Lake District

Following a personal tragedy, florist Persimmon "Simmy" Brown has moved to the beautiful Lake District region to be closer to her charismatic parents. Things are going well, and Simmy is happy to lose herself in her work. But the peace she has found is shattered when, at the wedding of a millionaire's daughter, the bride's brother is found brutally murdered in the lake. As the wedding florist and one of the last people to talk to Mark Baxter alive, Simmy gradually becomes involved with the grief-ridden and angry relatives. All seem to have their fair share of secrets and scandals-a distant mother, a cheating father, and a husband twenty-five years older than his bride. When events take another sinister turn, all eyes turn to the groom and his close-knit friends, each more secretive and volatile than the next. As a prime witness, Simmy finds herself at the heart of a murder investigation that could undo a family and a whole town …

Simmy has been adjusting to life in Windermere, running her florist shop, Persimmon's Petals, and trying to put her tragic past behind her. But just when she thinks her life is quietly coming together, it starts to unravel at the seams. She delivers a bouquet of flowers with a mysterious message attached to an elderly lady that brings sinister secrets to light. And when another old woman is found murdered in her own home, Simmy is drawn into the center of the investigation after the prime suspect names her as an alibi. As the murky lives of her neighbors tangle and swirl around her, Simmy must uncover the motive behind the murder before the killer strikes again …

"Rich in psychological insight . . . Tope is particularly skilled in creating interesting and unique characters." –Deadly Pleasures Valentine's Day is fast approaching and business at Persimmon "Simmy" Brown's flower shop is booming. But when Simmy fulfills a string of anonymous delivery orders, she is startled to realize that each contains a secretly menacing message for the recipients. When one of the people who receives a bouquet disappears, it seems that her worst fears have been confirmed. As if that isn't enough, Simmy's friend Kathy turns up, on the trail of her wayward daughter Joanna, who she fears has grown too close to one of her university tutors. When Kathy attempts to reason with her daughter she finds that Joanna's older lover may be even more dangerous than she had imagined. With both Kathy and Joanna in peril, Simmy and her friends find themselves caught up in a web of deception, blackmail and murder . . .

"Rich in psychological insight . . . Tope is particularly skilled in creating interesting and unique characters." -Deadly Pleasures A huge funeral for Windermere's popular resident, Barbara Dodge, is taking place and florist Persimmon "Simmy" Brown and her new assistant, Bonnie Lawson are busy compiling wreaths in preparation. As people pass through the shop they begin to hear rumors about a series of sinister dog-nappings occurring in nearby Troutbeck. Up in arms over the crimes, they begin to investigate. But it isn't until Simmy and her father are taking a walk up Wansfell Pike that it becomes apparent that there is something even worse is afoot and everyone's favorite florist must stop a killer before they strike again . . .