A Nightshade for Warning: An Enchanted Garden Mystery
By Bailey Cattrell
Berkley
May 2017

Elliana Allbright is delighted to be the owner of the Scents & Nonsense customized perfume and aromatherapy store in Poppyville, California, and she’s just as proud of her charming tiny house and Enchanted Garden next door. So when she learns that Blake Sontag will be in town to interview her regarding clean living and the tiny house craze for Conscience Magazine, Ellie is thrilled and scrubbing down her home to picture perfection. Although her fellow Greenstockings businesswomen encourage her to also promote their businesses, the cranky reporter seems to have little interest in either his former hometown or the environmental movement at all. That makes dinner with Ellie’s brother and his new girlfriend Larken Meadows extremely uncomfortable, and Blake’s rudeness has the sincere Lark storming off in frustration. When Blake is found dead in his hotel room, the detective who once tried to arrest Ellie for murder now has his sights set on Lark. Being someone has a history of protecting her half-brother since they were children, Ellie doesn’t hesitate to again step in to help Colby and prove Lark’s innocence.

It seems that Blake had his share of enemies, resulting not only from his ruthless ambition but from land owned by his family. Among the suspects is photographer Tanner Spence, whose resemblance to a Greek statue is proving problematic in the light of Ellie’s very long-distance relationship with her boyfriend. Ritter Nelson has only just begun his six-month long botanical research project in Alaska, but he’s already gone incommunicado for the past two weeks. In light of her fears over their relationship, Ellie’s grandmother’s journal is proving to be an intriguing distraction. Ellie has a unique ability to access memories from scents while providing extraordinary aromatherapy advice, and her grandmother’s garden journal seems to be transforming and communicating with her. This would seem more unusual were the rest of her friends not also gifted with their own inexplicable talents, from the librarian who provides answers before the question is asked to those who wordlessly communicate with animals.

As the author of numerous cozy mystery series written under the names Bailey Cattrell, Bailey Cates, and Cricket McRae, it should be no surprise that she has the ability to create engaging characters who inhabit delightful settings. What is remarkable is how the author continues to craft plots that are compelling, original, and unpredictable. Suspicion continues to fall on an assortment of very likely culprits, and while the reveal is logical few will see it coming. The blend of the mystical is subtle, with floriography – the language of flowers - falling as much into the realm of science as magic. As intriguing as the murder mystery is the development of the romantic relationships of both Ellie and her brother. Each has come to realize that their future paths may not be the same as their partners, so the real question is as to whether love is worth making a change. The characters are all so likable, and readers so enchanted by Ellie’s fairy-suitable garden, that they will be hopeful that Ellie and her loved ones make the right choices for their future Poppyville home.