Lavender and Lies

Port Danby #11

by London Lovett

There's a new man in town, Lionel Dexter, an eligible, handsome bachelor who has taken up residence in a Chesterton mansion. He quickly wins over many hearts, including Kate Yardley's, the stylish, man crazy owner of the Mod Frock Boutique. Much to everyone's chagrin, it turns out Lionel is quite the scoundrel. Soon, jealousy and heartbreak flood the town. When the town's newest hot commodity winds up dead, Lacey joins her boyfriend, Detective Briggs on a quest to find the killer. Could it be a jilted lover or was there more to Lionel than broad shoulders, graying temples and a blinding white smile?

Genres: Cozy Mystery, Mystery, Cozy, Contemporary

186 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 8, 2019

Reviews

[Loraine Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of my favorite Port Danby Mystery series book, #11 Lavender and Lies! There are a few strangers wandering around town, which is certainly not unusual, until murder not once, but twice visits as well!

The main reason I love these books is because there is a great group of characters, the more we read about them, the more we feel like we are there in Port Danby with them. All of the characters are, for the most part really likeable, and I even love their pets!

Pink(Lacey) the florist and nose extraordinaire, is the girlfriend of Detective Briggs. Together they are a great team at figuring out who did what! Lacey has her pet crow Kingston, who goes with her to her shop and also likes to fly around town. This angers grouchy Mayor Price! Lacey also has Nevermore the cat that stays home! Detective Briggs rescued a puppy that has turned into a huge dog!

Elsie is the town Bakery owner and everything she makes is astounding! Her brother owns the coffee shop and they are wonderful but fiesty with each other at times especially when they try to be the most popular! Kingston loves Elsie because she makes delicious peanut butter dog biscuits!

Kate Yardley owns the Mod Frock Boutique, and has been engaged many times, but always jumps in headfirst and then her heart gets broken. This time she has definitely picked the wrong man!

Lola, the antique shop owner and Lacey's best friend and occasional partner in snooping where they should not be at all, is also Ryder's girlfriend.

Ryder is Lacey's only employee and he is a wonder, she could not run her little boutique without him. He does everything, is willing to hold own the fort when Lacey has to go somewhere and he and Kingston are buddies!

A new yacht has pulled up to the docks in Port Danby and a woman is staying on it there. A millionaire has come to town.There is a photographer taking pictures of the lighthouse and its owner, Marty Tate, a well loved character in this series. Marty helps with Lacey's personal quest to solve a century old murder!

In this book there are a few people visiting or lurking around and you are going to have to figure out whats up! Especially when three women are seeing the same man at the same time!

I highly suggest you read these books in order however they can be read as a standalone book as well.

1. Marigolds and Murder
2. Carnations and Chaos
3. Mistletoe and Mayhem
4. Roses and Revenge
5. Tulips and Trouble
6. Dahlias and Death
7. Peonies and Poison
8. Hyacinths and Homicide
9. Crocuses and Crime
10. Sunflowers and Sabotage
11. Lavender and Lies
12. TBA

I gave this book 5 stars and I can't wait for the next book in this series!

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really was disappointed when “Murder She Write” went off the air. While Lacy Pinkerton isn’t Jessica Fletcher she sure runs a close second. “Lavender and Lies” is another great installment in this series.

This time our favorite florist assists sexy Detective Briggs with solving the murders of two people. There is a handsome, new, debonair man in town and he seems to have caught the attention of several ladies all unbeknownst to each other until each receives photos of him kissing a woman. Now, the man is found dead and soon the woman he was kissing in the photo is deceased too. What on earth could this be about?

Well, it seems revenge truly is a dish that is best served cold because someone wants these victims to pay dearly. When the motive is uncovered you can’t really blame them. Rule number one: “Never mess with someone’s mother!”

I enjoyed this read and also liked how we are inching closer and closer to determining the answer to the mystery behind the Hawksworth murder. Who knows we might get our answer soon. If you like the tea cozy mysteries, this series is definitely one to place on your “to read” list.

