Cindy J. (cindyj) -
Some people will absolutely love this story; sadly, I didn't
Beware the Orchids is a cozy mystery by Cynthia Hickey. Two weeks after being stood up at the altar, Shelby Hart starts a new job as gardener and event planner at a retirement home. Her first day on the job, Shelby discovers a dead body, her grandma moves to the facility, and she meets handyman Heath McLeroy.
Likes: I love mystery and suspense stories, and that part of this book appealed to me. The mystery kept me guessing until the end. The retirement home setting was unusual, and I liked the unique personalities of the residents. Shelby had a good relationship with both her mom and grandma. I did laugh out loud a couple of times.
Dislikes: Some of the humor I just didn't understand, but plenty was based on sexual innuendos which surprised me. I also expected a Christian element in the story, but I don't recall any Christian themes at all. Even attending church on Sunday wasn't mentioned, or I missed it. There were some inconsistencies in the story such as the smell of cigarette smoke on her grandma was familiar, yet later Shelby says she wasn't aware her grandma smoked. There were also some grammatical issues such as missing quotation marks which was mostly just distracting. Shelby showed a lot of interest Heath, some kissing and hand holding, when she had known him less than a week (best I could tell) and only two weeks prior to that she was at the church to marry the man she had dated for five years.
The book didn't hold my interest enough to make me want to read more in this series. It isn't a bad story, though, so I can't say I absolutely wouldn't recommend it. Just keep the above things in mind.
I received a copy of this book through The Book Club Network in exchange for my honest review.
Beware the Orchids is a cozy mystery by Cynthia Hickey. Two weeks after being stood up at the altar, Shelby Hart starts a new job as gardener and event planner at a retirement home. Her first day on the job, Shelby discovers a dead body, her grandma moves to the facility, and she meets handyman Heath McLeroy.
Likes: I love mystery and suspense stories, and that part of this book appealed to me. The mystery kept me guessing until the end. The retirement home setting was unusual, and I liked the unique personalities of the residents. Shelby had a good relationship with both her mom and grandma. I did laugh out loud a couple of times.
Dislikes: Some of the humor I just didn't understand, but plenty was based on sexual innuendos which surprised me. I also expected a Christian element in the story, but I don't recall any Christian themes at all. Even attending church on Sunday wasn't mentioned, or I missed it. There were some inconsistencies in the story such as the smell of cigarette smoke on her grandma was familiar, yet later Shelby says she wasn't aware her grandma smoked. There were also some grammatical issues such as missing quotation marks which was mostly just distracting. Shelby showed a lot of interest Heath, some kissing and hand holding, when she had known him less than a week (best I could tell) and only two weeks prior to that she was at the church to marry the man she had dated for five years.
The book didn't hold my interest enough to make me want to read more in this series. It isn't a bad story, though, so I can't say I absolutely wouldn't recommend it. Just keep the above things in mind.
I received a copy of this book through The Book Club Network in exchange for my honest review.
