In 1923, Saffron Everleigh, a research assistant at the University College in London, attends a dinner party. She’s shocked when one of the professors’ wives drops to the floor, and is found to be poisoned. Now, Saffron has to find the truth before the wrong professor goes behind bars forever.
This is a very good mystery. Saffron is a very likeable character who strives to make it in a male-dominated world. She’s driven by the love and previous work of her father. The historical setting was very interesting to read about. I liked the plot, although it seemed drawn out and a little boring at times. It’s definitely not a cozy due to some violent scenes. Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this advanced reader’s copy. This review is my unbiased opinion.

Set in 1923 this book is a combination cozy mystery and historical fiction. I was drawn to this book from the stunning cover.

I did a combination read and audiobook listen, thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for those arcs.

Saffron is a young woman who is determined, resourceful and at times a little foolish. Driven to clear the name of a mentor she impulsively does things that put her own life and others at risk.

It was a fun read and an entertaining listen. With an interesting cast of characters, some likeable some not so much. The mystery played out nicely with adventure, wit and risk. There was a satisfying ending as well. I am not sure if this is the beginning of a series or not but it does have the makings for one.

While there are some comparing this book to Deanna Raybourn‘s Veronica Speedwell Series I don’t think I would go that far.

My thanks to Crooked Lane Books and Dreamscape Media for advanced copies in exchange for a honest review.

A Botanist’s Guide to Parties and Poisons by Kate Khavari is a cosy historical mystery story. Set in London in 1923 where Saffron Everleigh works as a research assistant in the Botany faculty for the University College of London. Saffron attends a university party and is thrown into the midst of a suspected poisoning/possible murder of one of the attendees.

The story is full of academic intrigue and the research into unusual plants especially poisonous ones. Saffron faces the challenges of being a woman at that time but does finds support by her faculty head Dr Maxwell and also a blossoming friendship with Dr. Alexander Ashton. There are also the ‘bad boys’ who make life for Saffron quite difficult. Some very intriguing twists and turns in the plot.

This is a delightful story which was a pleasure to read.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher Crooked Lane Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Any quotes are subject to change with the final publication.

This book… wow is all I can say. I was able to read an ARC being it comes out on June 7th thanks to NetGalley and wow. This has grumpy and sunshine romance, slow burn, and a murder mystery that keeps you guess till the end. This normally isn’t the type of book I read but this might have made me into a murder mystery fan. This book follows our main character Saffron who is an assistant in the botanist department of the university college. She gets invited to a dinner celebrating an expedition group who leaves in two weeks when all of a sudden one of the members at the party faints and can’t be awaken. This starts the adventure for Saffron has she tried to figure out who the killer is and what poison was used. This book is set in 1923 and from what I know is historical accurate. I was very surprised by this book and can’t wait to read more from this another!

This historical fic opens up with a dinner party where one of the guests is poisoned. Set in London in the 1920s, Saffron our sassy MC isn't letting her mentor take the fall. I'm a big fan of strong female protagonists, especially ones in historical fiction. I connected with Saffron early on and enjoyed the whodunit plot.

3.5★s
A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons is the first book in the Saffron Everleigh Mystery series by American author, Kate Khavari. Following in her beloved father’s footsteps, Saffron Everleigh is a botanist at University College, London.

It’s 1923, and she’s the only female in her department, making her the subject of gossip, innuendo, some harassment, and discrimination due to her gender. But the man for whom she works as an assistant, Dr Alan Marshall, is unfailingly supportive.

Which is why, when he is arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, she is determined to prove his innocence. At a party celebrating an upcoming expedition to the Amazon, Cynthia Henry, wife of Dr Lawrence Henry, collapses after she drinking some champagne, apparently poisoned.

Dr Marshall’s extensive knowledge of poisonous plants, in particular, a certain, reputedly highly toxic Mexican vine, implicates him. It’s when Saffron conducts a dangerous experiment on herself to disprove this theory that she teams up with Alexander Ashton, a good-looking microbiologist who has recently joined the department.

Together they try to deduce who might have wanted to poison Mrs Henry, and why. Things get more complicated when they wonder if, indeed, she was the intended victim. Saffron does entertain several loose deductions that, with each additional fact learned, veer further into wild guess territory.

And, as she suspects that the poisoner could be a member of the Amazon expedition, they face a deadline if Alexander is not to spend months in the company of a possible killer.

It’s lucky she has Alexander onside, as he, at first reluctantly, joins her in escapades that involve searching offices and trespassing in gardens and greenhouses, although eventually he blots his copybook as he ineptly tries to alert her to the likely motive behind a certain professor’s uncharacteristic flattery.

