I read the first title in this series and although I appreciated the writing, I could not believe the relationships between the characters. I wanted to give the author another chance, so I read this, the second in the series, i found it to be implausible and the characters artificial. Obviously I am in the minority, as the author has many fans.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free electronic copy.

Quite an entertaining read. This book kept me on the edge of my seat. A nice gentle mystery read that will keep you on the edge of your toes.

It's interesting what you can say using flowers instead of words. The story is set around a popular garden centre. The family who own it, The Gowers, have members with green fingers. Who know the medicinal benefits of them, but of course, what can heal has an opposite number that can kill.

A good read, and a real page Turner.

The 2nd installment in the Dr. Pippa Durrant series has the “human lie detector” once more working with the police to solve a murder.

A murdered man has been found at a popular garden center but no one knows who he is or why he was at the center after hours. As the police and Pippa investigate the murder, another body is found – complete with a sinister flower calling card. The Gowers, the family that owns the garden center, have deadly secrets that someone wants to make sure stay buried.

The story had enough characters and misdirection to keep the reader guessing until the end and the plot moved along at a fast pace. Unfortunately, none of the characters were likable, resulting in little suspense as the reader doesn’t care if one is killed. If Ms. Rijks had given me a character or two to care about, my rating would have improved as the story was well-written and included interesting information regarding detecting lies through micro expressions and about floriography, the language of flowers.

Thank you to NetGalley, Miranda Rijks and Inkubator Books for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review.

Rating: 3 Stars

This is the second book in the Pippa Durrant series, although it is a stand-alone story it does refer back to previous events from the first book. So if you haven’t read book one, I recommend doing so before reading this one.
It was great being back with Dr Durrant again, although she did seem a lot more grumpy in this book. I said in my review for the first book that she was a little morose, but it seemed more than that this time. She kept snapping at Joe and generally seemed unhappy. She did say she was lonely, so I am assuming it was this manifesting.
The author must have done so much research for this book; it was full of facts on flowers, their alternate names, and what meanings they have. I’m not sure if it was all accurate, but I assumed it was and I was very impressed and even learned some new facts!
The story develops quickly, and in this book, we meet the Gower family, they are very dysfunctional and obviously hiding a lot of different secrets. They all have their own agendas, and we follow a few of them individually.
I was glad to see the relationship between Pippa and Joe progress and prosper. It isn’t in your face, but it is nice to have this running a vein through the books. Hopefully, Pippa can find happiness and won’t be so grumpy!
Overall, I really enjoyed this second book, and I am looking forward to book three already, Fatal Finale.

Pippa Durant has a strange ability. Known as a human lie detector, the police call on Pippa to help them solve a murder. There are a lot of suspects among a very dysfunctional family and why would someone be killed in a garden center that apparently no one knows? Just when you think you have everything figured out, the author offers another twist. This was the first book I’ve read by Miranda Rijks and I look forward to reading more by her. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book for my honest review.

This is my third book by Miranda Rijks this year and the second featuring Dr Pippa Durant, a psychologist with a criminal profiling background. The style is breezy, the crimes happen quickly, she’s always targeted and, as I assume, there will be several books in the future and she will always triumph. Good, I will read them and enjoy them.

Within a family setting of a popular garden center, we find greed, mistrust, adultery, and death.

Now that her husband, David, has passed, Annette has taken his place to run the garden center. She is 73, yet spry. For their own reasons, her son, Ollie, and her son-in-law, Gerry, have other plans for the center. Ollie spent away a million dollars and Gerry is in deep debt. Annette refuses any of their offers to buy her out. Then a man is found dead on the property.

In comes Detective Joe Swain and psychologist Dr. Pippa Durrant. The excitement begins!!!

A concise story with plenty of action - doesn't miss a beat! Can easily be read as a standalone but why not read the series? A great plotline with superior character development ! A book not to miss!!!

Many Thanks to Inkubator Books and NetGalley for a wonderful read !

I really enjoyed this new book in the Pippa Durrant series. It revolves around a family of plant aficionados, some of who work in a huge garden center where a man has just been found murdered. The matriarch of the family, Annette, runs the center while her youngest daughter, Lily, works there and Lily's husband Stijn, drives a truck that makes deliveries to the center. He works for Gerry, husband to Bella, another daughter of Annette's. Bella does not work and Gerry runs a horticultural importing business. Bella & Lily also have a brother, Ollie, who also does not work. They all have their own interests in the family business - some want to own, some want to sell, - and these interests affect their actions and behavior once the murdered body is found. Or should I say, FIRST murdered body...

One of the first interesting aspects of the book is that we are told Pippa's age, which I believe was only hinted at previously. She's slightly older than I pictured her based on her mannerisms but it makes sense. I also found the plant knowledge fascinating, especially the floriography that is introduced and plays a central part. It's a concept I've never seen incorporated into a murder mystery before and it makes it that much better.

The story flows along wonderfully and the relationship between Pippa and the detective, Joe Swain, follows suit. Readers waiting for more action on that front will not be disappointed! I'm so glad this is a series and I cannot wait for the next one to come out!

This is a good holiday read - undemanding and quite predictable. However, the book is entertaining, with good characters and an unusual, if improbable story.

Fatal Flowers is a good thriller that is well written and has great characters. It keeps your attention and it flows well.

I enjoyed reading this book. It had a good story to it. I liked the variety of characters in it. It was a well written book. It is my first book read by this author. I hope to read more books by this author.