I wanted to like this.. It sounded good and I liked the alternating chapters but I just had to force myself to keep reading. Kira was terrible, and I know she was supposed to be, but I just couldn't deal. Sometimes I have books where I hate the character but still love the book - not this time. Can't quite explain why, this one just wasn't for me.

Finally got around to reading this one and I absolutely loved it! It was so interesting and kept me invested the entire time. I loved the characters and the storyline. I found the mystery to be both intriguing and original. I really do not ever want to be a part of the PTA after reading this one! But in all seriousness, I really enjoyed this novel!

3 stars. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

Kira is the PTA President, imagine the undying motherly love of Cersei Lannister but with the "Bless Your Heart" Southern charm of Steel Magnolias, and she is on trial for poisoning another Mom in the PTA.

Allison is the lawyer who Kira chooses to represent her. She is a brown paper back and incredibly boring and not that bright.

Kira's chapters were the highlight of the book. The plot twist was decent but I figured it out before Allison. Reads like a cozy mystery. The cover is misleading. It isn't dark or twisty.

I grabbed this one because 1. I love the cover 2. It was free and 3. the plot. This is was great all the way around.

Perfect elementary PTA president Kira has been accused of poisoning another mom at a school event. What? This could not be the case for wealthy, popular Kira. She hires a defense attorney, Allison Barton who digs into what really happened on that day and discovers just how far friendships go in this suburban neighborhood. Appearances aren't all they are cracked up to be and who could do such a vicious act surrounded by graduating 5th graders?

An enjoyable read that keeps the reader guessing who was the one who knowingly gave a poisonous smoothie to a fellow parent and the motive behind it. I liked the writing style as it jumped between Kira and Allison's perspective of the situation and eventually the trial.

Thank you to #netgalley and #thomasandmercer for this copy. This title was published June 1, 2021.

Not for me. Tried to read it many times. Didn’t like the writing style. Thanks for the opportunity to read it.

Drawn to the purples of the cover and the fact it was a mystery thriller, I opened on my Kindle Kristin Wright's new book "The Darkest Flower". What a ride it turned out to be as we meet lawyer Allison Barton who sadly is working for a pompous jerk but people love to throw money at him, so she is getting the odd good case. Her new client is a mother of two and the president of not only the PTA but the Garden Club and she has her fingers in other pies too. She has been accused of poisoning another mother on the PTA as she handed her a cup that contained aconite aka wolfsbane. Our accused Kira Grant seems innocent but with these PTA mothers you never really know how far they will go and as Allison digs deeper into the case and checks out the other mothers with a motive, she will soon realize that mothers will go to lengths and some nasty to protect their children or even secure their children's futures. I have to admit this book did keep me guessing right to the end to see if Kira Grant was innocent or not, as there were at moments you were like she's guilty whereas other moments were like she's innocent and being framed as there were quite a few people with a motive to harm Summer. I am now looking forward to reading more of the Allison Barton series and seeing which direction and themes that Kristin Wright will come up with to keep the series fresh.

I really liked the alternating narrators, Allison and Kira. I really liked Allison from the start, and couldn’t stand Kira! I love strong female characters, so that also added to it for me. I liked the way the investigation and the case went, and I had an idea of where it was going, but I was still surprised by the outcome. I am not a mom, so I am not familiar with the PTA inner workings, or feeling the competition with other parents over grades, sports, etc. Some of that went over my head, but I really enjoyed the story. I am excited that this was book 1 of a new series, and I will definitely be reading the next one.

This one right here was a doozy! I really thought I had this one- my theory was flawless, all the signs were pointing right towards the perpetrator, and I was still very wrong! This was a fun and exciting read and the twist was not at all what I was expecting!

I was very impressed with the law jargon and come to find out, the author graduated with a law degree and currently practices law. I see so many books where the author merely studies and does research on the profession of the main character (captain of a boat, an FBI agent, etc.) and misses the mark. It was nice to know that the author really did know what she was writing about which made the plot that much more believable!

Speaking of the main characters… Kira Grant had me wanting to rip my hair out! She is my LEAST favorite type of person! Incredibly narcissistic, fake as hell, two-faced, and just all around a terrible excuse for a human being. But boy was she entertaining! Allison Barton on the other hand was much more palpable. I’ll admit I wasn’t crazy about her relationship with her lawyer friend from down the street. It was very middle school don’t-get-caught and this-isn’t-professional and hiding-our-relationship-is-such-a-turn-on; it was just weird in my opinion.

Overall, The Darkest Flower was a fun, fast-paced read from start to finish! A solid 4-star rating! I’m looking forward to continuing Allison Barton’s lawyer journey!

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This legal drama (soft thriller?) follows Kira, a housewife and PTA president, who is charged with poisoning her best friend, and Allison, the lawyer representing her in court. We get the story from both of their points of view and slowly discover the truth of what happened on the fateful day that Summer Peerman nearly died.

I loved this book. Allison is a fantastic and well-rounded character and Kira is cold and unlikeable but multi-faceted enough to still be intriguing. The story moves along quickly, with only a slight lull around the 30% mark, and I found myself thinking about the story every time I put it down.

I thought it handled topics like race and privilege really well, and the way they were incorporated into the narrative felt very natural. I also loved the development of Allison’s story and her relationships with Maureen, Emmet, and her daughter Libby. I noticed that this is the first book in a series and I’m so excited to read what happens next.

The story is told from the viewpoint of two women. One is Kira, the chair of the PTA who has been accused of trying to poison her best friend and the other is Allison, her lawyer. The story follows the investigation and trial but the most enjoyable parts are the revealing of Kira’s character and the budding romance Allison has with the prosecutor. This was a great read and I highly recommend it. Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this arc.

This was the first book I've read by this author and I will admit, I enjoyed it. The story was interesting, held my attention. For part of the book, one of the main characters, Kira, sounded like a typical high school mean girl even though she was an adult and a mother. There were other times that I really liked the main character (which we're probably not supposed to based on her behavior). She was the typical privileged rich suburban white woman that believes she's the smartest person in the room, and her arrogance flowed through the majority of the book. The other main character of the book was likeable enough but a bit whiney and showed moral superiority that was annoying sometimes. Overall the story was good and I would recommend this book for others. I don't know that this is technically a thriller, more like a domestic suspense perhaps. It looks like this is the first book in the series and will be sure to pick up the second in the series to read as well.

I absolutely loved the first book from this author. This one I am very sad to say was a bit of a miss for me. The pacing was a bit slow and I struggled to keep my focus.

4.5 stars - Fun read with a great villain (or is she?)

Kira and Allison are almost polar opposites: Allison is a working single mom, trying to manage a very demanding job with taking good care of her daughter, always trying to be the best human being she can be and constantly questioning her actions and their moral implications. And while Allison is longing to share herself with someone, to open up to a friend or partner, Kira would not do such a thing for any money of the world. Kira has been brought up as a proper Southern lady: be easy on the eyes, sociable and sweet. She is a PTA mom driven just by one desire - to carve out the best possible future for her two children. 'Best' of course meaning 'most successful' and musings on ethics do not tend to get in her way.

During an event in elemetary school one of the other PTA moms gets poisoned with a smoothie laced with wolfsbane and since Kira was the one handing her the cup she finds herself as a defendant in a case of attempted murder. Allison is her lawyer and trying her best to represent her client, who turns out quite a handful, while trying to find out what exactly happened on the day of the poisoning.

For me the greatest strength of this small-town legal mystery lies in the characters. Kira comes across as a terrible person, but one with a back story. Having grown up in a profoundly misogynistic family (and society), she is so used to live a facade that she probably has forgotten that underneath there used to be a vulnerable girl. She is so utterly consumed with self-loathing that I actually felt sorry for her occasionally. At the same time, the chapters told from her perspective are snarky and bitter, but also darkly funny and quite entertaining.

Allison on the other hand is just relatable and very sympathetic, I could not help but root for her. Then there's her love interest Emmet, who happens to be her opponent in court, and their small steps towards confessing their feelings for each other while still trying to do the right thing and stay away from each other as long as their case has not been tried.
The side characters are also well rounded out and provide plenty of insights on the issues underneath the pretty veneer of a small town society in the Southern US. Being not American myself this was a really interesting aspect to read about.

And while plenty of important and serious issues came up, like child abuse, racism, privilege, etc. this was done in such a well-written, approachable way, that it did not weigh the narration down in any way. The language throughout is rather straightforward and simple, but not simplistic. It made for a quick, entertaining read that was just fun whenever I wanted it to be, but still providing enough substance to never feel hollow.
It just hit that sweet spot for me and I sincerely hope that this will not be the last we hear from Allison and her cases!

Kira is the President of the PTA and is totally committed to her children and their success so of course she would never try to poison her best friend at a school event with the particular poison coming from a plant growing in her very on backyard! Ridiculous right?!? This is a fun, addictive story and I really enjoyed the characters and writing style.

Well....this is not your average suspense mystery tale. The story is written from two points of view. Allison is a single mother and an attorney wishing she could strike out on her own instead of the firm she where currently works. Kira was born wealthy, is spoiled and inwardly looks down upon everyone else. She is married to MiIes, a dentist and has two elementary age children. Kira is also on the PTA , which is throwing a major event for the 5th graders for the final achievement of graduating. Summer, a social worker and supposedly best friend of Kira collapses suddenly after drinking dreaded smoothies made by another mom also on the PTA. It is discovered that someone put a poison in the smoothies commonly known as Monkshood, Wolfsbane or Aconite.

Kira hires Allison to be her attorney only after she is unknowingly pawned off on Allison since Dan, head of the firm chooses to avoid the case. She is arrested on Friday on purpose so she can have the experience of spending the weekend in jail. Due to the possibility of publicity, Dan tries to take over the case. Allison will personally talk Brandi Crane who made the smoothies, Tammy Cox, and Ruthanne Dillard, all of which were working the table with the poisoned smoothie concoction.

There will be many twists and turns and each woman will share their side of the story and withhold other parts to divert attention away from themselves. The truth is none of these woman are likeable. And it is certainly easy to believe that any one of them could have placed the poison when the time was right. Allison will have her work cut out for her trying to get to the truth and also defending Kira.

I was prepared to not like the story while reading chapter one. However, it was like watching a train wreck and I couldn't put the book down. The characters are well written and I guess the story could be taken out of today's headlines. Without giving away more of the plot line, all I can say is, I am glad my children are out of school.

The Darkest Flower
Author, Kristin Wright
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Pub date: June 1, 2021 Available now!

I was lucky enough to win this beauty on @deedlesbooknook's giveaway last week and author @kristinbuttonwright sent me a signed copy with a sweet note herself! It was such special bookmail! Thank you so much ladies, I am so grateful.

Picture this: A fifth- grade graduation party given by the PTA moms at the elementary school, with PTA moms handing out smoothies to all attendees. Suddenly one mom falls to the ground, appearing to have gone into cardiac arrest. But then we learn that her smoothie, and her smoothie alone, was laced with wolfsbane, a poisonous garden flower that grows in Kira Grant's, the PTA President's, gorgeous garden. Was this attempted murder? And if so, who did it? There certainly is a lot of PTA drama making this a suspicious case. Kira is a snarky, entitled mama bear of two, who appears innocent and framed, but is her perfect image enough to cover up who she really is? And would she risk her perfect life by attempting to murder one of her closest friends?

Ambitious but unrecognized defense attorney, Allison Barton is now given the opportunity to embrace the career she deserves in this high profile case. She must dissect the details of this case and determine if there's conclusive evidence that Kira Grant is innocent. But in the process of gathering her information, she learns truths about Kira
and herself that become game changers for her as a human and as a lawyer. How will she proceed? "The answers are getting darker everyday."

This book had it all! Strong female characters, excellent character development, lies, deception, motherhood, marriage, court room drama, twists, and plenty of laugh out loud moments! The banter between the characters, their hilarious inner monologues, the witty and smooth writing, and the back and forth between the two main character's perspectives allowed me to devour this suspenseful novel in just two days! I highly recommend and I can't wait to read what Kristin Wright writes next!

Thank you also to NetGalley and publishers Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read and review this e- ARC!

My favorite sub genre within fiction is a solid domestic suburbia thriller and that’s exactly what The Darkest Flower is. I am not yet a mother but I could still relate to the drama that went on in the story. I enjoyed the way real life class issues were addressed. I was on my toes up until the end and I can’t wait to read the next book!

This was a wonderful book. We always heard tales of the goings on in the PTA. This book involved rivalry, poisoning, theft and families. It gave us a glimpse of the rich, the poor and how to strive to make yourself better. Many surprises throughout the book.

Attempted murder? Inexplicable accident? Either way, a PTA mom struggled for her life in an elementary school cafeteria, poisoned by a wolfsbane-laced smoothie at the fifth-grade graduation party. Now all eyes are on the accused, the victim, and a woman hired to look deeper.

Ambitious defense attorney and single mother Allison Barton is anxious to escape the shadow of the low-down dog of a marquee partner carrying their renowned Virginia law firm. A win for her high-profile new client will give Allison the career she deserves. And PTA president Kira Grant certainly appears innocent—except for the toxic bloom in her backyard and perhaps a bit of a malicious streak. But no one said the innocent had to be likable—or entirely honest. Besides, with an image as carefully cultivated as her garden, Kira would be insane to risk everything on something as outrageous as the attempted murder of one of her closest friends.

What about those in Kira’s orbit, a sunny suburb of moms behaving badly? What do they really know about Kira? What does Kira know about them? For Allison, the answers are getting darker every day.


I enjoyed The Darkest Flower. There were so many you loved to hate in the P.T.A. How can so many so divisive and the competition even for grade school children was mind-blowing? I believe nobody was truly a winner. Kept me reading throught the day. Well written,and showed some very ugly sdes of people.