Despite lots of somewhat convoluted college politics and the odd plot hole, Khavari captures the era well, and her characters are mostly appealing, except when they’re villains, making this a quite enjoyable cosy mystery.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books.

This book was hard for me. I love the idea of it. I love what it could have been, but I didn’t really love the characters. They just read super flat for me. Which caused the mystery they were solving to be very meh. I just could not get into caring about they mystery or anything that was truly going on. There were sparks of life this book, but they were so sparse that it just couldn’t save the book for me.

This book is really promising (love the title!) but it falls flat upon reading. I couldn’t connect to any of the characters, finding them really dull. There was also no excitement that I typically look for in a mystery.

This book was so interesting! I wouldn't have this in a curriculum, but I would recommend it to my students who love the more macabre themes in stories. It was witty and fun, also dramatic and suspenseful. Definitely a book I will buy once it is released for the general public!

2.5

I really had to power through this. I found the writing to be stiff and awkward—though it got better as the book went on, so was that an editing mistake?—and most of the characters to be quite dull and interchangeable. Randomly, a couple chapters in, we are thrown into a different POV. Even though we've had only Saffron's for a decent amount of time. The romance felt forced, the mystery felt obvious (like, the person who ended up being The Bad Guy was not shocking whatsoever), and the Stakes were almost non-existent. Saffron was a perfectly fine character and I wouldn't mind reading more about her, but the writing/plotting would have to get a bit better for me to seek it out.

Thanks to Crooked Lane via NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Pretty average mystery. I didn't understand the need to have the point of view change throughout the book as it was fairly inconsistent and uneven, especially when it happens mid chapter with no warning. The romance seemed unnecessary to the plot line, wish it wasn't there at all. I would have enjoyed it more if the character-line focused more on Saffron and Eliza and less on Alexander. Actually, could have done without him at all. I understand there's a second book coming out next year that I don't have an inclination to read.

London, 1923. Newly minted research assistant Saffron Everleigh attends a dinner party for the University College of London. While she expects to engage in conversations about the university's large expedition to the Amazon, she doesn’t expect Mrs. Henry, one of the professors’ wives to drop to the floor, poisoned by an unknown toxin.

Dr. Maxwell, Saffron’s mentor, is the main suspect, having had an explosive argument with Dr. Henry a few days prior. As evidence mounts against Dr. Maxwell and the expedition's departure draws nearer, Saffron realizes if she wants her mentor's name cleared, she’ll have to do it herself.

Joined by enigmatic Alexander Ashton, a fellow researcher, Saffron uses her knowledge of botany as she explores steamy greenhouses, dark gardens, and deadly poisons. Will she be able to uncover the truth or will her investigation land her on the murderer’s list?

Classic cozy. Saffron and Alexander give off a very Tommy and Tuppence Beresford vibe. I think this could be a nice series, especially if Saffron consults with the police on future poisonings.

So I’m not saying that I’ve put off writing this review for a long time because I loved it so much that I don’t really know how to talk about it…but that might be what’s happened.

I knew going in that it was going to take a lot for me to dislike this book, it’s the exact type of story that I love, but it was even better than anticipated and it absolutely blew me away. I don’t tend to read mysteries unless they’re cozy ones, and this one definitely feels like it’s in that vein, but it also just is so much richer? I don’t really know how to describe it (and I don’t want anyone to think that I’m talking bad about cozies because I really do love them) but the writing in this book absolutely made it an incredible reading experience.

The world that the story takes place in is so vivid without being infodumpy, I read a lot of historical fiction and some authors tend to give you so much information so that there’s no question of what time and place the story is taking place. And I have no problem with that, but this author just…placed you where the story was taking place. There wasn’t an overabundance of info but there was also no doubt that the story takes place in London in the early 1920’s. I also loved the academic setting of this, it was so lovely seeing how Saffron navigated this world as a woman and how all the different characters reacted to her chosen profession. It felt incredibly believable and made me root for them that much more.

And on that note I just have to talk about these characters! They were so well fleshed out and they all felt so real. From Saffron herself, to her colleagues at the university, her best friend and her love interest, they were all so GOOD. I’ve literally run out of positive ways to describe the writing in here so just take my word for it? Okay thank you.

So if the writing and the characters are fantastic then there must be a flaw with the plot right? NOPE. Not at all! This is one of my favourite mysteries that I’ve ever read, I had no idea what was going on (not that I ever really try to guess but still) and the plot twists and suspense kept me reading.

I literally read the last 60% of this while sitting in my car during a snowstorm without the heat on. I wasn’t wasting gas but I also wasn’t putting this book down. My fingers were frozen and I don’t regret it one bit. This is one of my favourite books of the year, I can’t wait for it to come out so I can own a physical copy, and I will definitely be reading more by the author in the future. Hopefully more in this world but I’ll take whatever I can get.

