The fourth title in the Saffron Everleigh series, this book shifts the setting to Saffron’s family estate. Saffron has been summoned home due to her grandfather being ill, and when she realizes a nemesis may be present, she brings Elizabeth and Alexander and dives in. Many plot points are satisfied in this installment, although there’s plenty of room to expand into further books. An enjoyable read.

Thanks to Net Galley and Crooked Lane Books for the complimentary review copy of this title.

February 13, 2025
Thank you NetGalley! 3.5⭐️ rounded up. This book deserves a full 4⭐️ if not higher but due to my ignorance, I requested this book without realizing it was book #4 in the series. That said, this reminds me of old school mysteries that I love. Saffron, Elizabeth and Alexander leave London at the urging of Saffron’s family request for her to return home from university due to her grandfather’s health. She is accompanied by Elizabeth, her dear friend and Alexander, her beau. Multiple mysteries ensue and the trio must find the answers and stay safe. For those who read the series, it seems instances are recalled and even play a part in this installment. Very enjoyable but really need to read the series to get the full effect. Would recommend!

Enter London and get acquainted with the beloved botanical researcher Saffron Everleigh. Once again, she finds herself tangled in another mystery as she finds a former flame's brother being investigated for murder. Alexander asks Saffron to step in and lend her expertise with Inspector Green.

Just like a long lost, forgotten vine, things gets entangled quickly. Luckily, Saffron is an expert in all things botanical and has the perfect green thumb to unravel this mystery. Question being, will she get to the truth in time?

Saffron navigates treacherous secrets and past woes when she comes home to care for her ailing grandmother. She encounters the mysteriously charming Bill Wyatt, whom she has known since childhood. He's much more than he seems. Watch their story unfold as secrets and lies reveal themselves in this funny, stirring, and heartwarming tale.

Thank you for the book for the advance read!!! I really enjoyed this book. For anyone fascinated by the allure of the 1920s, "A botantist's guide to rituals and revenge" is a must-read. Its blend of historical authenticity, atmospheric detail, and compelling character arcs offers a window into an era of remarkable transformation. Whether you’re a history enthusiast or simply looking for a story that captures the spirit of an unforgettable decade, this novel delivers an experience that is both enlightening and deeply entertaining.

Another solid Saffron Everleigh mystery. I love that we finally got to visit her family and childhood home (and she took Alexander with her!). All of those new characters worked for me. What didn’t work as well for me was the primary villain. His motivations and demands and explanations were all a little too vague. I appreciate a mysterious character, but the threat didn’t feel big enough for me. Thanks to Crooked Lane Books for the ARC.

Loved the first book in this series, and liked the second. Unfortunately, this one had a lot of ties to the previous book which weren't explained and left me confused...I read too many book to remember all the plot lines in her previous title so didn't know what was happening. I gave upmhald way through.

I've been reading the "Botanist's Guide" series since the first installment came out in 2022. In this fourth book, Saffron and Alexander are back at her childhood home due to her grandfather's ailing health. They are surprised to meet the conniving Bill Wyatt there, masquerading as her grandfather's doctor. Will Bill destroy everything that Saffron holds dear, or will Saffron and Alexander save the day? I really liked getting to know many of the side characters, including Elizabeth, better in A Botanist's Guide to Rituals and Revenge. Can't wait to read book five next year too!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

Because this book deviates from the academic setting of the previous installments in the series, I feel like I enjoyed it a little less. The tone is more serious - we have multiple mysteries happening this time and a formidable villain, although I wish we had seen more of him. Overall, I'm still enjoying the series, but would like to see more banter and shenanigans, and a return to the university.

This is book 4 .
I enjoyed this series . I loved the books and I loved this one. I was hooked quickly .

I recommend this series and this book. Highly addictive.

This is the fourth in series that was unknown to me . .I have not read the others in series. As such this is a difficult read to follow having not read the other books. I did like the main character and the mystery was compelling. A interesting read with well crafted writing. I do recommend reading the others in series first.

Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity.

These are my comfort books. We have left London and are at Saffron and Eliza's hometown in this go round.. This actually could've been a novella and equally effective since it felt like a bottle episode of a TV show. There IS movement (the ending) but the mystery is kind of lame and not at all interesting enough to use the wily skills of our heroine and her beau. Lots of tromping about. I believe it was to give us a background more on the Everleighs but a jaunt back there won't be necessary in the future.

Here's to more heroics in London and fighting the patriarchy one solved crime at a time.

It's book four and it just keeps getting better! I was beyond thrilled to receive this ARC from Netgalley and read it in just two days!

Saffron, Alexander and Eizabeth are off to the Everleigh country estate to rescue Saffron's family from the evil machinations of Dr. Bill Wyatt and Elizabeth's family from a sinister spiritualist. After discovering that the very spy-like villain Bill has ingrained himself into her family's home as her grandfather's physician, Saffron and gang ride to the rescue. She has to find her father's secret research if she is to have a chance at winning Bill's deadly game of extortion.

While Saff has her hands full mending fences with her various family members and turning over her father's possible hiding places, Elizabeth discovers a charlatan psychic has come to stay with her estranged parents and is using her dead brother's memory to haunt and swindle them.

How will the Everleigh's outwit so many con-artists? Will Saffron's family accept her lifestyle and her beau Alexander?

Khavari's writing is superb and well-paced. How she manages to have a role for all the series characters we've grown to love (even Dr. Micheal Lee is back for a bit!) is masterful. This series had me from book one. It's the perfect mix of romance, adventure, mystery and heart. The set-up for a book five is everything!

The fourth in this series has Saffron going back to her family manor after her Grandfather suffers a heart attack.

Things between the family are tense. Made worse by a suspicious “Doctor”, who seems to have the entire family in thrall.

This had so many good, bad characters. Very well done as always.

NetGAlley/ Crooked Lane Books June 10, 2025

I couldn’t put this book down. Having Saffron called back to her family home knowing that her enemy had installed themselves inside with her loved ones raised my blood pressure for her. I loved that Alexander and Elizabeth were by her side to help her navigate the damaged relationships with her mother and grandparents. Throughout the story, Alexander proves himself to be the right choice for Saffron despite anyone’s concerns, including his own. I would have liked a little more focus on Elizabeth as I felt like there was a bit of mystery with her that we have yet to see (hopefully in the next book). I loved Saffron finally taking charge of the situation with Bill in front of her family and showing them what she was capable of. Probably my favorite book yet and I can’t wait for the next one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of the book.

Another fabulous Saffron Everleigh mystery. This is the forth in the series and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would recommend readers read the series in order as events in previous books are referenced quite heavily in this book.

In this instalment Saffron us summoned to returned to her family home after her grandfather falls ill. She returns with Elizabeth and Alexander in tow. Saffron"s concerns grow when she realises a past foe is posing as the family doctor.

Meanwhile Elizabeth's parents (who live next door) have fallen victims of a fraudulent medium claiming she can reconnect them with Elizabeth's deceased brother.

Can Saffron prove the medium is a fraud and work out what the fake doctor is plotting? You'll have to read the book to find out

I was so excited to read this book, I finished it in about 48 hours, unable to put it down. The Saffron Everleigh Mysteries really get you into the time period. In this one we get to meet a medium and attend a few seances. I’ve always found the spiritualism of the early 20th century fascinating. One of the themes that gets explored in this series that goes a little deeper in this novel is the loss of The Great War. Sometimes by book 4 you get dropped plot points or stagnant characters but not here. You get a lot of growth from several characters and get to meet ones we have only heard about before. Plus the change of location mixes things up. Meeting Saffron’s Mom and Grandmother helped a lot of things fall into place. I recommend this series and definitely this installment. *This was an ARC from NetGalley but all thoughts are mine. Thank you!

Saffron Everleigh is back, along with her best friend Elizabeth and her boyfriend Alexander Ashton, who is meeting her (very wealthy) family for the first time. Elizabeth’s family, who live next door, have taken in a fraudulent medium who is somehow inducing hallucinations during her seances. Meanwhile, Saffron is trying to solve the mystery of what her father was working on before he died, so she can appease the man who is blackmailing her - and posing as her grandfather’s doctor!

This is the fourth installment of Saffron’s story, and it might be my favorite one. There are a few different mysteries with multiple layers, and this keeps Saffron very busy. I adore this series, but the third installment bored me with too much of Saffron figuring out her romance with Alexander. He’s finally learned to be supportive of her, even when she’s doing risky things, which is especially important when almost every other character is judging and berating her for wanting a career, leaving the house, etc. Now that they’re firmly established and comfortable in the relationship, the dynamic between them is much less cringe, and we can all focus on solving mysteries.

It’s definitely necessary to read all the books and to read them in order, as there are a lot of call backs and the character development arcs are long. The complex mysteries, botanical angle, and accurate yet empowering treatment of Saffron’s character within the historical context make this a series worth committing to.

I have absolutely loved this series! I am a huge fan of Saffron and Alexander.

I can’t wait for the next book in their series and I really hope there is more! I also enjoyed more of Elizabeth’s story in this book.

Great read and I highly recommend you start with the first of the series and enjoy!

This is the fourth book in Kate Khavari’s delightful The Botanist's Guide series. We’ve witnessed a lot of character development — Saffron Everleigh, once more of woe-begone STEMinist in clearly misogynistic 1920s London, has been promoted to researcher, is more confident and very knowledgeable (no Google image identification for her, so it’s to the microscope she goes), and seems to have matured significantly. We knew she was estranged from her family (she lost her first love, Wesley, during WWI) and Wesley’s spunky sister Elizabeth, was also estranged from her own family since an “incident” three years ago, had also been in London, although Saffron has found a new love with fellow researcher Alexander and Elizabeth’s most recent disastrous affair concluded in the previous novel.

“Rituals and Revenge” is truly a sequel to book three, “Society and Secrets.” We had a preview of her cranky grandfather demanding her return to the family estate and the mysterious Bill Wyatt, posing as a doctor, was introduced. This one picks up as Saffron and Elizabeth are arriving back home in Bedford, with Alexander (an unexpected guest for her family) in tow.

Saffron’s background had been extensively hinted at in the past, so now we have a book of more family drama than scientific discoveries. Her family hasn’t seen her personal growth in the past few years, so they’re surprised at her ability to be a capable, independent person (and draw a gun). The villain is known, so the suspense of this tale is how Saffron and her friends will thwart him and have a family reconciliation by the end. I’ve come to love Saffron so much — keep the series going! 5 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES Michael Lee and Grace have green eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO Alas, Solandra xolotum, Saffron’s violently yellow-green xolotl vine (fictional but fun), does not make an appearance, but is remembered as what poisoned Alexander in the past. I appreciate author Khavari’s explanations regarding datura and birthwort. I know a lot about jimsonweed, but birthwort is limited to a small area of the eastern US, so it was a new poison for me.

Thank you to Crooked Lane and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!