Author: Kate Khavari
Series: Saffron Everleigh #1
Publication Date:
Publisher:
Pages:
Obtained: publisher via Netgalley
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery
Rating: 4.5/5
Bottom Line: A good old-fashioned murder mystery
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Grab
Summary: Newly minted research assistant Saffron Everleigh is determined to blaze a new trail at the University College London, but with her colleagues’ beliefs about women’s academic inabilities and not so subtle hints that her deceased father’s reputation paved her way into the botany department, she feels stymied at every turn. When she attends a dinner party for the school, she expects to engage in conversations about the university's large expedition to the Amazon. What she doesn’t expect is for 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 and evidence quickly mounts. Joined by fellow researcher--and potential romantic interest--Alexander Ashton, Saffron uses her knowledge of botany as she explores steamy greenhouses, dark gardens, and deadly poisons to clear Maxwell's name. Will she be able to uncover the truth or will her investigation land her on the murderer’s list, in this entertaining examination of society’s expectations.
Review: Historical Mystery might be one of my new favorite sub-genres if they can all be like Kate Khavari's debut. Enter Saffron Everleigh who is trying to make her way into the male dominated world of academia by working her butt off to prove she's just as good as the men in the department. Unfortunately, some just see her as a pretty female in a skirt but that doesn't hold her back; she's determined to honor her father who died when she was young.
Saffron is going to have to use all her knowledge when someone is poisoned at a department party from a poison and her beloved mentor is accused. Little does she know is that she'll endanger herself and those she cares about to find the truth.
Saffron is a great heroine: she's smart, witty, self-assured and determined. She's confident in her knowledge and she'll take some calculated risks to protect those she cares about. I really enjoyed how I thought the book was going down one path (adultery) but it ended up in a completely different reasoning for the attempted murder. It doesn't hurt that she had the help of another scientist, Alexander Ashton, to help her with the clues. I'm pretty sure he didn't plan on getting sucked in with the case or with Saffron herself.
I am definitely looking forward to the next Saffron mystery; hopefully I don't have to wait too long.
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