Member Reviews

I love this series, and there were so many parts of the third book that I loved! One thing I really loved? We get a firsthand look into in Saffron’s anxiety and claustrophobia. Another thing I loved? How involved Elizabeth was! Something I wanted more of? LEE. I am biased though. Utterly so. But we also got this one really, really long-awaited romantic moment, and it was so very worth the wait and perfectly placed within the story and series. Can’t wait for the fourth installment!

Thank you to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books, and Kate Khavari for an ARC of this book.

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Saffron has just gotten back from a botany conference in France. It didn't go quite the way she had hoped (sexism, sexism everywhere.) And getting back, she's still having to prove her place in the department. Luckily, Alexander is back from the Amazon and he's a bright light.

In this book, we meet some brothers. Adrian, Alexander's brother was more connected to their mother's family (more Greek) while Alexander tended more toward their English father's lifestyle. He seems to be a part of the hard partying Bright Young Things.
Also hard partying? Saffron's friend and roommate Eliza. She also has a long-lost brother showing up out of the blue. Nicholas is even more mysterious. He didn't show up for their brother's funeral (Saffron's sweetheart) but he's here now and asking Saffron for help. But his question isn't as innocent as it appears and suddenly Saffron, Alexander, Eliza, and Nicholas are all in danger.
Apparently everyone who meets her is just smitten by Saffron. No. Nearly every time she meets someone male they are overly interested in her. I think I'll try another book in the series but I'm almost ready to let this one go. In addition to the "everyone falls in love with Saffron", there are some reaches to get her involved in the mystery though at least one of the new characters may add some ways in.

Three stars
This book came out June 4, 2024
Saffron Everleigh Mysteries #3
Follows A Botanist's Guide to Flowers and Fatality
Followed by A Botanist's Guide to Rituals and Revenge
Borrowed as audiobook from Libby
Opinions are my own

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Gosh do I love plants! I just adore when two of my loves come together in a fantastic and mysterious way. Great read!

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I look forward to reading each consecutive book in the Saffron Everleigh series immediately after finishing its predecessor. A Botanist's Guide to Society and Secrets is no different - I was captivated the entire time reading this, and cannot wait until the next book is launched! This book involves intrigue and romance, a perfect combination in my mind.

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I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

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Kate Khavari's series featuring botanist Saffron Everleigh just keeps getting better with this third installment.

Saffron begins this book in a state of upheaval. Her sort-of sweetheart has returned from a long expedition, but the road to reunion has not been smooth. Saffron herself has been at a conference in Paris and has again been faced with an offer of employment with the government. Again, she has turned the offer down, fearing that her research will be weaponized. The interwar period in which this is set makes this a particular concern.

Saffron continues to figure herself out as a character in this installment of the series. I was pleased to see that Khavari has chosen to not stick her in the middle of an unnecessary love triangle, and it is clear that she and Alexander, while still spiky with each other, care deeply for one another. Alexander pulls her into another potentially risky puzzle-solving adventure when his brother becomes the prime suspect in a mysterious death. Saffron's adorable roommate Elizabeth gets a bigger role in this book along with her less-than-savoury older brother who, it quickly becomes clear, is part of the interwoven threads around government research.

I enjoyed this one. It deals with important themes from the time period, including sexism, racism, PTSD and that lingering sense of tension that perhaps the Great War wasn't the war to end all wars.

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I've been enjoying the Saffron Everleigh Mysteries from book one and this third entry does not disappoint. Saffron is pulled into an investigation of two mysterious deaths that could be murder or could be accidental. Both worked at a botanical compound experimenting with plants for use in war. We are post-WWI and she has an ongoing concern that her deceased father was part of a war effort to modify plants to make them more toxic. While Saffron usually shies away from government work to avoid the ethical dilemma of how her work might be used, she takes a job at the compound to suss out the people and the possibility some plant was used to kill the victims.

Also involved is her childhood friend/roommate Elizabeth whose brother Nick has popped up in London. Nick obviously has a secret job and the jury is out on whether Nick is naughty or nice. Saffron's on again off again love interest, Alexander is kind of in the picture as his brother and is the reason she got involved initially in this mystery. Nick and Alexander seem to have met before and seem not to be besties. Lee, now a medical doctor, remains a friend. Along the way, we meet gangsters, get a peek at secret London nightlife and continue to follow the plight of being a woman working in a man's world and always under the microscope.

I really enjoy the historical period for this series and the idea of a botanist and all the lovely toxic plants is original. The characters, plotting and writing are all very enjoyable.

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I always think I cannot love this series more, and then Khavari publishes another book! Saffron remains one of my favourite mystery protagonists- she is a go-getter and does what she needs to when investigating but is not a know-it-all who ignores all common sense and logic. (That seems to happen a lot with mysteries.) Her friends and family are just the right mix of endearing and annoying that makes you feel like you know them yourself.

These are longer stories and we see her move through several different settings in each novel, a real strength of this series. I love that we are slowly getting to see Saffron's wider world, because it gives us so many clues to her character. It also helps build a thorough and complex mystery, because they so rarely happen start to finish in one place.

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I'm giving up on this series. Not only do we have yet another installment that does NOT center on botany (instead we are onto mycology), but now Moriarty is in play?! A completely ridiculous, over the top, monologuing Holmes super villain in this what-I-thought was a cozy mystery series. Raising the stakes doesn't make this a better story, it just makes it absurd. I had no issue with the cloak and dagger British spy content, but this new guy is just the last straw. I was hoping we'd return to the charm of the first book after a disappointing book 2, but that was not the case. I continue to enjoy Khavari's writing style, but her choice of ridiculous plot elements ruins this series for me.

**Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the eARC**

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Another thrilling mystery combined with science, hot scientists and sassy friends. Love this series and can’t wait for the next,

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I enjoyed this addition to Saffron's adventures than the last one. The plot was more well rounded and it was nice seeing more personality from some of the other characters. I enjoyed how the brother was written in and using the MC and side characters. Elizabeth is bad ass and I hope to see more of her. I also hope we get even more Alexander.

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I finished this with 24 hours. I loved the mystery in book 3! I have enjoyed all the books, but book 3 is my favorite! I loved the story of Sapphire's dad woven into this mystery, as well as her grandpa. Also, I am swooning over Alexander and Sapphire! I need more of them in book 4!




I received an advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

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London, 1923. Returning from Paris, botanical researcher Saffron Everleigh finds that her former love interest Alexander Ashton’s brother, Adrian, is being investigated for murder. A Russian scientist working for the English government has been poisoned and expired in Adrian’s train compartment. Alexander asks Saffron to put in a good word for Adrian with Inspector Green. Despite her unresolved feelings for Alexander, Saffron begins to unravel mysteries surrounding the dead scientist.

As if a murder case weren’t enough, her best friend Elizabeth’s war-hero brother, Nick, arrives in town and takes an immediate interest in Saffron. Saffron learns Alexander has been keeping secrets from her, including a connection to Nick, who Saffron and Elizabeth begin to suspect is more than he seems.

When another scientist is found dead, Saffron agrees to go undercover at the government laboratory. Risking her career and her safety, she learns there are many more interested parties and dangerous secrets to uncover than she’d realized. But some secrets, Saffron will find, are better left undiscovered.

We are finally introduced to Saffron’s family. Or at least her grandfather. However, we also meet Elizabeth’s brother and Alexander’s brother. This whole novel has a theme of family, biological and “adopted”. I’m glad that the next book takes us to Saffron’s family home. I do want to know more about Saffron’s father, and I am really glad that there is a connected villain. I really want to know where that is going to go.

Overall, I rate this novel 5 out of 5 stars.

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This is a good series and I'm appreciating the audiobook even if I wasn't a fan of the narrator trying to play male voices.
Safron and her friends are back and it's always a lot of fun follow the investigation and the evolutions of the relationships
There's a sort of cliff-hanger that promises a new novel and I hope it will be soon
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

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This is the third book in the Saffron Everleigh series and probably one I didn't enjoy as much as the precedent books. In this one Saffron's housemate Elizabeth has a visit from her brother, Nick, who she hasn't seen for some time. Saffron is surprised to see that Nick appears to be acquainted with her friend Alexander and the mystery grows as Alexander's brother becomes a suspect in a murder.
The book centres on a government operated horticultural laboratory, and Saffron is convinced by Nick to go in there and spy on the staff to see if she can learn what is going on. Saffron finds herself in the thick of another investigation.
The plot loses its way a couple of times and tends to get bogged down in the minutiae but still overall an intriguing story.
Thank you Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read this digital ARC.

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I was eager to dive back into Saffron's world with this book. Ended up being a fantastic entry into the "Botanist's Guide" world!

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Saffron Everleigh has just returned home from Paris and a conference. She's upset, though the details aren't revealed till later in the novel. Instead, Saffron is immediately asked by Alexander Ashton, who had given her so much grief about her investigative activities in the previous installment, to help his brother Adrian, who is accused of murdering a Russian scientist.

Despite her misgivings, Saffron follows through with Inspector Green, and finds out that the scientist, who worked for the British government, had been travelling in the same train compartment as Adrian. The man had collapsed and Adrian's playboy lifestyle and Greek accent made him the police's natural, and main, suspect (*heavy sarcasm*).

