getting one's hands utterly filthy. But JH makes it sound like fun. An Amish man, Isaac Miller is found murdered in his fields of beautiful flowers, these flowers which Miller sold to local florists, including Bretta Solomon. When Isaac's brother Evan asks Bretta to investigate, find out why Isaac was murdered, Bretta is just a bit reluctant at first, but then dives into the investigation, taking you along for the ride. Having read "Lilies That Fester" first, I'm not exactly reading these in order, but I'm so excited about JH writing more; something in her books, her style of writing maybe, or maybe something in Bretta herself that makes me feel comfortable, like I've known her for a long time. Snuggle up with "Roots of Murder", a cozy in which you are sure to delight!

I loved the main character and enjoyed the mystery.:
Roots of Murder is fun not only because of a delightful and unusual sleuth and an interesting plot, but also because of its insight into Amish lives. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Couldn't put it down...:
I bought this book on the basis of recommendations at this site as well as from DorothyL mystery list. I did not go wrong following the opinions of those readers.I found the writing to flow so smoothly that it was impossible to put down until I finished. A great read for a winter day. The characters and setting were quite realistic. Bretta is the kind of person I would like to know. The mystery was complex and clever. The only quibble I have is that for a "Gardening Mystery", there was not much depth in that area. Perhaps the series title "Florist Mystery" would not draw as many readers. I hope the characters I came to like so much will be around in a series of many more. I recommend this book without reservation to anyone loving a good mystery of the cozy variety.

Appealing Amalgamation:
Set in Missouri, author Janis Harrison offers up a cozy mystery with an interesting amalgamation of elements. Bretta Soloman is a grief stricken widow who has managed to lose 100 pounds. She also is a florist, and a good friend to an Amish man whose brother coincidentally grows flowers, but who is found with his neck broken in his field. This is a tightly written mystery cozy that cleverly weaves in different elements into a complicated solution. Ms. Harrison doesn't hesitate to deliver characters you won't like, but does manage to deliver an interesting first novel.