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The Herbalist

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Murder & Moonflowers
Melissa Michaels is an herbalist and nutritional healer operating a market in the sleepy town of Catalonia, Arizona. When a client dies mysteriously from something even the Medical Examiner cannot decipher, gossip runs amuck and local law enforcement officials make wild speculations.

Narcissus & Nightshade
Contemporary artist, Jim James’s death appears to be suicide, but when Deadly Nightshade shows up in his system, herbalist Melissa Michaelson begins to question the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death.

Oblivion & Oleander
One obvious murderer, at least three victims, too many suspects, and one falsely accused. It all adds up to a sum that’s greater than its parts. An old high-school chum of Melissa’s hires Brian as she suspects foul play in her father’s death. But because he was a hospice patient, things are handled routinely, and the body is embalmed before Brian and Melissa can get all the info they need.

Foxglove & Funerals
Brian’s maneuvering gets Melissa a get-out-of-jail-free card, but without the evidence, what will happen next? Thanks to Melissa’s mom, Brian convinces her to take a trip to see her mother in California, but when she gets there, one of her mom’s neighbors has dropped dead. When a thirty year old poison recipe turns up out of a Book of Shadows, Melissa is on the trail of the killer.

Elegies & Elderberries
No clues, crazy alibis, and hushed employees make solving a murder case difficult for Melissa and Cochise County’s Detective Muller.

774 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 6, 2015

53 people are currently reading
168 people want to read

About the author

Leslie Leigh

16 books11 followers

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5 stars
87 (40%)
4 stars
73 (33%)
3 stars
41 (18%)
2 stars
11 (5%)
1 star
5 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
Profile Image for Kay (Brigidsmomma) Compton.
769 reviews28 followers
July 14, 2015
This was a wonderful little series. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and the plot and the way the story was told. I could readily identify with the protagonist, and loved her sense of justice and integrity. I hope Ms Leigh decides to continue the adventures that Melissa and Brian have and we get to see more of their crime solving in action. A great read, and one I would HIGHLY recommend to anyone who likes cozy mysteries!
Profile Image for Missa.
7 reviews3 followers
April 7, 2015
So much fun

I just finished the entire set and loved every bit of them. I really want to read more of Melissa and Brian's adventures in the future!
Profile Image for Pat Welte.
812 reviews7 followers
June 2, 2018
I really enjoyed reading the five books in this series. Each story was well done and fun to read. I liked the characters and their stories. I will certainly read more by this author
Profile Image for Anne Egbert.
1,026 reviews9 followers
January 13, 2017
I have been house bound fro about 3 weeks due to snow and slush and ice and roads a mess and that is going to be my excuse for actually finishing this. The story was so-so. It always annoys me when there are many misspelled words and grammatical mistakes. But I read it, it was ok
Profile Image for Laura.
3,205 reviews348 followers
March 9, 2015
This was a fun read from the first page all the way until the last, which promises more enjoyment to come in this charming series. Entertaining and interesting, this is an intelligent cozy.

Set in a small community where gossip flies regularly and no one's business can be kept completely private,
when local artist Lauryl is found dead after only having had a cold, murder is not suspected, but what did cause her sudden demise?
To complicate the matter, Lauryl was in a May December relationship, making the other middle aged women envious.
Melissa, the local herbalist, had been giving Lauryl some natural remedies. So it is no surprise that she is being investigated, but the sheriff's dept is going about it with an obvious and heavy hand.

Enter a private eye who is easy on the eyes, and this case starts heating up.
Even the people Melissa thinks she knows well give up a few secrets.

A fantastic beginning to a wonderful series with characters I look forward to getting to know better.
Profile Image for Liza M.  Jones.
Author 5 books13 followers
April 1, 2015
Libro carino, senza grandi colpi di scena, che si riscatta nel finale, dove la figura dell'assassino/a prende vita. Un po' troppo caricata la filosofia new age della protagonista. Temi delicati come la malattia vanno trattati con meno superficialità.


Cute book with no big surprises. The "new age" philosophy of the protagonis is a bit too loaded. Sensitive issues such as the disease should be treated with caution.
Profile Image for Denise.
1,771 reviews24 followers
September 30, 2015
'The Herbalist; Books One through Five' was a great collection of mysteries. The story lines were actually fascinating to me. Full of mystery, surprising twists, intriguing plots and an array of characters. Melissa made a great lead. She's smart, intuitive, sensitive to others, has a wonderful personality and turned out to be a great amateur sleuth. Brian was an amazing detective, humorous and a great partner to Melissa. I enjoyed this series. A good add to your tbr list..
Profile Image for Helen.
327 reviews5 followers
April 17, 2016
E-Book Cozy Mysteries - 5 Book Series

You won't be disappointed reading this series - The Herbalist. Melissa Michaels is an herbalist, has her own shop Melissa B's, which also make & sells organic food & baked goods. She gets involved with murder which involved poison. Dr. Mercer is a close friend who hires Brian Byrne, P. I. to assist her. There is a lot of action...& maybe love in the air. Really a good read.
10 reviews
May 27, 2015
Loved reading this

The box set was a great buy n I love having the same characters I just hate to finish n say goodbye. These characters were easy to like n I love herbs n what they can do n a little mystery n murder is a great read n this is one of them Thank you Leslie Leigh I hope your busy at a beach right now writing us something new. I'm waiting for sure.
3 reviews
January 30, 2016
Pretty good

I really enjoyed these books until the last one. That's when they referenced rough gay sex and one of the characters called another an a##hole. This may not bother most people but as a Christian, that's not what I'm wanting to read. Disappointed the author couldn't keep it clean.
Profile Image for Suzan.
1,644 reviews17 followers
March 29, 2015
This is the first in a series about a Melissa a Herbalist who ends up working with a handsome private detective Brain. We are just seeing a budding relationship. This story was charming and a quick read.
67 reviews
January 31, 2016
A good set of books.

I actually paid for this set. Mostly I just generally free books but something about this series caught my attention. The characters were well written and interesting.
61 reviews
February 26, 2016
Learn how to poison and get away with it

Great fun ways to poison.Great food ideas.I would like to eat at those places. I would like to visit that part of Arizona This book should be on the Arizona tourist bureau website. Predictable love stories. Easy read
Profile Image for Ruth Caves.
477 reviews3 followers
February 26, 2016
Poisoned again

Who knew that there were so many ways to die that would be so hard to trace. Natural is not always good for you. Comfortable characters in a homey setting, hard to maintain when you are dealing with death.
4 reviews
March 26, 2015
Very intriguing

This series was very good. The way they are written, make for quick reading. The only thing I didn't like was that the proofreading could have been a little better.
Profile Image for mary blankenship.
59 reviews
May 10, 2015
Stayed interesting

Kept my interest and enjoyed learning more about herbs. Great for anyone that likes a mix of mystery solving and light romance.
301 reviews8 followers
January 23, 2016
Poisoning by herbs

These are five good books where this herbalist has to figure out who killed the victims using herbs; so they were natural home grown herbs that are poisonous.
6 reviews
January 30, 2016
Great series

I thoroughly enjoyed these books Mystery interspersed with herbal alternative medicine in entertaining reading I would enjoy reading more from this author
Profile Image for Tam.
17 reviews
March 3, 2016
Fun

What a fun mystery, or series of mysteries. I have never been west so the setting was interesting, and the characters were sweet.
39 reviews1 follower
February 11, 2016
Interesting read

There was a lot of good information in these stories along with a great storyline. I read them one after the other and really enjoyed the series.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews

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