Review: THE WALLED FLOWER (A Victoria Square Mystery, #2) by Lorraine Bartlett

 

THE WALLED FLOWER

By Lorraine Bartlett

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Publisher: Berkley

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The murder mystery in THE WALLED FLOWER is the most intriguing I’ve read in a long time. Katie Bonner is a young widow, cheated out of owning the property of her dreams, the Webster mansion, because her late husband invested all of their money into the struggling Artisans Alley just before he died. Katie pays a visit to the new owners of the mansion to see their renovations and also to pine away for what she lost. Poor, Katie! While she’s there, a skeleton is found sealed behind a wall, and it’s revealed that the bones are those of Heather Winston, a young woman who went missing 22 years ago.

Heather’s aunt is Rose Nash, a jewelry vendor at Artisans Alley, and also Katie’s good friend. Rose persuades Katie to help her uncover clues that might reveal who Heather’s killer is. Even though Katie has a very full plate with running the crafts fair, finding a new apartment, trying to make peace between squabbling vendors, and fulfilling matron of honor duties for a not-so-close friend’s wedding, she agrees to help out. After all, the town’s lazy-ish detective is not inspired to work hard on a two decades old cold case.

This book grabbed me from the beginning. What a challenge it would be for an amateur sleuth to solve a murder that took place 22 years ago! Where would you begin? Ms. Bartlett has a talent for creating an intricate mystery with many interesting twists and turns. The plot moved at a very fast pace as more clues and characters were introduced. I thought to myself, “How is she ever going to figure this out?!?” This was not an easy one to crack, but Katie Bonner was smart and savvy enough to do it.

THE WALLED FLOWER is the second book in the A Victoria Square Mystery series, but if you haven’t read the first book like me, not to worry. The author gives just enough backstory to get the reader up to speed without spoiling the mystery in the first book. I would not hesitate to recommend this book to fans of cozy mysteries. A clever title for an equally clever story!

Source: Free copy from the publisher