Gardening Cruises and Grudges: A Humorous Cruise Ship Mystery

by A.R. Winters

When the National Floriculture Conference sets sail, Addi thought she’d be surrounded by sunshine, sea views, and flower talk—not felonies.

Instead, she’s stuck on the S.S. Cygnus with a murder, Cutthroat competitors: everyone’s battling for one cushy USDA job, and someone's willing to kill for it.💅 Wedding mayhem: Cece’s stirring up bouquet drama🌿Suspects sprouting everywhere: jealous rivals, secret grudges, and one unforgettable turquoise bracelet.Now Addi’s racing to solve the case before the killer jumps ship—because on this cruise, the only thing deadlier than nightshade is ambition.

🚢💀 Murder, mayhem, and marigolds—what could possibly go wrong at sea?

Buy or borrow now and sail into a mystery that’s blooming with laughs, lies, and lethal lilies

263 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 27, 2025

About the author

A.R. Winters is a cozy mystery writer who loves writing about crazy characters and vibrant locations. And food, lots of delicious food!

When not writing, A.R. Winters is usually busy eating too much cake...

You can also find her on Facebook

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

🌸 Blossoms, Backstabbing, and Botany Gone Bad 🌸

When the Cygnus of The Seas plays host to a group of botanists, Addi thinks she’s in for nothing more dangerous than Cece pestering florists about wedding bouquets.

But when a rising botany star collapses at dinner, it’s clear there's something far deadlier than exotic blooms on this cruise.

This humorous culinary cruise ship mystery is page-turning with exceptional world-building and characters who are an amateur detective/sleuth who is witty, humorous, resilient, captivating, and realistic. Their journey is enthralling with gardening cruises and grudges, chaos/drama, heartfelt emotions/emotional depth, cutthroat competitors clawing for a coveted USDA job, an abundance of decadent food and desserts, a salad that steals the show...for all the wrong reasons, a killer with a green thumb... and a secret ready to burst into full bloom, suspense that will leave readers on the edge of their seats, action, adventure, an irresistible voyage that will have readers uncovering the mystery before the trail goes cold, action, adventure, and more. I recommend reading this book by an extraordinary author who knows how to captivate her readers' hearts and attention with gardening cruises and grudges and a humorous cruise ship mystery that is sure to transport readers into a world that is wildly dangerous, entertaining, humorous, decadent, and unforgettable.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Julie Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. Although dropping dead at the dinner table is getting a bit predictable it is still a fun read. Especially as Addi is back to investigating a murder, Sam is being driven mad by VIP's, Cece is driving everyone else cazy with wedding plans and the suspects are just big kids acting well suspicious. Let the fun and games begin with this whacky cast of characters. Each book has a core group of characters that travel from boat to boat and usually end up involved in a murder or two but as each case gets solved you get a new group of suspects or passengers with each instalment, keeping the series relative fresh and entertaining..This was an unusual group of suspects but somehow the author makes the conference, the competition and the pranks work on the boat setting, although not sure I would have liked being a passenger with everything going on. I had my suspicions, even with the author trying to muddy the waters with red herrings and twists. Looking forward to the next book.

With the National Floriculture Conference set to be judge on the ship, things are set to get biscuit Addi finds herself investigation another murder when one of the contestants is poisoned at the dinner table. With everybody on board having a very good understanding of poisonous plants and them all vying for the same job, she will have her work cut out for her to dig up a killer.
I was given this free review copy book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Cygnus is host to the National Floriculture Conference where several attendees are presenting their unusual garden exhibits and vying for a prestigious USDA job. Surely a bunch of botany nerds won’t be any trouble for Sam and Addi. Cici is also sure she’ll find someone to help her pick the perfect flowers for her wedding. However, not only does no one want to talk flowers, but one of the contestants gets a decidedly unwelcome addition to their dinner salad. Suddenly Addi finds herself pursuing a poisoner while cruising up the Pacific Coast. Was the victim targeted or an accident? Will there be more danger to discover as the remaining contestants pull elaborate pranks? And what does the future hold for Addi and Captain Ethan?

