The Final Bloom

by Dominique Daoust

Spring has finally come to Starlinghaven — and so has murder.

Penny Coolidge just wants this year's Spring Bloom Competition to go smoothly. She's planned every detail, including the fabulous weekend getaway waiting for whoever takes home the grand prize. Residents are buzzing — and apparently, willing to do just about anything to win.

Then a local man turns up dead, and suddenly the only thing blooming in Starlinghaven is suspicion.

The police have a one-track mind. The town gossip mill is spinning out of control. And a nosy reporter seems determined to make everything spectacularly worse. But Penny has a gut feeling the real killer is out there among the growing list of shady competitors, calmly watering their garden and waiting for this all to blow over.

As the final day of the competition approaches, Penny uses her Town Hall insider knowledge, her friend with a funeral home full of secrets, a chatty cockatoo and her own one-eyed husky to dig deeper into a tangle of petty sabotage and long-held grudges. She's running out of time to prove who is behind this mess — before the truth gets buried for good.

Cozy, charming, and blooming with intrigue — perfect for fans of Eryn Scott, Tonya Kappes and the television show Parks and Recreation.

226 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 2, 2026

About the author

Dominique Daoust is the author of The Deadly Exclusives Trilogy and the Silver Screen Coven series. She is a journalism graduate from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. When not reading or writing, she likes to do yoga, drink margaritas, incessantly quote Friends and listen to rap while doing mundane household chores.

You can follow her on Facebook (@DominiqueDaoustAuthor) and Instagram (@dominique.daoust) for updates!

Reviews

[Kathy]

For Penny Coolidge, new supervisor of the Recreation and Tourism Department in Starlinghaven, a lot is riding on the Spring Blooms competition. As an event long beloved by the town, Penny wants everything to go smoothly and has introduced an exciting new prize. The murder of a cantankerous competitor was not on her radar. The police and public opinion are set squarely on a single suspect, but Penny has doubts. Recruiting two friends to her cause, she decides to dig deeper, adding amateur sleuth to her job description. Can she expose the truth before an innocent is charged?

The Final Bloom is a solid start to a new cozy series by Dominique Daoust. I enjoyed getting to know Penny, Jason, Celeste, and Sophie as well as pets Bongo the dog and Gary the Cockatoo. Starlinghaven was nicely established with a small town feel and diverse characters. I especially loved the cat cafe as well as owners, Brian and Santiago. The mystery was well plotted and flowed nicely and the ladies came across as smart and competent as they pieced it together.

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

[GinaB.]

This is a great start to the ‘Welcome to Starlinghaven’ series with Penny, her boyfriend Jason, Celeste, Sophie, Bongo the one-eyed black Husky & Gary the sassy singing cockatoo. Penny worked at Starlinghaven Town Hall as the Supervisor of Recreation & Tourism in northern Ontario, Canada. Her team set up the Spring Bloom Competition & a gardener who signed up every year was found dead in the nursery. Penny went to work to free a man who was wrongfully accused & solved the whodunnit. This is the first book I’ve read by this author, but it won’t be the last since I liked the humor & all of the characters. I got this cozy mystery as an ARC from Book Sprout & am leaving an honest review.

[Johanna]

Book 1 of Welcome To Starlinghaven Series. And a wonderful start it is! Look forward to more from this world.

'Spring has finally come to Starlinghaven — and so has murder.'

The characters were very appealing and likeable and quirky and compelling. Plot was intriguing and exciting and well paced. World building was excellent and impressive. Thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend.

Grab a copy, kick back and enjoy!.

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

[Crystal]

Loved reading the book The Final Bloom it had everything murder mystery, suspense, intrigue, action packed fantastic plots kept reader engaged from beginning to end of book I loved this book so much I hated to put it down also loved the use of having animals in book and how it centers on a murder and The Spring Bloom Competition not to mention the use of secondary characters and the surprise was who was the murderer.
Now go Buy, Buy, Buy, Buy the book then read it then review it because reviews help authors sell books
I highly recommend this book and will read again in future

[Reader_for_LifeTLG]

Exciting series opener - Penny and her friends jump in feet first to find out who ended the premier competitor in the annual Spring Bloom Competition. Careless coppers don't do the case justice, quick to nab the most obvious suspect. But quick thinking and a little ingenuity bring justice to the victim and the town. This is a great read, a book I took a chance on based on enjoying the tales of the Silver Screen Coven series.

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

[Cat B.]

This was an interesting book. Not sure I would categorize it as a cozy though. It was a bit over long for a cozy and alot of information to be digested. I did like the characters and I thought the pets were quite a lot of fun, especially Gary, the sassy cockatoo. The mystery was a decent one and the conclusion satisfying. I would revisit Starlinghaven again.
I received a copy of this book via the author and I voluntarily leave my opinion of the tale.

[Ashley]

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I really like the small town setting. The mystery was interesting. I liked the main character and her pre-established friend group deciding they are too nosy to let things go. The pets were a fun little addition, I’m always a sucker for animals companions.

[Sherri Moore]

Penny and her friends enjoy their small community. When someone is murdered, they want to find out whodunnit. Gary the cockatoo was adorable and I loved the cat cafe. These are my thoughts after reading an advance copy of the book.

[Joelle]

Such a fun cozy mystery! Definitely could feel some Parks and Recreation and even Gilmore Girls vibes. I hope we will be reading more of this small town crew in the future!

[Rosario | booknerdgarcia]

3.5 ⭐️