[Chanel Sharp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh poor Kate. (Though to be far she does go through boyfriend like a person with hay fever goes through tissues). Kate thinks she has snagged and amazing new catch of a boyfriend, comes over to Lacey flower shop to brag to Dash and Lacey. She gives Lacey a heads up that her boyfriend may be coming in to buy her flowers, yet Lacey finds that not to be the case when she goes over to visit with Lola's and find Kate's boyfriend buying the most expensive necklace there; yet only a couple days later Lacey's see that one of a kind necklace on another woman in Elsie's shop and learns that Kate's boyfriend is not so loyal.
James, however, remains very loyal to Lacey and the two of them get called away from their sweet dreams to a house with a dead man in it. It of course turns out to be Kates boyfriend and he seems to have been murdered. Lacey and James are hot on the trail, (considering in the last two James was not their at all for the cases, he is definitely more involved in this case, but he is still working on another so Lacey is left to do some sleuthing by her self.)
As Lacey start to dig into the mysterious boyfriend, she starts to run into a lot of motives.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's getting cooler in Port Danby and Lacey is nose-deep in another murder investigation. This time, however, it's not the Nose that gets the job done. Nope. it's Lacey's ear to the ground and her ability to pick up clues just by listening. (Are we going to have to refer to her as The Ear, now? Because that doesn't quite have the same ring to it.)

Anywho. As she's ambling along on her journey to find out what really happened to the Hawksworth family a hundred years ago, she's pulled into a more current murder investigation. One where a lot of hearts have the potential to be broken seeing as the victim was seeing a lot of different women around town. Which means, quite naturally, there are more than a few suspects popping up around every corner.

A little sleuthing through a musty crypt, a little chatting with the town folk, a few meals at the diner, and more than a few battered hearts left in the wake of the truth. Lacey's nose might not have been the star this time around, but she got the job done all the same.

-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal

[Jennifer Dombrowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lavender and lies is book number 11 in the Port Danby Cozy mystery series by London Lovett.

Each book gets better and this book is no exception.

In this one Kate Yardly of the Mod Frock in Port Danby comes into Lacey Pinkerton's flower shop Called pink's flowers bragging about a rich new boyfriend. She wanted to let Lacey and Dash (who was visiting) about how rich he is and should be coming to the flower shop to get her flowers.

Then he never came for flowers and was seen with other women and even bought an expensive necklace for somebody other than Kate.

Gordon, the new rich boyfriend ends up shot in his mansion and Lacey and her boyfriend Detective James Briggs have to figure out if one of Gordon's many women friends killed him or not?

Well worth the time to read it!!

Highly recommend this book

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book in the Port Danby Cozy mystery series, this time involving Lacey and James in a murder where local shop owner, Kate is a suspect.

Kate, thinking she's made the catch of her life, is thinking she's engaged to a wealthy businessman, however, when he winds up dead, she finds out things about him which don't exactly agree with what she knows about him.

Can Lacey shine any light on the murder and who is to blame?

There's news also in the Hawksworth Mansion murders Lacey is working on, all because Marty, the local lighthouse man finds some photos his Mum kept.

A great story in the series, best read in order but all standalone mysteries.

[Peggy Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't imagine giving any of these books less that five stars. The stories are each different but the charactors are the same people just moving right along with their lives. Each is a murder mystery with lots of twists and turns. The charactors can be quite hillarious and very enduring. The plots are thick and intriguing. They tend to keep you guessing, which is a good thing. That means the author is a good storyteller.

[Michelle Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series. This is the 11th book in the series and it doesn't let you down. It's a great cozy mystery that will draw you in and keep you interested throughout. Kate is somewhat of a ma \n chaser and she thinks she has hit the jackpot with the latest new bachelor in town. Unfortunately, he turns out to not be the catch everyone thought he would be. Even worse, he winds up dead and Kate must solve the crime before she is convicted of it.

[Kay M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and Entertaining

Lacey, a flowershop owner, has a detective boyfriend and surprisingly helps him solve mysteries. She is also working on a hundred year old murder which adds a few clues in each one of the Port Danby Cozy Mystery Series.
I enjoy the small town setting, her friends, her quirky pets and especially her good looking boyfriend.

[Anne B Burn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brought to a dead stop!

This one will be the last I read in this series as the books have been removed from Kindle Unlimited. As a pensioner I am unable to pay four pounds plus per book. I am so disappointed as they are so well written and thoroughly enjoyable. But eleven books (the remaining ones I have left to read) would. Cost over forty pounds - such a shame.

[Karen Cino · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I can say is wow. I am so looking forward to the subplot of Lacey finding out about the murder at the mansion on the hill. I also am loving the way the relationship between Lacey and James Briggs is coming along. Wonderful series.

[Melinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Throughout this series there is a century old murder that Lacey spends some free time on. This book gave us a couple big pieces of information to that time. Sometimes I’m more invested in that overall crime than the individual book’s crime. This was one of those times.

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

[Melonie Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Reading about the characters is this series is like reading about old friends.
Each book becomes my new favorite!

[Tomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read with lots of suspects, but very little action.

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 out of 5 stars

[Virma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This installment had me on edge because there was a lot going on. Very enjoyable read and amusing.

[Eliza Lagonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a solid 3.5 stars but it's not 4. I wasn't disappointed in the book, but it felt a little off and there were some mistakes that someone needed to catch.
What I liked:
1. The mystery was good. The twist in the middle was interesting and shocking. I felt Kate should be part of it a little more but it's okay.
2. I didn't guess the killer right away. I think I had a fleeting thought about it early on but then I thought it was another person.
3. We are getting somewhere with the Hawksworth Murder, which I sometimes find more interesting than the current murder.

What went wrong for me: these are spoiler free and some are mistakes. I have a spoiler section below.
1. There were a few continuity issues. They got the wrong ocean. They're in Cape Cod that's on the Atlantic side of the country. I know it's picky but it took me out.
2. Let me preface, I don't need the bedroom in a romance it's great without it. I always figured Lacey and James were sleeping together it just wasn't mentioned. Then towards the beginning of the mystery Lacey points out he's doing a bit of a "Walk of Shame" and Briggs blushes and so does Lacey. Like they're teens who aren't sleeping together.
Until later in the book, when they over compensated I'm guessing, it's not mentioned perse but it's there a lot.
They've been dating for over a year I would guess they are sleeping together and it's not needed in the story to show, which is true I don't think it needs it.
It just bugged me that A. The other officers are acting like preteens about James's somewhat "Walk of Shame" and then the over compensation for it later.


My last complaint had a spoiler so you are warned.














3. Lacey's nose is not how she helps with the investigation. She is part of the community now and she's known around town so people talk to her. However, like a few books back with the book with all the fights between Lacey and Briggs, her not using her nose is a drastic change in the dynamic. I know it's boring to Write the same thing, but have something for her nose to pick up on.


Over all it's a good book, but it almost feels like she was in the head of another series when she wrote this one.
I will still read more from her.

[Marian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

I read this one, Lavender and Lies in one sitting. The only problems is now I have to wait months for book 12 to come out. The combination of characters, setting and the mysteries in the Port Danby series make each book an enjoyable read.

[JANE VAN HORN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent book by London Lovett. I was given an advanced copy for an honest review. This is a great series with Pink and her nose helping solve crimes.

[Cindy Finney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the Port Danny series

Each book in this series is better than the last. So well written, each character’s personality comes alive. Hope there will be many more books, soon.

[Linnette Parris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pink Solves Another

I very much enjoy these mysteries. Good storyline, interesting characters, fun to read, just enough excitement. Quite the cozy indeed.