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A Yellow Rose Mystery #5
Pushing Up Bluebonnets
When asked to help identify a young woman who may not survive an attempted murder, Abby discovers a possible connection between the girl and a prominent Houston family-the questions about her past are getting stickier than pecan pie. Abby's about to learn the hard way that when she crawls out on a limb, she'd better be certain there's not someone behind her with a saw and a mean spirit...
282 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
5 people are currently reading
484 people want to read
About the author
Leann Sweeney
27 books524 followersLeann Sweeney was born and raised in Niagara Falls and educated at St. Joseph's Hospital and Lemoyne College in Syracuse, NY. She also has a degree from the University of Houston in behavioral science and worked for many years in psychiatry. Her short fiction won many awards and several mysteries were published in small market mystery magazines. Leann has written 13 cozy mysteries: 5 in The Yellow Rose Mystery Series and 8 in the Cats in Trouble Mysteries. #9 is being written now that Leann is recovering from a three year illness after a fall. Both series are published by Berkley and several titles made the NY Times bestseller list.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
January 29, 2010
This was truly a book that I did not want to put down for any length of time. I was caught up in the story from page one and was satisfied by the end of the book.
Great writing, good dialogue, and lovable characters made this book flow for me.
I truly want to read more about 'Abby' and her friends/family.
Great writing, good dialogue, and lovable characters made this book flow for me.
I truly want to read more about 'Abby' and her friends/family.
June 6, 2018
In Pushing Up Bluebonnets by Leann Sweeney, private investigator Abby Rose gets a call from Chief Cooper Boyd, the chief of police of a small town. An unidentified woman has had a serious car crash, leaving her in a coma. It was not an accident either, as the woman’s brake lines were cut, her air bags removed, and all identification taken from her car. The only possible form of identification they find in the car is a business card of Abby’s, advertising that she specializes in helping adopted people locate their birth family. The only hope to identify the woman is if Abby can match the handwriting in the personal note on the card with writing in one of at least 600 letters Abby has received since starting Yellow Rose Investigations. What she finds leads to a long search into the current and past in what becomes her most complicated case yet.
Read the rest of this review and other fun, geeky articles at Fangirl Nation
Read the rest of this review and other fun, geeky articles at Fangirl Nation
September 2, 2018
Wonderful! A cozy mystery done Texas style. Abby Rose is a delightful sleuth. This flows so smoothly, that before I knew it, I was finished.
April 7, 2022
This review is for the audiobook.
The story is fine-characters are engaging, plot is good, it wasn't too easy or too difficult to figure out the guilty party. The core characters will be good to follow. I liked the idea of a PI devoted to adoptions.
I don't know if it was the audiobook narrator or the writing but the sentences seemed really short. I finally got used to it but it really bothered me well into the 2nd or 3rd disc and took away from the story.
The story is fine-characters are engaging, plot is good, it wasn't too easy or too difficult to figure out the guilty party. The core characters will be good to follow. I liked the idea of a PI devoted to adoptions.
I don't know if it was the audiobook narrator or the writing but the sentences seemed really short. I finally got used to it but it really bothered me well into the 2nd or 3rd disc and took away from the story.
July 12, 2009
For the first 3/4ths of this book, it was probably my favorite of the series. It seemed to have a maturity beyond that of the earlier books.
And then I got to the end. And it made no sense.
So I went back and listened to the end again.
My confusion is mostly my fault. When the large number of minor characters were introduced early on, some of them failed to make a significant impression. A key character was in this set.
And then I spaced out at the wrong time.
So, my fault. But only mostly!
Anyway, I still love Abby & Jeff. I like the character continuity from the last book. It is still a good read, and I'd recommend it. Just keep track of those minor characters.
And then I got to the end. And it made no sense.
So I went back and listened to the end again.
My confusion is mostly my fault. When the large number of minor characters were introduced early on, some of them failed to make a significant impression. A key character was in this set.
And then I spaced out at the wrong time.
So, my fault. But only mostly!
Anyway, I still love Abby & Jeff. I like the character continuity from the last book. It is still a good read, and I'd recommend it. Just keep track of those minor characters.
July 5, 2015
It was okay I guess. I liked the other books in the series better, even those with weaker plots. Maybe I just got tired of Abby and her perfect detective skills. Everybody she meets loves her and they tell her what a great investigator she is (this happened like 5 times!) Kate is a brilliant psychologist that all men adore. Jeff is manly and reticent and Doris kept on watching cartoons. No novelty here really and not very believable either.
