This is the 2nd book in the Dr. Pippa Durrant murder mystery series. Once again the author took me on a twisted tale of financial greed, family drama and murder. Someone is sending flowers that symbolize sinister messages to people who may or may not end up the next victim of foul play. I am enjoying the budding romance of detective Joe Swain and Pippa, Joe is quite protective of Pippa and a the same time values her opinion and leans on her a lot to help solve the murders. When Pippa receives a black rose it is clear that Pippa is in danger of being the next victim. I had to look up the symbolism of receiving a Black Rose and here is what I found from Google:

Black roses, whether a dark red variety or artificially colored, generally represent death, farewells and endings. Of course, those could be negative or positive depending on the situation. … Be aware, though, that giving someone a black rose generally indicates the end of the relationship.

I had no idea that flowers also had meanings and/or symbols attached and I found that fascinating as the author includes several flowers and meanings their meanings in this book.

As with all of this authors books and this book was no exception, I binged on this late into the night. This series is very addicting and I am quickly becoming invested in the Joe/Pippa relationship.

Everything in this book hit all my high marks for mystery, suspense and complete surprise/twisted ending. ( )