Interestingly, Saffron's best friend and roommate Elizabeth receives an unwelcome surprise when her older brother Nick arrives soon after, and seems to find Saffron very interesting. A war hero, Nick now works for the Agricultural Ministry, which seems an odd fit for the man. During an uncomfortable dinner at the women's apartment, Saffron realizes that Nick and Alexander know each other from the War, but neither man is willing to spill.

When another scientist is found dead, Nick drops his urbane act, and convinces Saffron to go undercover at the government facility where the two dead men worked. She meets a colourful cast of researchers who are territorial over their work and other things, and slowly finds out what is really going on there. Also, she and Alexander begin to work through some of their personal issues together.

I have been really enjoying this series. I like the time period, the commentary about prickly male scientists jealous of their privileges and the combination of reluctance and horror over having to share anything with a smart woman, and the influence the Great War has had on society and technology.

Saffron continues to be likeable, and adept in her field, but also wonderfully conflicted about how work like hers is being applied. This has kept her from accruing more status in the university as well as in her field, but her principles drive her forward in this case, as she begins to unravel the secrets around the work performed in the government lab.

Elizabeth gains more prominence in this book, which is great, as she wrestles with her family issues. I like the way the author has gradually deepened and widened the cast of characters in this series, while also having Saffron and Elizabeth wrestle with more professional and personal issues.

I am eagerly awaiting the next entry, especially after the ominous ending of this satisfying mystery.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Crooked Lane Books for this ARC in exchange for my review.

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Once again Saffron Everleigh, now a full time researcher with the University of London, is thrust into the heart of another murder inquiry. This time two men who work at a government run agricultural research facility have separately been found dead—seemingly poisoned. But what has caused it? Saffron is an expert in poisonous plants. The time is post World War I. Countries are scrambling for their place on the world stage, to feed and house their populations. After a conference in Paris she is more than ever aware of her research being a dichotomy between medical and agricultural areas, and the dangerous offshoots both are capable of.
Her more than friend Alexander Ashton asks her to intercede with Detective Green on behalf of his brother who’s been innocently caught up in the investigation. As he’s disapproved of her previous involvements in such goings on neither of them can avoid Alexander’s asking this of her as hypocritical.
As it is Detective Green gets in touch with Saffron as there are details which are close to Saffron’s area of expertise. Her inquiries lead her to some puzzling facts. She enlists the help of her close friend Dr. Michel Lee.
It seems there are deeper waters involved when her dead fiancée, and her flat mate’s brother, Nick Hale turns up. Nick works with the ‘Agricultural Ministry.’ Strange things are happening and food security is part of it, or not?
On top all this there’s the matter of Alfie Tennison, who runs an illegal gambling den. What is his role in all this?
An exciting and deadly twist to Saffron’s continuing story. If you’ve followed her journey this is of course a must read. If your new to the Everleigh Mysteries I’d recommend starting with the first in the series.

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The first two books in this series were really charming, so I was happy to get this one!

The stakes are even higher for Saffron when she is recruited to help investigate the suspicious death of a Russian scientist who was working on deadly fungi.

And this is such an interesting series. I love the setting of 1920s London, and the side characters are all fascinating! I especially love Elizabeth who is frank and cheerful, and a wonderful balance to Saffron who sometimes irritated me with her bullheadedness. And at first, I was worried that this series was going to be introducing a new love interest every installment, but instead we got an actual resolution on the love triangle established in the second book!

I dislike the introduction of a brand new plot complication in the last 3% which is just there to hook you in the next one. If the writing is good enough, I'll want to keep reading the series anyway. And the fact that the stakes of this mystery series have now reached Bond level villain plans seems a little bit like overkill. I would have more appreciated this one staying with the mystery of Alexander's brother, and getting to know more about the two of them organically. The plot is also pretty slow for most of the book, until suddenly everything is happening in the last 10% or so.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this arc.

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I read the first book when it came out in 2022 and enjoyed it quite a bit. I did not read the second book, but I don’t think going into this third book that was too much of a problem.

I do like this type of mystery; where there are some nice friendships, a relationship that is developing, but not taking over the story and a rather niche murder mystery.

I liked the characters, although I think the various POVs were not always necessary. For example Elizabeth’s POV seemed a bit superfluous. It cluttered up the narrative a bit. And even if the mystery did not quite work for me and I felt the story meandered a bit too much, I still found much to enjoy. Saffron’s sleuthing and her ballsy character were so much fun and and being immersed in the 1920s setting was a nice bonus.

I would happily read more in this series when I am in the mood for this type of novel. It’s a definite mood.

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