April 23, 2008
Abby Rose is called by a small town sheriff to identify a young woman who had been in a terrible car wreck. The woman had Abby's card. An adoption investigator she researches the woman and finds many secrets that could be very threatening.
I like Abby and how she worked out a case that was much more complicated than she could have imagined.
I like Abby and how she worked out a case that was much more complicated than she could have imagined.
April 23, 2010
Leann Sweeney has a knack for writing characters who feel as though they could step out of the book and into your living room--and yet still believably have the adventures they do. Then she sets them in mysteries that avoid contrivances and the predictable, and wraps it all up into a satisfying journey and ending. Yum!
May 17, 2010
Every book in this series has just been better, and wow, Bluebonnets did NOT disappoint! Talk about a tangled web...just sit back and enjoy the ride!
February 13, 2023
"Pushing Up Bluebonnets", fifth and final book in the 'Yellow Rose' series, is mostly a solid procedural but has a plotting hiccup towards the end (it's as if the author, backed into a corner, came up with a twist after watching too much TV).
Abby is brought in to help when the grandchild of a wealthy family is left in a coma after a car accident.
It quickly becomes clear that it was no accident and that the ancestry of the grandchild is also suspect. Not just suspect - downright dodgy and unbelievable.
It's full of characters with ulterior motives, threats, assaults and red herrings.
It's a pleasant enough read but not quite up to the standard of some of the earlier books.
3 Stars.
Abby is brought in to help when the grandchild of a wealthy family is left in a coma after a car accident.
It quickly becomes clear that it was no accident and that the ancestry of the grandchild is also suspect. Not just suspect - downright dodgy and unbelievable.
It's full of characters with ulterior motives, threats, assaults and red herrings.
It's a pleasant enough read but not quite up to the standard of some of the earlier books.
3 Stars.
March 23, 2019
I really enjoyed this book, the last in the Yellow Rose Mystery series. Loved Abby and her quirky sense of humor. I was surprised that Kate had been so devastated after the betrayal in the previous volume and I was very glad to see her mend. Some very heart warming romance. I will miss this series. I didn't like the first book in the series but I'm glad I kept reading.
Anyone who likes this should read Leann Sweeney's Cats in Trouble series. It's even better.
Anyone who likes this should read Leann Sweeney's Cats in Trouble series. It's even better.
Read
March 12, 2018Again, great book in a great series!
July 14, 2018
Fast reading
This has been a decent series. I will continue with it but I’m in no hurry. I was able to read it pretty quick.
This has been a decent series. I will continue with it but I’m in no hurry. I was able to read it pretty quick.
October 13, 2019
3.5 stars
library
July 30, 20210
December 20, 2022
I love Abby Rose. She's a smart, funny, tough character.
November 22, 2023
good not one of my favorites but it fit a prompt
November 17, 2012
This was my first foray into the so-called "cosy mystery"-genre and I certainly hope that it does not represent the rest...
The mystery part of this story was quite interesting up until the big "reveal" which honestly was just so over-thought and overly done that it was just too unbelievable. And while I was not a big fan of main character Abby before that, her reaction to the big reveal was just too much! So unrealistic!
And even if I liked the general mystery and most of the story... Sweeney's incessant over the top use of random "metaphors" and turn-phrases were driving me mad! No one speaks that way! And while I like real Southern vernacular (from live people), the way Abby spoke seemed like a constant caricature of that...
And the constant mention of food, the weather (we get it! It's really hot!) and long descriptions of what people were wearing... Such random, unnecessary and mostly annoying "information" that served no purpose at all!
So, barely 2 stars for this book which I will gladly admit is just not my type of genre. But I will also argue that despite my personal lack of love for the genre, this book cannot be one of the good ones - the style was simply to annoying for that.
The mystery part of this story was quite interesting up until the big "reveal" which honestly was just so over-thought and overly done that it was just too unbelievable. And while I was not a big fan of main character Abby before that, her reaction to the big reveal was just too much! So unrealistic!
And even if I liked the general mystery and most of the story... Sweeney's incessant over the top use of random "metaphors" and turn-phrases were driving me mad! No one speaks that way! And while I like real Southern vernacular (from live people), the way Abby spoke seemed like a constant caricature of that...
