Book Review: Murder Sets Seed

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Murder Sets Seed     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Janis Harrison
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Amateur Sleuth   Cozy   Ethnic
Series: Bretta Solomon # 2
St. Martin’s, Aug 2000, $22.95, 256 pp.

Over eighteen months ago, Bretta Solomon’s beloved spouse, a deputy sheriff, died. Bretta still mourns her loss, but their love is so powerful that even death cannot keep them from conversing with one another. Bretta runs a River City floral shop, but that is inadequate to keep her mind off of her husband’s death. So when Cameo Beauchamp-Sinclair offers to sell her family mansion to Bretta, the florist leaps at the opportunity.

Bretta performs a miracle restoring the mansion to much of its former glory. To celebrate her accomplishment, Bretta hosts a dinner to include Cameo and many of the elderly woman’s friends and relatives. During the meal, Cameo announces that she has discovered the identity of the person trying to blackmail her. However, the lights go off and when illumination returns, Cameo is dead. Having successfully solved a murder before, Bretta begins investigating this homicide without yet realizing how close she comes to joining her husband in the afterlife.

The heroine of MURDER SETS SEED is a likable, understandable, and empathetic individual. However, the remainder of the cast seems two-dimensional, symbolizing a stereotype rather than a person. Though not enhancing the tale, that flaw fails to hurt the story line because the plot totally belongs to the brave Bretta. Janis Harrison writes an enjoyable amateur sleuth tale that sets the roots for a warm sad character starring in a gardening mystery series.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner