Very good plot twisting! Next please. ( )

This was by far the worst one in the series so far. The characters all seemed to be acting contrary to their characters as established by the author in previous books; as if someone else wrote the story for her. Just awful. But I'm told that the books that follow are back on track. ( )

I do like this series but this book was a little harder for me to get through and I think it was the setting. Abby Knight is trying to promote her flower shop by attending a Mortuary convention. There are strange things like casket races and, of course, a murder. The victim is an unpleasant woman who was so bossy that almost everyone preferred to avoid her, except for a few young men who she set out to seduce. When Abby's booth-mate and friend Delilah is marked as the primary suspect, Abby and Marco get to work trying to find the real killer.

This is one of the few times that I actually guessed the killer before the author told me who it was, which was fun. I will keep reading the series because it is very well done. ( )

I didn't have the will to write another tedious review, but then I thought that if Kate Collins can have the bravado to churn out such a soulless book and charge people for it, then I can write a review that tries to deter people from reading her book. Okay so it wasn't a total wreck, but everything that made this series worthwhile was missing from this story. Abby Knight's reaction to bullying, her happy-go-lucky streak, her open-mindedness, her relationship with Nikki, her response to boredom. I could go on. Avoid at all costs. ( )

Florist Abby Knight agrees to attend a convention of funeral directors hoping it will drum up business for her. She thought the convention would be rather boring and is surprised that it has events like casket racing. There are even more surprises in store for Abby when organizer Sybil Blount is murdered. The police suspect Abby's friend Delilah Dove committed the murder but Abby doesn't believe it and thinks she knows who the real murderer is. The convention will soon be over and Abby and her boyfriend Marco only have a few hours to solve the mystery or a killer will go free.

"A Rose from the Dead" is another good entry in Kate Collins delightful flower shop cozy mystery series. Abby is a good heroine, a bit more confident now as a business owner and with a penchant for getting a little too involved in solving the mysteries and putting herself in danger. All the favorite characters are here in this book - the sometimes-enigmatic Marco; Abby's helpers in the shop, Lottie and Grace; and police sergeant Sean Reilly. Abby's roommate Nikki isn't in the book that much which is a shame and Abby's mother is also missing for much of the book, but her latest artistic endeavor, a baby gift, is laugh out loud funny. In fact, there is a nice sense of humor throughout the book that makes it even more enjoyable to read. The mystery aspects of the book are well done. Giving Abby a short period of time to solve the mystery is a nice touch as it gives a bit of tension to the book. The mystery is well plotted with plenty of suspects although I was able to figure out who the killer was because of what I thought was an obvious clue. Still, it was a fun book to read.

"A Rose from the Dead" is a nicely done cozy mystery. ( )