The Accidental Florist

Jane Jeffry #16

by Jill Churchill

Here comes the bride! Suburban supersleuth Jane Jeffry and her detective beau Mel VanDyne have finally decided to tie the knot. While Jane's planning the wedding of her dreams—with no overbearing mother-in-law to steamroll the entire event and tell her what to wear—Mel convinces her and her best friend Shelley to take a women's self-defense class. But before Jane and Shelley can learn the karate kicks and mean moves to fight off even the perfect purse-snatcher, their class is cut brutally short . . . when two participants are murdered. Between her new writing project, an addition to the house, and battling mothers-in-law, she's got her hands full. But she'll have to make time to help Mel find the killer if she wants to walk happily—and safely—down the aisle.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Cozy, Mystery Thriller

219 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

A pseudonym used by Janice Young Brooks.

Jill Churchill, winner of the Agatha and Macavity Mystery Readers Awards, and nominated for an Anthony for her best-selling Jane Jeffry series, lives as Jane does, in a midwestern suburb. On purpose! She says writing this series and the Grace and Favor series is the best treat she can have without a knife and fork.

Under her real name, Janice Young Brooks, and various pseudonyms, she's written historical novels, a gothic novel, and a history textbook as well as many articles for newspapers and magazines. When she's not writing, she's avidly doing genealogy which she says is a lot like mysteries with all the red herrings, clues, speculations, and surprises.

She gardens enthusiastically, needlepoints superbly, and plays a mean game of gin against the computer. She has a son and daughter and two granddaughters, Rose Louise and Emma. Janice is currently in a battle of supremacy with her cat Max.

Reviews

[Mailis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Umm, wheres the mystery???...its like a really long story of a day with Jane Jeffry...I understand its a goodbye of sorts to all things Jane, as in she gets married and isnt essentially Jeffry anymore...but hey Jill you couldve done it at least a little bit less robotlike and with a little bit more feeling...theres no mystery when someone is killed, you say in the start of the book, yeah happens, probably those did it, should find them, write about semantics of finding them, find them eventually without any fun or hard work or any plot twists, in the end even dont tell why they killed the victim. and in the meantime just talk about what comes to your mind as a new turn in the events of the book. why should we care about some work about the jeffry house more than the real mystery?why is it necessary to give detail after deatil of the construction? jane hasnt any emotions in the book but is just a shell who does things...cause its churchill and you want to finish a series, do read it, but honestly the worst of the series...

[Barbara · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is one of the worst books ever, written by an author who used to be one of my favorites. The only mystery is why it was written. Churchill completely contradicts herself about a cat's litter box within two pages, creates two weddings when one would have sufficed and, all in all, the book reads as if she wrote it in three days while doing something else or had a relative who wants to be an author do it. One star is incredibly generous, and the only reason I gave it that was because I couldn't figure out how else to review it. By the time I was done, I was embarrassed for her.

[Jobiska (Cindy)]

Sigh. Having just written a review of Margaret Frazer's "The Apostate's Tale," a series about as long as the Jane Jeffry series is, it pains me to review this even more than it would otherwise. Whereas Dame Frevisse in Frazer's works becomes a more complex character, the mysteries ever more compelling, and the desire for the next one to come out almost overwhelming, this series has gone downhill...nay, almost gone over a cliff!...for the past handful of books.



When I first met Jane, her best bud Shelley, and her detective love interest Mel, they were so much fun. I shared the first several books with my best friend and she said she could see herself and me in the roles of Jane and Shelley, interfering and solving crimes despite Mel's annoyance! (I personally can't, but I thought it was a cute idea anyway). After about a dozen books, it really started to seem like Churchill was phoning them in. I didn't even read the last two before this one, but then this popped up on a freebie shelf I occasionally have access to, so I thought "why not?"



Now I know why not. The writing is choppy and stilted. The characters' interpersonal motivations are just retreads, with nothing to compel the new reader. This whole book is about Jane planning her wedding to Mel, running into a few snags including the interference of her stepmother and her future mother-in-law, the former of whom is conveniently removed by a natural death. The mystery is almost an afterthought, and Jane's involvement is limited to a suggestion to Mel that he "advertise" the suspects' names in some newspapers (via some articles). Huh? Where is the spunky Jane I once knew? Apparently busy stuffing too many quarters into meters because she's afraid of a ticket, and eating at "our favorite pricey restaurant" with Mel (can't Churchill even make up a name for the place they love so much?) Oh, also Jane builds Mel an addition and is apparently a model client for the architect and contractors. Um, go Jane, I guess?



I was too bored to track down what I thought were inconsistencies...first she wants to protest the 400 guests her future MIL wants to invite, then suddenly it seems 400 is fine by her? Sigh...it's sad when this happens. I'll miss you, "real" Jane and Shelley.

[Kristen · Rating 1 out of 5]

The fact is, I expect better out of an author whose first novel, Grime and Punishment, won an Agatha Award and has in fact survived several cullings of my own personal library. But her 2007 offering? Starts like this:

Jane pulled into her driveway.

Quite a hook, eh? Not. But it goes on:

She'd just driven to Kansas City and back to drop off Katie at a culinary school at a junior college and get her set up in an apartment with two other girls. Jane had made a quick stop at a liquor store to buy a bottle of champagne on the way home.

On the second page, she repeats the same information about Katie's school to the neighbor who drops by. In fact, they review the status of all Jane's kids, get extremely drunk, and part ways after some coffee. Next morning, Jane's hair is a mess and she thinks about her novel that's going to be in actual print in two weeks.

End of Chapter One.

I actually made it partway through Chapter Three (page 18, to be exact) before I realized that this novel's just not going to get anywhere fast enough for me to care. Are publishers just counting on people to buy an author's books just because some of them have been pretty good? What happened to Ms. Churchill to make her satisfied with such flaccid prose and tensionless plotting? Are fans of Jane Jeffrys, suburban mom and amateur detective, really willing to read through all the minutae of the Jane's life?

Words fail me.

[Josephine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh, Jill! What happened? Why didn't you stop four or five books ago? This is terrible! There's no mystery, just an overlong description of the planning for your heroine's wedding (finally!) to her long suffering police detective boyfriend, and what reads like a halfhearted attempt at winding up several loose threads. Nasty mother in law from marriage #1 conveniently has a bad stroke while on the phone with Our Protagonist. Beloved and slightly stupid dog Willard conveniently has a stroke out in the back yard barking at squirrels for the hundred and eleventieth time. And a couple of others I can't be bothered to reread the book to discover. I have better things to do with my time.

Oh, and how many times has Jane told Mel why husband #1 was driving away that dark and stormy February night? We're up to, what? four times she's told him?

[Mie]

I can't even give this book one star. It was the biggest waste of my time. I kept thinking I need to quit trying to make myself read this, but the author had won an Agatha Award, there had to be potential, right?

If I ever teach a class on a poorly written book, and I need an example this will be it. There is no mystery. The title has nothing to do with the book -- yes there is a florist in the story. It seemed to have been written by a 12 year old trying to interpret the thoughts, actions, and conversations of an adult.

I hope I never make this mistake again.

[Lain · Rating 1 out of 5]

Can I have my 10 hours back, please?

Not only WASN'T this a mystery, it wasn't well written, fun, interesting, or entertaining. It was just plain lousy. I alternate between hoping this is the last Jane Jeffry book (because I couldn't stand another this poorly written) and hoping Jill Churchill will write one more so we're not left on such a sour note.

If you are a Jane/Jill fan, skip this. You will be so sad and disgusted it will color your whole view of the series.

[Susan · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is an author, and a series, that I've enjoyed very much. Of course, in any series, there are bright spots and ones that are a bit less bright, and often (though not always) they may deteriorate as the series grows older. But I wonder what happened to Churchill, and her editors, on this one. As series sleuth, housewife and writer Jane, plans her wedding and a room addition to her house, she gives her policeman fiance an idea on how to handle an outstanding case. She easily outwits her horrible mothers-in-law, past and future. The florist has virtually nothing to do with the story. There's more about what she's wearing to the wedding than the mystery. Even the writing seems less skillful than it was in earlier books.

[Patty Dadamo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh. This was so different than all the other books in the series. I was really disappointed. Did I miss the part where Jane and Shelly solve a mystery? Did they even go out for lunch one time? What grown woman lets her future mother-in-law plan her wedding? And, I can see killing off Willard, (he was probably getting up there in years), but once he was gone, he was never mentioned again. Didn't Jane miss his crazy barking? I did. If this is the first book in the series that you read, don't give up on the entire thing. Please try another one. I swear they're better than this one.

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

Officially the worst book I have ever read (technically listened to on cd in the car. I would nit have made it through if I actually had to read it) No plot. No creativity. No mystery. No editing. Terrible. And yet some how hilarious in its terribleness- the paragraphs spent discussing the joys of "self clumping kitty litter" were hilarious and painful at the same time.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible terrible book. I could only get about 1/4 way through and I brought it back to the library. Good thing I didnt buy it! The writing style is aimed at a 6 year old. I got through about 75 pages and so far absolutely NOTHING happened. Don't bother reading this one.

[Laureen Nowakowski · Rating 2 out of 5]

A mystery written in 2007, but the author is so old fashioned it could have been in the 50's. I can't believe I finished the book. I did enjoy when she went grocery shopping and she told you what she bought.

[Judy · Rating 1 out of 5]

There was no mystery in this mystery novel. In addition, some of the language was stilted. It reads more like a cross between Emily Post and Hints from Heloise than a good Jane Jeffry book.

[Alice · Rating 1 out of 5]

I guess I wishfully hoped when this last book in this series caught my eye on a library display that I would enjoy it more than the last Jane Jeffry book I read a few years ago. Well, that didn't work out. There was no big mystery being solved rather we kind of followed every now and them Jane's fiance's case (he's a police detective). All we get to read about is her preparation for her wedding (what outfit she picks out, when everyone will arrive, what flowers she picks--nothing worth caring about). I mean it was as dry as reading the minutiae of any person's relatively mundane day. I don't get it at all. I won't make that mistake again--at least not with this series!

[Mayda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is more about Jane and Mel getting married and less about solving the murders. Jane is dealing with the details of planning a wedding, but she is also fending off the heavy handed actions of both her ex-mother-in-law and her future mother-in-law. Yikes! There is not much to like about either one, but while Jane tries to play nice with them, she also refuses to be bullied by either woman. It’s an entertaining tale, if you like to read about weddings and wedding problems, but the mystery falls by the wayside.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second Jane Jeffry mystery I have read. I liked the previous book better. I do not understand the title. Jane has a busy full life. Planning a wedding and not getting along with in-laws. Writing books. Having an addition built onto her home. Interesting womens' safety advice. That is before a murder which Mel focused on more than Jane. Basically a fast-paced cozy.

[Drebbles · Rating 2 out of 5]

With an almost empty nest and after years of dating police detective Mel Van Dyne, Jane Jeffrey decides it's time they get married. Jane is determined to have the wedding she wants even if it means battling with her late husband's mother Thelma and her soon to be mother-in-law Addie. While Jane easily deals with Addie by setting ground rules and refusing to let them be broken, she has a harder time dealing with Thelma who is becoming increasingly nasty and doing her best to try and take away the money Jane inherited from her late husband. When she's not dealing with Thelma and Addie, Jane is preparing to write her next book and also overseeing the addition of an office for Mel onto her house. Also, Mel wants Jane and her best friend Shelly Nowack to take a women's safety class. Jane and Shelley agree and learn some useful tips until their instructor is murdered. Now Jane really has her hands full as she adds helping Mel solve the murder to her long list of things to do.

While I used to enjoy Jill Churchill's Jane Jeffrey series, it's gone down hill the last few books and "The Accidental florist" is no better. The writing is clunky and the dialogue awkward. One example of this is when Churchill has Jane, who has been dating Mel for years, tell Mel exactly how much money she has and how her husband died, something she should have told him years ago. There are continuity errors like when Mel says he is taking the day off to attend a meeting with Jane and a few pages later Jane checks to make sure he has the next day off to attend the meeting. Later on Churchill has Jane running out to buy litter boxes for her cats saying she didn't have any, even though in an earlier chapter Jane had cleaned their litter boxes! Ironically enough, Churchill stresses how carefully Jane researches her books before writing them, perhaps Churchill should do the same. While I found some of the advice Jane and Shelley got during their safety class to be useful, after a while it felt like filler for the book as did the many details of the building of Mel's office. The mystery plot line is poorly done and written - Mel does all the investigating (and most of that is off-page) instead of Jane and Shelley. And the recurring gag of Shelley's husband not being seen in the books wears too thin in this book when he misses Jane and Mel's wedding for the flimsiest of excuses.

"The Accidental Florist" has some touches that reminded me of what I used to like about the series - little things like Jane's sneaking a cigarette when she felt stressed; a touching moment involving her dog; interesting glimpses into the world of book writing, publishing, and promotion; and Mel and Jane's decision to forego wedding gifts and having money sent to various charities instead (one of the few times in the book that Jane was likable). But these were only brief glimpses that make it even sadder to realize how good the series used to be and how much it's gone down hill.

[Karen Davis Engelbert · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is one in a series of Jane Jeffry mysteries, although it's the first one I've read. I would not classify it as a mystery because it's neither intriguing nor suspenseful. It is laced with many random events that are completely irrelevant to the murder that apparently marks this as a mystery. Jane decides to marry the detective she's been seeing for a long time, so a lot of the story involves Jane and her girlfriend shopping for the wedding. She also decides to add a room to her house to become her soon-to-be husband's office. Many details surround the progress of the addition. Her dog dies suddenly. Her former mother-in-law is mean and spiteful, has a stroke and dies. None of this has anything to do with anything. Jane's detective fiance recommends that she and her girlfriend take a series of classes on women's safety. The instructor of the course is the person murdered, but that is Jane's only connection to the crime. Her fiance is working on the case, but Jane has nothing to do with solving it. His new assistant comes up with an idea that may lead them to the murderers, but there are no twists or surprises. And her suspicions are right. But the story never develops to give the background of the victim which would explain the motive. The entire story is very lacklustre. The title doesn't even relate to the murder. It references an insignificant detail of the wedding where the groom's mother ordered flowers for the reception and Jane had been clear that she would take care of the flowers herself, so she had the MIL's flowers removed. Big deal. The end. I would not recommend this book.

[Eva · Rating 1 out of 5]

i don't know what possessed me to give 3 stars before, but now i read it again to see if it deserved to stay on my bookshelf, and the answer is no. i love jane jeffrey but not this book.
first of all, the editing. jane is happy she cleaned the litter box, then goes to buy a litter box a few pages on. first victim is killed by her boyfriend, then later he is her husband. not a spoiler because it was mentioned right away, no mystery. then mel's boss is called whitman on one page, and whitmore the very next. and like 4 times each time, it's not a one time mistake. i think, as he is never mentioned again.
then the story. the jane jeffrey series has a certain formula, at least the ones i read. there are usually 2 victims, somehow related. jane loads of times finds the body, and she and shelley solve the mystery.
not in this book however. the relation between the victims: they spend a few hours in a room together. the first murder is mentioned in 2-3 sentences and has no connection to the plot. even the second murder has barely a connection to the plot, it is solved 'off-screen' and talked about in an epilogue, almost no details, while the reader gets all the info on jane's hat and dress, mothers-in-law, renovation, a shopping list, and ingredients to various dishes.
also, for a book about a wedding (actually, for some weird reason, 2 weddings), it seems vastly unromantic.
"hey mel, what say you and me get hitched?"
"yeah, all right."

[C. Janet Austin]

i couldn't give this one any stars at all... it's really that bad!


i thought Ms. Churchill might be similar to Mary Kay Andrews whom I love... and I read Mary Kay's books when i need an uplifting read after a darker type novel... Mary Kay's books are fun, funny & easy to read....

i could not have been more wrong... Ms. Churchill left me slapping my head every so often saying, 'good grief, what was she thinking' ... she's pretty repetitive in ways... does not have good character or plot development and just generally all around non-satisfying reading for me, at least... and there's NO mystery in this mystery except how the heck did it get published!?!?!?!

the good thing was it only took about a day & a half of my 'free time' to read it... i sold the book as soon as i was done... this in fact is a statement of how i feel about it since i 'collect' books... i knew i would never again have the desire to pick this one up

i was comforted at least a little when i read the other reviews here, knowing then that i was not the only one that panned this book... any book to me is a treasure and it's just hard for me to believe that something like this would even get published

perhaps later on i might pick up one of the earlier jane jeffrey novels to see if they were ever worth reading... just to know

[Nolan · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s almost no mystery here. Instead, you get pages of details about the conflict between Jane, her future mother-in-law, and her first husband’s mother. This feels like the authors tribute to long-time series readers.

Finally, Jane and her cop man toy are about to marry. Naturally, the domineering mother-in-law wants to plan it all, and Jane puts a stop to that. Instead, she and long-time friend, Shelley, plan the wedding.

Jane’s future husband insists that she take a “women’s safety class” in the days prior to the wedding, and she and Shelley agree to do it. Before the class ends, someone murders the instructor, and it’s up to Jane to figure out what happened.

But you’re not reading this for the strength of the mystery. You’re reading it because you’ve a long-time investment in Jane and her personal welfare. You want this wedding to happen, and you’ll tolerate the numerous pages of wedding planning descriptions. It’s much more about the personal futures of these characters than it is the mystery. And yes, it’s still worth reading.

[Gigi Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like cozy mysteries, and when I bought this book I thought that is what it would be. It is the first book I've ever read by this author, Jill Churchill. I stuck with the book and read it in one day, but, as for the mystery, I'm kinda still setting here wondering...What was the mystery?

What it actually turned out to be was a story about Jane Jeffry and her BFF Shelley, as she helps Jane makes plans to marry her longtime boyfriend Detective Mel. That's about the gist of the storyline. Oh, I forgot Mel convinces Jane and Shelley, to take a women's safety class. The class is cut short when the dead body of the instructor is found.

So between Jane's wedding plans, her new writing project, a murderer must be found, and that is left up to Mel to sort out. Like I said, very short on mystery, but long on wedding planning.

I wasn't impressed with this book, therefore, I am awarding it 2**

[Karen · Rating 1 out of 5]

So far this book is O.K. It makes me want to get a bottle of champagne and have mimosas in the middle of the afternoon with one of my neighbors like the two women in the book do. It has a great beginning.
...it had a great beginning and went no where. This book was a bunch of unrelated small insignificant events. It started to read like a list. "When is something significant going to happen?" I kept thinking. I kept trying to sove the mystery, but there was no mystery to solve. What little mystery there was got solved way before the end of the book. Funny, because the cover says it is a mystery. It was simplistic. I would recommend it to a fourth grader. I will not read this author again, ever.

[Susan Schnelbach · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hope by giving this book one star it really means I'm giving it a 1 out of 5 rating. This book was so poorly written it was almost painful at times to read. There was almost no mystery, certainly no mystery Jane was involved in solving, and was little more than a recitation of Jane's actions and life events. This was a boring read, is not worth owning or re-reading, and could not have possibly been written by the same person who wrote the first 10 books in the series.

Did Jill Churchill/Janice Brooks die and someone else been handed this series? If so, Avon Mysteries needs to rethink that decision and try another author - this time someone who can actually write a good story. Or did Jill Churchill write up a brief outline and pass it off to someone who didn't care?

[Cathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Jill Churchill was one of the first 'cozy mystery' authors I latched onto, and I've loved almost every moment of this series. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about this half-hearted entry in the series. It felt formulaic and rushed, written as if Churchill was just rushing to meet her publisher's deadline. Written in 2007, this was also the last book in this series, so maybe Churchill had lost interest by this point in time. By all means read and enjoy the earlier books in this series, but take a pass on this one.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

just a wrap-up of Jane Jeffry's life. If this is what was in Ms. Churchill's head, it's good that there won't be any more. Definitely a disappointment after the early ones that I enjoyed so much. Very little that was funny, very little mystery, and the title had nothing to do with anything in the book. Three stars is probably generous, but I guess that's more in memory of the joy she gave me with other adventures of Jane, Mel, Shelley, etc.

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Based on all the other books I've read in this series, I assumed this would be a murder mystery. It turned out to be a random dump of (slightly outdated) women's safety research and the planning of a wedding. It's one of the more boring books I've ever read. The only reason I finished it was so that I could add it to my list of finished books for the library's adult summer reading challenge.

I was really quite disappointed, I used to love this series when I was younger.

[Jen Ifer's Inklings · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didnt enjoy it as much as the rest of the book. I found three seperate "mistakes" in the book or inconsistancies that I felt the author or editor should have easily caught.

This book also focused on the wedding and MILs rather than the murder. I think that took away from the book considerably. I was very disappointed.

[Joy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow. I picked this book up in the library because it had been awhile since I read a mystery. The inside jacket synopsis sounded intriguing and the author had won an Agatha Award. But I was majorly disappointed. It was so boring!! And the book wasn't really about anything. I could hardly tell what the mystery even was. Who gets such poorly written literature published?!?! Bummer.

[Donna Simpson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful. Just... awful. Pallid, plotless, irritating, devoid of any shadow of the author's former ability. The books have been going downhill for the last few, but I decided to try one more.

Too bad I did.

Where did Jill Churchill go? If it is still her writing this and the last few novels, she now needs a ghost writer.