It’s always an adventure on the high seas with Addi, Sam, and Cici. Cici is gearing up to bridezilla mode after getting over her engagement cold feet. Ethan looks to be pushing towards a more serious relationship with Addi, but she’s not sure how she feels about that. The fun part of these books is seeing Addi’s process to find the killer, and what disaster will befall Turner’s uniform. This one was another tricky one to put together as motive was difficult to place. The IT team helps again to get vital clues to Addi and the showdown with the killer was nicely executed. Even after 25 books in the series, these characters and situations still feel interesting.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jane litherland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Addi is against the flow of the tide and there’s nowhere to hide from the killer onboard and she needs to catch a break before the cruise ends and they get to disembark so she’s evening searching in the dark. Any clue no matter the size ,the worse thing than this would be the ship to capsize ! It’s that dire …..Weddings ,Mayhem and musprder xor strewth she has her hands full has our intrepid sleuth! All aboard the SS Cygnus where there’s been some funny business. This really is a super cruise mystery series that is full of fun and exciting stuff. Even when the seas get rough or she feels like she has had enough . With friends around to help her out ,there really isn’t anything to worry about . Is there?….A.R. winters weaves a good tale about the crew and staff on a Cruiseship . With friendships and the Cruiseship at full capacity ,there’s bound to be something to deal with ,and it needs tenacity and wit so Addie will always get on with it. Wonderful written work with its own quirk. This wondrous storytelling is uber compelling

[Alisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful!

Well, of COURSE the book is wonderful - every single book I've read by A.R. Winter has been. She combines well written, unique story-lines with great characters and friendships, often a bit of romance, an interesting mystery, and the extra sauce of a lot of humor.

In this book, our cruise ship crew are on the Cignus again. There's a group of botanists who are VIPs in Sam's care. Of course, there is a murder, and of course, Addi sets out to solve it.

There's lots of back and forth in terms of suspects, and it took me some time to figure out whodunit.

Well worth the time reading this - I'm ready for the next one!!!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Margery · Rating 5 out of 5]

This trip places our crew on the Cignus. The cruise is host to a contest with the National Floriculture Conference judging the plants, they have made an area on the ship to be a green house. At the welcoming dinner one of the judges dies mid dinner. Addi is on top of investigating, Sam is being driven by the VIP's on board and Cece is driving everyone crazy with her wedding plans. Addi gets lucky (if you can call murder investigation lucky) and is able to whittle down the list of suspects. In true A.R. Winters style there is no shortage of funny spots and food. I have said this before, just reading how many sweets our girls eat makes me gain 10 pounds! In true form this can be read as a stand alone, but who would want to miss reading about any of the cruises?

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who ever said botanists are boring? After this cruise, definitely not Addi and her friends Sam and Cece.

Between a contest and a highly coveted USDA position that someone may be willing to kill for, things are not coming up roses for anyone when someone is poisoned with nightshade that will have readers heart racing almost as fast as the victim’s.

You will not want to put this book down until you find out whodunnit.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Aimee Worth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A new cruise destination interrupted by murder is always concerning. I enjoyed how Addi and her friends worked together to find a poisoner onboard. I kept trying to figure out who the murderer was. I was stumped!I was surprised how the book ended and enjoyed how the story came together. This book was well written and entertaining.

[Michelle Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Time for another memorable cruise. This is for the National Floriculture Conference setting sail this time and of course murder is on the menu. There are several attendees that are showing off their unusual garden entries and trying to win the coveted USDA job that goes to the winner. Sam, Addi and Cici of course have another eventful sail as they try to find the killer before the cruise ends.

[D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness. I love Addi and all these different kinds of guests that come on board. This story was great with all the green thumbs. I didn't realize it was so competitive. It sure made for quite an interesting mystery. It was great.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

The National Floriculture Conference is taking place on the S.S. Cygnus. Addi expected lots of flower talk but she never expected a murder! Everyone is competing for the cushy USDA but who was willing to kill to get it? Can she find the killer before they jump ship? Fun characters and plenty of laughs! Makes me want to book a cruise on this ship and just sit back to watch the fun!

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

What was the reason for her death? A up and coming botanist is killed on a cruise. Who was responsible for her death?.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a killer on the loose and they're using plants to poison and frame someone. Another great mystery on the high seas for Addy to solve. Highly recommend this book as a light read full of mystery.

[LizJ. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gardening Cruises and Grudges Book 25 of Cruise Ship Cozy Mysteries by A.R. Winters is witty, quirky and funny over the top characters. Fantastic book!!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Deborah K DeLaVina · Rating 5 out of 5]

poison

Another great book by this author. It kept me so intrigued that I had to read it all in a day. A mystery on a cruise ship alone is enticing but the relationships going on between some crew members make it even more interesting.

[Ela La1978 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Cruise crime definitely is not an easy one to solve. Addi has to many suspects, it takes her all to solve this one before the cruise end.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

less roses, more murderous mayhem and uhm fertilizer

excellent mystery adventures with green thumb twists