Theo Bloomer Mystery

Retired florist Theo Bloomer goes to Israel to rescue his niece from terrorists in this engrossing mystery. On the shores of the Dead Sea, Dorrie Caldicott is coming into bloom. A spoiled graduate of the finest prep schools on the Atlantic Seaboard, she went AWOL during a tour of Israel and put down roots in a kibbutz. Her mother simply won't stand for this kind of behavior, and it falls to Dorrie's uncle Theo Bloomer, a retired florist who's as meek as a daffodil, to bring the girl home. But in the sands of Israel, this gentle flower will be forced to take root or die.   Theo has hardly arrived at the settlement when a pair of murders makes it unlikely he and his niece will ever make it home. Under threat by terrorists, the police, and the attentions of a few dozen intellectual farmers, Theo and Dorrie must find the killers if they wish to escape the Holy Land alive.   Anyone who has envied Nero Wolfe's orchid collection will find himself right at home with Theo Bloomer, a globetrotting florist who-like Rex Stout's most famous detective-would prefer to be at home with his plants. Readers won't want to miss joining Theo in this unique series by Joan Hess, one of the funniest mystery novelists on the planet.  The Night-Blooming Cereus is the 1st book in the Theo Bloomer Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Retired florist Theo Bloomer would much rather stay at home than go on a disastrous Jamaican vacation in this charming cozy mystery. Every time Dorrie Caldicott gets into trouble, it falls to Theo Bloomer to bail her out. So when Dorrie and her college buddies rent a villa in Jamaica, Uncle Theo is called on to chaperone. An unassuming retired florist, Theo prefers pottering around his greenhouse to traveling the world, but he has a soft spot for his niece-and it may get him killed. At the resort, Theo struggles to make himself at home among Dorrie's preppy gang. As the students whip themselves into a frenzy of debauchery, Theo just looks the other way. But when fun in the sun gives way to kidnapping, extortion, drug smuggling, and murder, Theo will do anything to get home to his flowers. Fans of Kate Collins's bestselling Flower Shop Mysteries will find a kindred spirit in Joan Hess's Theo Bloomer. When this wilting violet is uprooted, the results are nothing short of hilarious. The Deadly Ackee is the second book in the Theo Bloomer Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.