And the constant mention of food, the weather (we get it! It's really hot!) and long descriptions of what people were wearing... Such random, unnecessary and mostly annoying "information" that served no purpose at all!
So, barely 2 stars for this book which I will gladly admit is just not my type of genre. But I will also argue that despite my personal lack of love for the genre, this book cannot be one of the good ones - the style was simply to annoying for that.
October 17, 2013
This is the second of this series I've read/listened to. It was enjoyable, if not more so, than SHOOT FROM THE LIP. Still had a few characters to keep up with, but it seemed easier this time. I really like Abby and her sister, Kate. The relationship Abby has with her boyfriend, a Houston police detective, is a partnership of love and respect. He wishes she wouldn't find herself in so many dangerous situations, but knows she has to do what she must since she's a private investigator. I admire that he doesn't try to change her, only asks that she's careful.
An intriguing and well-written look at different lifestyles make up the mystery: poor, con artists, rich snobs, rich nice. Each has an addition to weave into the tale.
An intriguing and well-written look at different lifestyles make up the mystery: poor, con artists, rich snobs, rich nice. Each has an addition to weave into the tale.
December 5, 2012
I usually don't write reviews after getting to the tail end of the series, because by then no-one will probably care if the fifth one was good or not,truth is that you either check out the first one or have already read some of the books from the series, so one way or another you probably know if the series is something after your taste or not.
One thing is sure, I find these southern mysteries especially delightful because of the quirky language. If you can paint a picture with words, then these sentences can adorn my walls anytime.
One thing is sure, I find these southern mysteries especially delightful because of the quirky language. If you can paint a picture with words, then these sentences can adorn my walls anytime.
August 25, 2010
When the police find Abby Rose's business card on the body of a severely injured accident victim, they turn to Abby for help in identifying the young woman. The answers Abby comes up with raise more questions. Abby's specialty is helping adoptees find their birth families, but the woman in question has apparently done this herself. Nobody knows anything about the life she lived between the time someone gave her up and the time she found her family. But her secrets are even stranger than Abby can imagine.
March 23, 2010
The latest in the Yellow Rose series. I do enjoy these cozies, Leann does a good job of making them fun and interesting.
In this installment, Abby is asked to identify an accident victim who is in the hospital after a car accident. Her brakes had been tampered with so it's being investigated as a murder attempt. She doesn't understand why she's been called in to identify the young girl whom she has never met but soon finds out that her calling card had been found on the girl.
In this installment, Abby is asked to identify an accident victim who is in the hospital after a car accident. Her brakes had been tampered with so it's being investigated as a murder attempt. She doesn't understand why she's been called in to identify the young girl whom she has never met but soon finds out that her calling card had been found on the girl.
October 8, 2009
This was decent for a quick, mindless read. It follows the usual mystery conventions and the heroine is the usual wise-cracking, junk-food-loving slob with a heart of gold. I was OK with all of that right up to the end when the mystery was solved and I just sat there thinking "You have GOT to be kidding me!"
November 13, 2012
Adoption PI, Abby Rose is called in to assist with identifying a young woman who was a victim of attempted murder. As she delves into the young woman's background, she discovers a bigger mystery. This girl has no past. The more she searches, the more Abby's own safety is in danger.
This book has a heartwarming happy ending. I enjoyed the writing style and the lightness of the whole story.
This book has a heartwarming happy ending. I enjoyed the writing style and the lightness of the whole story.
September 9, 2008
Abby Rose, an adoption private investigator, tries to find the identity of a girl in a coma, who appears to have had someone kill her by disabling her car. A quick read mystery with some slow parts, a decent ending, and a lot of annoying "southern cliches."
June 1, 2009
Well written mystery. The intrigue was pretty tricky and the characters enjoyable. Clean language. The 4 stars are for a book in this genre. It's definitely not classic material but quite in-depth for its kind.
August 24, 2012
I have totally enjoyed this series! This one was much more complicated than the others in the series and yet Abby is still Abby and does spout out an adorable amount of just comical things! I am disappointed that I think I've read the whole series now....but they were all just GREAT reads!
March 9, 2008
So sad to read the excerpt from her upcoming release and find that it is a different series. Bring back Abby Rose!
August 17, 2008
solid mystery from a series I enjoy. I skipped a few, so there were some characters I hadn't seen before, but it was still easy enough to follow.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews