Blooming Murder

Iris House B&B #1

by Jean Hager

A timely inheritance has enabled spunky, self-sufficient Tess Darcy to transform her late Aunt Iris's estate into a charming bed-and-breakfast inn. Aptly enough, among her first guests is a gaggle of gardening enthusiasts gathered together for the regional Iris Growers Convention--a thorny bunch more interested in digging up dirt than in weeding and watering. And when one of them turns up dead in Tess's magnificent garden--a cake knife planted firmly in her chest--it falls to the harried hostess to unearth the killer...before any more corpses spring up.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Cozy, Fiction

216 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 1994

About the author

aka Leah Crane, Marlaine Kyle, Sara North, Jeanne Stephens and Amanda McAllister.

Jean Hager is the award-winning author of two acclaimed mystery series. One features the half-Cherokee police chief, Mitch Bushyhead. The other stars an investigator for the Cherokee Nation, Molly Bearpaw, and includes her two previous novels, Ravenmocker and . Winner of numerous awards, Jean Hager lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Series:
* Mitch Bushyhead
* Molly Bearpaw
* Iris House B&B

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The mystery itself was pretty decent, but getting through it required stamina and tolerance. This is an older book, and the writing style includes lengthy descriptions of a wide range of people, objects, and places. I also felt that the clues we're almost too subtle, making me go back through my memory to consider if there had really been much in the way of clues. Red herrings aplenty; clues noticeably less. There were some head-scratching moments like how the policeman knew the exact time of death immediately, without any autopsy, etc. The worst thing about the book was the egregious number of errors. This is a study in why one does not rely on autocorrect and word-processor spell-checkers. Multiple errors on every page. "Feed" instead of "feet." "Value" instead of "valley." There were so many that I actually started looking for them, almost anticipating them.

I'm rating this 2.6 stars. Without the massive number of errors, I might have rated it 3 stars.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've enjoyed other Hager mysteries, but this one got on my nerves. The actions of the main character seem unmotivated and unbelieveable. The police chief was unsympathetic and prejudiced---but he allowed the amateur detective/ possible suspect to pull a Poiret-like assembling of the suspects with him present? I know it's a cosy, but REALLY! The flower-growing seems "inserted" and the romance is very lacklustre.

[Sylvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spell Check Please

I really liked this book. However, the huge number of spelling mistakes really took away from the story. Pay for someone to go through it before you hit submit. I'll give it five stars.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Felt like a Bed and Breakfast version of "Murder on the Orient Express". Interesting to see how everyone had their secrets and how they all connected. Enjoyed the book!

[Joey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story

The story was good but the number of typos and wrong words took away from my enjoyment of the book.

[Charlene Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, proof reading missed a lot.


It was a good story, however the proof reading missed a lot.


Books should be numbered in order to read

[Olivia Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very slow at first, the first half of the book was very anticlimactic and added for a lot of boredom. After the murder happened everything got better and more enjoyable.

[amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first in a series in an older book . The writing is different over all a good read

[Heather Eason · Rating 2 out of 5]

far fetched ending
why follow occums razor?
convoluted choice

[Mendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jean Hager develops a wonderfully written cozy murder with Blooming Murder. The Iris House is beautifully described and I can imagine it vividly in my mind. There is even a little diagram of the floor plan in the front of the book. This turned out to be very helpful as the book went along. I found myself referring to it to get an idea of where everyone was in the storyline.

Being from Missouri, I felt that small town Missouri was very well written, down to the stereotypical community members. There are founding family descendants that are still tall in stature even if they are short in monetary supplies. There is the stuffy conservative banker, the rude obnoxious sheriff, the boy "next door" type of love interest even though he's not really next door but you get my meaning I hope. LOL

Tess is young and slightly naive but she's still able to follow the clues to the killer. While I figured out the killer with an "a-ha" moment about 2/3 of the way through the book, I believe Ms. Hager did this intentionally. Not long after my moment, she confirms it with a little sleuthing on Tess's part.

A very easy read with enjoyable characters and a beautiful setting. Highly recommended.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really a 3.5 star book
This is the first in the Iris House B&B murder mysteries. The opening of Tess Darcy's B&B coincides with the regional Iris Grower's Convention. The officers of the Victorian Spring Garden Club have booked rooms at the B&B. The relationships are convoluted. Lana Morrisey's behavior has given them all reasons to dislike her and want revenge, but Who hated her enough to stab her with the cake knife? This one was easier to see than Hager's other mysteries. Still, it was a light, pleasant 2.5 hour read.

[Nytetyger · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author really wanted to write the start of a nice cozy mystery series set in a bed and breakfast where all the rooms are themed after types of orchids, but in all honesty, it fell flat. The mystery wasn’t bad, as far as mysteries go, but the characters were cardboard cut outs, following their designated roles woodenly and you never really got to like anyone. The romance seemed forced as well, making it a fast read but not one where I will be looking for book 2.

[Margaret]

This poor book languished on Mt. TBR a long time before I finally got to it. I'd have to say I thought it was just average. I had a hard time getting into the suspects and I thought Tess, like many amateur detectives in cozy mysteries, was too confrontational and took too many risks to get her information. Ah, well, it was entertaining and I did like the garden tie-in.

[Eunira · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first in the Iris House series. A light enjoyable read.

[Pam Bales · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice cozy read.

[Diana Hildebrand]

The story was good. I enjoyed it However whoever typed it or proof read it did a very pooynob. The missspeelings on the e- ersion were frequent and one had to stop and have terpret what they should be. Professional it was not. Story was worth the interpretation