If you are looking for a cozy mystery that is plot-driven with major dark academia vibes, this is the book for you! We follow Saffron Everleigh, a young woman in the botany department of her post-war London university, as she tries to clear the name of her mentor for the attempted murder of the wife of a fellow professor. Along the way, we get to witness her academic prowess as she looks in the dark corners the police refuse to explore. Overall, this is a quick read rooted in the magical powers of plants and the ways people manipulate them for power. This would be the perfect fall read.

A Botanist’s Guide to Parties and Poisons is a slowly-paced historical mystery.

Set in 1923 at the University College of London, where Saffron Everleigh is attending a dinner party when Mrs. Henry, a professor’s wife, suddenly collapses. The police begin an investigation, which soon reveals that someone poisoned Mrs. Henry. Further investigation leads them to believe that Saffron’s mentor Dr. Maxwell is the primary suspect.

Saffron refuses to believe that Dr. Maxwell could have committed such an act. And thus, she commences her own amateur investigation, determined to uncover the actual culprit. Alexander Ashton, a fellow researcher, finds himself joining her case.

The university was supposed to embark on an expedition to the Amazon in a few weeks’ time, but with the poisoning, things remain uncertain.

This cozy mystery alternates perspectives between Saffron and Alexander. Aside from the central plot, it explores PTSD, women working in a male-dominated field, and sexual harassment in the workplace.

I wasn’t a fan of the casual racism that appeared a couple of times in this story and went unchecked. In the context of this story, it doesn’t surprise me, but the fact that it’s just there without any discussion around it offends.

Overlooking that, the story itself didn’t hold my interest and the romance felt forced.

There were a few things that I did enjoy: Saffron’s research of poisonous plants and her best friend, who was supportive but also gave her much-needed reality checks. The ending was quite satisfying as the pieces started coming together.

Other reviewers have enjoyed this much more than I did, so be sure to check those out.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books for providing an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

https://booksandwheels.com

My many years of reading this type of intelligent, well researched novel has given me an undeserved reputation for being smarter than I am. I stuck around for the fun mystery, the engaging characters and the evocative historical setting, and ended up with a bunch of interesting botanical facts as a bonus. Win-win.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC copy for my review.

A fantastic historical fiction full of atmosphere, twists, and a female lead with loads of moxie!

It can be hard to make a highly academic setting and subject feel well-paced and enthralling, but Khavari does it with elegance in this book. The author's historical and botanical research were obviously extremely thorough, which I appreciate as a cultural anthropologist myself :)

This was such an interesting, highly cerebral murder mystery that also packed a ton of heart and meaningful commentary on societal and academic gender inequalities. I appreciated the author's messaging without being disparaging toward anyone.

A fantastic read, I cannot wait to tag along on Saffron's next adventure!

A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons tells the story of Saffron, a research assistant and botanist that gets embroiled in a scheme when her favorite professor and colleague is accused of poisoning his wife. This book reads like a mystery, but it wasn't quite what I thought it would be. This was a little to "cozy mystery" for me, with all the loose ends tied neatly up by the end. Also, there was a touch of romance, with a budding relationship between Saffron and Alexander, a fellow professor and World War I veteran.

This book wasn't really my cup of tea, in the end. I find myself having a difficult time focusing and staying with cozy mysteries, and although this wasn't exactly billed as such, it reminded me greatly of a "cozy". I had a hard time paying attention to the recording, and found myself not really caring one way or the other with what happened to the characters in the story. It was too "light" for my tastes, but that is not to say that this would appeal to a very wide audience of people, generally speaking. There was nothing in particular wrong with this book, it just was, in the end, not my type of book.

I found it to be well written, with fairly relatable characters. I didn't love the name "Saffron" but it seemed perfect for a "cozy mystery" type.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

Debut mystery set in 192os England, still suffering from the after effects of the Great War. Botanist Saffron Everleigh has followed in her late father's footsteps and is attempting to establish a career in a male dominated field as a scientist. She meets with a lot of resistance and sexual harassment.

When her mentor and boss is accused of poisoning a colleague's wife at a party that Saffron attends, she can't help but investigate to try and exonerate him. She has the help of biologist Alexander Ashton. The two are drawn to each other but both are fairly prickly personalities.

Saffron is young, and not always logical. She bristles about her male co-workers on one hand but then is not above flirting and manipulation to conduct her investigation. But I would read another and expect to see Saffron mature and come into her own. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A must read for 2022. The main character was such a pleasure to read. She was so fun, smart and over all perfect. Book was entertaining, intriguing but so easy and pleasant to read. We need more characters like these. Will keep and eye out for this author and any future books.