What do you think?
Rate this book
An Alice Bloom Cozy Mystery #2
A Mystery in Bloom: Ruin in the Roses
Alice Bloom's expertise in landscape design is her ticket to the quaint villages of France, but when her beloved flowers reveal signs of foul play, she finds herself entangled in a murder that could threaten everything she’s worked for.
As she sifts through layers of mystery, will Alice's green thumb help bring a murderer to justice, or will she become the next victim?
A Mystery in Ruin in the Roses (An Alice Bloom Cozy Mystery—Book 2) is the second novel in a new series by cozy mystery author Fiona Grace. The series begins with A Mystery in Murder in the Marigolds (Book 1).
The Alice Bloom series is a page-turning, charming cozy mystery that invites you into a picturesque setting, packed with humor, romance, and surprise twists and turns. You’ll be up well past bedtime as you fall in love with your new favorite female protagonist.
Future books in the series are also available!
As she sifts through layers of mystery, will Alice's green thumb help bring a murderer to justice, or will she become the next victim?
A Mystery in Ruin in the Roses (An Alice Bloom Cozy Mystery—Book 2) is the second novel in a new series by cozy mystery author Fiona Grace. The series begins with A Mystery in Murder in the Marigolds (Book 1).
The Alice Bloom series is a page-turning, charming cozy mystery that invites you into a picturesque setting, packed with humor, romance, and surprise twists and turns. You’ll be up well past bedtime as you fall in love with your new favorite female protagonist.
Future books in the series are also available!
157 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 3, 2024
253 people are currently reading
181 people want to read
About the author
Fiona Grace
489 books725 followersDebut author Fiona Grace is author of the LACEY DOYLE COZY MYSTERY series which includes MURDER IN THE MANOR (Book #1), DEATH AND A DOG (Book #2) and CRIME IN THE CAFE (Book #3). Fiona would love to hear from you, so please visit www.fionagraceauthor.com to receive free ebooks, hear the latest news, and stay in touch.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
February 10, 2025
I give this one like a 2.8 ⭐️ Honestly if you’re just looking for a cozy, predictable mystery in a charming setting, it’s not bad. It does have a lot of lovely descriptions of both wine and plants/gardens which was enjoyable to read about, as I enjoy those things. I would have bumped it up to a full 3 stars if it had been edited better— there were multiple spelling mistakes and typos throughout, and it was quite repetitive in its descriptions of things and characters. Overall though it was a cute read and didn’t take long to get through.
January 23, 2025
Just wasn't for me.
December 24, 2024
I will never understand the psychology of a murderer. Most of the time, the reasons for killing another person are ludicrous beyond the extreme. The end can never justify the means in my opinion. The characters are very interesting, the plot is easily followed and the premise is finding out who killed the owner of the vineyard, the protagonist is planting for and why. The answers were hard to come by and lots of mistakes were made in the investigation, but then they tried. I definitely recommend this story.
May 20, 2025
This was awful. I have rarely read a book with so many damn adjectives. Every noun in the story has at least one adjective and sometimes more than that. So overwritten...
I will not be seeking out any other books by this author as I didn't enjoy this.
Examples of overwriting....
Their glasses clinked, a delicate symphony to accompany the birdsong and whispers of the garden. Alice sipped the wine, its flavor complex and comforting, much like the journey that had led them all here.
The novel was full of run-on sentences like the above. Urgh. I prefer clean and crisp writing.
I will not be seeking out any other books by this author as I didn't enjoy this.
Examples of overwriting....
Their glasses clinked, a delicate symphony to accompany the birdsong and whispers of the garden. Alice sipped the wine, its flavor complex and comforting, much like the journey that had led them all here.
The novel was full of run-on sentences like the above. Urgh. I prefer clean and crisp writing.
January 24, 2025
I think that I guessed the murderer fairly early.
Although I can understand the desire to revamp the gardens attached to the vineyard, I couldn't really understand why a vintner would hire an international chef to spend weeks designing specialty dishes to match new rose wines. And why he would care whether the chef and landscape designer know each other and get along.
There's no reason for the prologue except to set the back history of the characters.
Although I can understand the desire to revamp the gardens attached to the vineyard, I couldn't really understand why a vintner would hire an international chef to spend weeks designing specialty dishes to match new rose wines. And why he would care whether the chef and landscape designer know each other and get along.
There's no reason for the prologue except to set the back history of the characters.
August 22, 2025
Fini
I'm tired of authors whose main female characters who seem to have little common sense repeatedly. Though this is such a short book, it everything fo r me to get through it. Way more than necessary rhetoric on plants and planting and repetition of the same thing. I am an avid gardener and have been for decades but this was a bit too much for me. This is the secon book in the series I've read but it will be the last.
I'm tired of authors whose main female characters who seem to have little common sense repeatedly. Though this is such a short book, it everything fo r me to get through it. Way more than necessary rhetoric on plants and planting and repetition of the same thing. I am an avid gardener and have been for decades but this was a bit too much for me. This is the secon book in the series I've read but it will be the last.
January 7, 2025
A Mystery in Bloom: Ruin in the Roses
Fantastic landscaper and gardener, Alice Bloom traveled to France to restyled a Chateaux garden at a famous winery. Just after arriving, the winery owner is found dead in the garden. Some of the garden plants are showing signs of poisoning and so does the body. Alice and an old flame begin to work together to find the killer.
Fantastic landscaper and gardener, Alice Bloom traveled to France to restyled a Chateaux garden at a famous winery. Just after arriving, the winery owner is found dead in the garden. Some of the garden plants are showing signs of poisoning and so does the body. Alice and an old flame begin to work together to find the killer.
February 1, 2025
Another beautifully written story starring botanist Alice Bloom. The poetic descriptions will trick your senses into believing you are really in a vineyard in Provence. This time it was extremely obvious who the killer was, but that didn't take away from the experience of reading this deliciously cozy mystery.
March 3, 2025
Another Winner from Fiona Grace!
Murder strikes again when Alice Bloom goes to France to completely overhaul a Provencal flower garden.
Well written, nicely developed characters. Interesting cause of murder.
There were many punctuation errors, including a word split by a comma mid word.🤦♀️ Better proofreading would have made this book a five star book.
Overall, still a great cozy mystery!
Murder strikes again when Alice Bloom goes to France to completely overhaul a Provencal flower garden.
Well written, nicely developed characters. Interesting cause of murder.
There were many punctuation errors, including a word split by a comma mid word.🤦♀️ Better proofreading would have made this book a five star book.
Overall, still a great cozy mystery!
July 27, 2024
French wines and vines
I learned alot about wines and wine making. The plant descriptions are wonderful. The book was a bit long . The culprit was pretty clear about halfway through. Nevertheless, it was entertaining. And I'm on to the next adventure.
I learned alot about wines and wine making. The plant descriptions are wonderful. The book was a bit long . The culprit was pretty clear about halfway through. Nevertheless, it was entertaining. And I'm on to the next adventure.
January 22, 2025
predictable
You know what’s coming, yet Ms. Grace has such a way with words. Her descriptions and metaphors are remarkable. Her characters are well created and likable. Several uncorrected errors should have been caught. All in all, I enjoyed the book.
You know what’s coming, yet Ms. Grace has such a way with words. Her descriptions and metaphors are remarkable. Her characters are well created and likable. Several uncorrected errors should have been caught. All in all, I enjoyed the book.
January 12, 2025
the story was sweet
But there were too many typos and what I assume were autocorrects to wrong words, for example cafe au lait became cafe au last, and other errors.
But there were too many typos and what I assume were autocorrects to wrong words, for example cafe au lait became cafe au last, and other errors.
February 1, 2025
The use of “aspiration” instead of “inspiration” is an example of why poor editing got only a three-star rating. The story itself was entertaining.
March 8, 2025
Ruin in the Roses
Another garden to bring to life for a vintner. So, why was there now a death. Alice Bloom is determined figure it out.
Another garden to bring to life for a vintner. So, why was there now a death. Alice Bloom is determined figure it out.
March 10, 2025
I am enjoying this series! Gardening, travel & a mystery of course!
August 11, 2024
Delightful
This cozy is not going to let you go. The personalities and friendships of the main characters feel like friends to readers too. Now I a, on to book 3. Each book stands alone so start anywhere but I’m going in book order.
This cozy is not going to let you go. The personalities and friendships of the main characters feel like friends to readers too. Now I a, on to book 3. Each book stands alone so start anywhere but I’m going in book order.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews