I devoured this book in record time and then immediately was ready for more. Saffron Everleigh is a wonderful protagonist and a delightful heroine. The supporting characters are also incredible additions to the story as well.
There are two points of view throughout the story - of course Saffrons point of view and then Alexander Ashton who has his point of view scattered throughout as well. However, Kate Khavari did an excellent job in not letting Alexander Ashton and his pov overwhelm the story.
It's hard to express just how much I love Saffron as a character. She is smart, awkward and struggling to find her place both in the world and in the male-dominated field that she loves and chooses to pursue.
One aspect of the story that is done so well and made me viscerally react was Saffrons descriptions and retelling of the sexism and sexual harassment that she faced as a woman in 1923 England and as a woman who was pursuing a career that was out of ordinary for the time. Kate Khavari did an excellent job writing those scenes and the sad fact of acceptance and resignation that Saffron and other women had to this fact.
The twists and turns in this book were magnificent. The culprits were perhaps who you thought it was, but also they weren't. There were different plots that pulled at different people and gave them different motives that all connected in a delicious mess.

Honestly, this is an incredible start to what I hope with be a long-lasting series for Saffron Everleigh and the continuation of a wonderful career for Kate Khavari.

Saffron Everleigh, a research assistant at the University College of London attends a dinner party to interact with fellow colleagues about an upcoming expedition to the Amazon. The party quickly turns grave when an esteemed professor's wife, Mrs. Henry, drops to the floor poisoned by an unknown substance. When Saffron's mentor, Dr. Maxwell, becomes the prime suspect Saffron beings her own investigation to clear his name. Joined by her odd but charming college, Alexander Ashton, their amateur sleuthing might just put them on the real murder's radar.

A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons is a cute cozy mystery set in London, 1923. Saffron is spirited young woman who tends to find herself in some dangerous situations. Joined by an unexpected colleague, Alexander, the pair makes quite the dynamic duo. Their romantic interest is cute and not excessively focused on throughout the plot. The novel has a cast of eccentric and charismatic characters which made for a very enjoyable read. Plants, poisons, and murderous plots comprise the perfect mystery to curl up with over the weekend. This was such a charming novel I didn't want to put it down...definitely a must read for 2022! I can't wait to have more adventures with Saffron and Alex.

A new heroine who is smart, strong willed, and well educated but also likeably flawed. While saffron everleigh’s enthusiasm may get her ahead of herself there is no doubt her knowledge and determination will help her discover who committed the crime and why! Hopefully the start to a fantastic new historical mystery series!

A lively mystery, Khavari reflects a strong female scientist-student struggling to achieve her goals. All the social rules in the world aren't enough to stop murder from happening at a dinner party, and the scientist-student gets caught up in all the action. The story is entertaining, the characters experience life and death excitement, and justice is served.

4.5 stars

A cozy historical murder mystery? Set in London during the 1920’s? As anyone who knows me knows, it’s a given that that’s a book I want to read. And that cover?! That gorgeous, gorgeous cover ❤️ Such was my attitude when I began A Botanist’s Guide and that attitude served me well as I really enjoyed this smart and wonderfully written story.

Clever and fun with wonderfully developed characters. I’m so glad I read this and I’m already looking forward to the next Saffron and Alexander novel.

Thank you for Netgalley and the publisher for providing me an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

I will start with saying that I loved this book so much and I might have a hard time staying objective in my reciew.

This book gave me major Agatha Christie vibes dressed in a bit more modern thinking and writing style. I loved all the characters and the premise of the story.

The main character Saffron joins forces with his colleague Alexander to unweil who could be behind the poisoning that happens during a party they both attend. Both Saffron and Alexander make annoying mistakes througout their crime solving, but I've found this as a plus that made the story that much more beliveable since they're not professional detectives.
I read this book for weeks because I was travelling and had very limited time for reading, whilst most books would've lost my attention during this timespan, this book got me going back fro more and more. I also saw a great deal of myself in Saffron and that made this journey all that more enjoyable.

I don't know if any more books are planned or if this book will become a series at all, but I would be delighted to read more of Saffron's adventures.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this advanced copy of A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons! I really enjoyed this historical mystery. Saffron was an exceptionally smart and strong female lead! She was so likable and I was rooting her on the whole time. Alexander was a great back-up to Saffron and they made a great duo. I am looking forward to more books in this series as I love a cozy mystery! My only complaint is that the story did not mention what time era it took place except for in descriptions.

This was fabulous. I loved Saffron and Alexander. The mystery was clever and the historical setting interesting. I so hope there will be more qith these two! I was reminded of the Flavia deLuce series, in a general way, woth great characters, science and clever storyline.

Set in the 1920s, this mystery has a lovely Christie-type feel to it. Saffron Eversleigh, a research assistant to Dr Maxwell in the Department of Botany becomes involved in a case of poisoning at a party she attended. Using her botany skills, and fed up with the police investigation, she decides to do a little detective work herself with her friend Alexander. Fast paced and full of intrigue, the final showdown is spectacular!
The only jarring point are the American spellings throughout.
A Wonderful book for fans of Agatha Christie.

A Botanist’s Guide to Parties and Poisons was a fun read! What I really liked was diving into London in the 1920s, and not only that but in the science department of a university. It was a really quirky mix and not one that I had been familiar with before.

Saffron, donned with a name I still can’t get on board with, was a straightforward, scientific sort of character (not unexpected), determined and resilient. While I didn’t feel a connection to her at all and I didn’t really grow to love her like I have other protagonists (granted, not actually that many), I did enjoy her relating to Alexander Ashton and their inevitable blossoming romance.

The plot follows Saffron and Alexander gallivanting around London trying to find planets and poisons and figuring out the truth, but it was a slow start for me and a chapter in I had to re-read the description to remember what the book was about. It wasn’t until I was well into the book did it pick up interest for me.

I would have liked a bit MORE. More intrigue, more romance, more unpredictability, more … something! Also … I would have quite liked it if they had all actually gone to Brazil like the original plan. For these reasons, while it was a fun historical fiction read, it fell a little short of my expectations.

Still a fun read!

When Mrs. Henry is poisoned at the dinner party, and Dr. Maxwell is accused of it, Saffron, Maxwell's assistant, makes it her mission to figure out who did the poisoning. It's set in early 1920's with an intelligent, badass lead.... but it was really boring.

I got halfway through, and I was shocked that the chapters I had just read were in the midst of a supposed mystery. The only developed character was Saffron, and I still didn't care about her that much. Overall, just not fun or quick. I ended up not caring who poisoned Mrs. Henry.

I found The Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons a charming and somewhat whimsical tale, although I did find. it lagged a bit here and there. A stunning cover, and I enjoyed the parts about the plants.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for my ARC.

I enjoyed getting to know this spunky heroine, Saffron and her relatable love interest. Saffron is impulsive at times which is a bit hard to believe but I can look past it because her actions advance the mystery. The relationships with the supporting character, like the independent roommate and the grumpy yet reasonable police offer leave me wondering what’s more and looking forward to future books. The mystery kept me guessing with a unique botanical angle.

TW: s*xual assault,PTSD,Poison

I went into this book completely blind,not sure what to expect and I was pleasantly surprised! As another reviewer has said, this is a comfort mystery. I'm sure that it will get you out of a reading slump since it's a)short and b)engaging. It was refreshing to see a healthy friendship between women and a non-toxic love interest (I can guarantee that Alexander is indeed a male character written by a woman). I'm glad that this is the first book in a series so as to see more of Saffron and her relationship with other people but at the same time I feel like it could have been a stand alone. Nevertheless, I can't wait for the rest of the books to come out!

I wanted to love this book so much more but for some reason I just could not connect with the characters or the story itself. The only character I really enjoyed was Saffron. Saffron is a badass female character that takes the lead in this story that takes places within a male-led academia setting. I absolutely adore her for continuously standing up for herself, she was definitely a strong-willed amazing character. Alexander was a character I could have grown to love, but I just felt he was so underdeveloped, which was definitely a let down for me!

This is a typical “WhoDunnit” type murder mystery story, trying to discover who poisoned Mrs. Henry. It really was like a big game of clue. It reminded me of a toss up between ‘The Lost Apothecary’ and ‘The Guest List’ , which I know, kind of a weird combination.

The ending is absolutely open for sequel to take place. If that happens, I’m sure I would still read the next book, but won’t be jumping into it with full excitement.

Thank you so much to Crooked Lane Books for providing me with an E-ARC to read and provide my honest review. This book comes out June 6th, 2022!

This historical mystery takes place in the 1920s shortly after the first world war. Saffron Everleigh, a research assistant of botany at a University, attends a party where the wife of a professor is poisoned. Everleigh and her colleague Alexander Ashton, a fellow faculty member, look into what occurred, but in doing so, get wrapped up in the police investigation.

I was drawn to this book by the cover, but I stayed for the story. Saffron was a great character and the author really made you root for her. The story was well written and I think the pace was good – the author revealed enough information at the right times. I did have a hard time with the sheer number of characters at the very beginning, but it was manageable after the first few chapters once I got into the groove of the plot. The author did a good job at addressing the sexism in academia and brought a fresh take to the historical mystery genre. I would definitely read another book in this series. If you like mysteries and historical fiction, I think you’ll like this one.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. 4.25 stars rounded down.

It was ...okay. The book started off very strong and quickly engaged me. But sometime in the middle....it got overly convoluted and slow. Characters and setting were competent. Just the plot and reveal were less well done.

Thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ebook ARC. All opinions are mine alone.

I haven't read many murder mystery books, but this has definitely opened my thoughts on it. I loved this book! Starting off from the first chapter I was captured with the story. The main character feels refreshing and she's fun. I wasn't bored at all throughout this story, and I was kept guessing with what was gonna happen next. I can't explain how much I loved the authors writing. Writing is so important to me when I read, everything was beautifully said. I loved the historical element too, that really added a little something to the overall story. The relationship with her and the love interest was very well done. I don't like in stories when the two characters just fall in love all of a sudden. In this story the romance was built up, and I really enjoyed seeing that. I liked that it didn't dwell to heavy on the romance either, it kept the mystery as the main subject. I loved the scientific parts of the story too. It felt like we were in an academic place. The story and concept I believe to be unique. I have never heard of a murder mystery story with the main character is a botanist. I also really appreciated that the author took time to research certain elements within the story. This story was fun, unexpected (in the best way) and entertaining. I loved loved the story, the characters, the writing and word choices, all these elements together created a wonderful story. I'll definitely be recommending this story to so many people. I loved it!

If you are looking for an excellent mystery and thriller for year 2021, then A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons by Kate Khavari is not a book to be missed. With a strong woman protagonist, the book offers an amazing plot of deceit and betrayal. And, the climax, definitely you would not see it coming. Also, the cover is so attractive that I fell in love with it.

I will, definitely give the book 5 stars. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me an opportunity to read and review the book.

This was a very fun mystery about a female botanist, Saffron, who is facing sexism at her current job as an assistant to a botany professor. When the wife of a fellow academic is murdered at a party, Saffron takes it upon herself to use her knowledge of botany to investigate the murder on her own. This had the perfect combination of science, botany, and a determined female sleuth who's willing to take crazy risks to prove the innocence of the professor for whom she works.