Jane is a widowed woman. After years of being a full time
mother, Det. Mel VanDyne has entered her life. This book is
written as the next step of her life begins, and her
children leave the nest. Only one child, a son, remains, and
his world is in computers.
With the upcoming nuptials, she expects problems, but not
these headaches. Detective Mel VanDyne is a homicide
detective with a generous heart and a dedication to his
career field. After talking at the restaurant about Jane and
Shelley taking a Women's Safety course at the community
center, Jane proposes marriage to Mel.
Troubles start the next morning. Addie VanDyne, Mel's
mother, attempts to take over the wedding, making it a
social calendar event to promote her career, rather than the
marriage of her only son. Jane's already ahead of her.
There will be two weddings: one before the justice of the
peace with immediate family present and a second mock one to
satisfy Addie's social standing. Still Addie adds fuel to
the upcoming nuptials by repeatedly upstaging the bride's
wedding wishes, and her antics once discovered are reigned in.
The wedding preparations and the combining of two households
goes into full planning mode. While cleaning house, Jane
realizes how much personal space Mel needs. As a wedding
gift to her betrothed, she has an office added at their
dining area and enlists the advice of her Uncle Jim.
Jane and Shelley attend their first Safety meeting with Miss
Elinor Brooker Welbourne. The excellent tips on acting
defensively/offensively are very practical, and they get a
lot out it. At the second class they learn that a student,
Sara Tokay, was murdered in a domestic dispute. Before they
arrive at the third class, Ms. Welbourne is found dead. The
cause of death is unclear. Which occurred first: the natural
event or the blunt force trauma to the back of her head? If
she wasn't alone at the natural event, why didn't they
summon help?
At a luncheon Thelma, Jane's current mother in law, arrives
with a forged addendum to Jane's husband's will. If Jane
remarries, her share of the company is forfeited. Although
she hates being the bad person, Thelma has gone too far this
time. Jane storms out and tells Ted, her brother-in-law and
Thelma's son. How does she break the news to her children?
What happens if Thelma continues on with this crazy plot?
The review THE ACCIDENTAL FLORIST was difficult to write.
Although I had read one other book in this series, I never
felt driven to read "what happened next." If that's what
you're looking for in this novel, you'll get it. Jane and
Mel go through the steps of daily life towards consummating
their relationship and loose ends are tied up in a
satisfying manner for the fans of this series. However, I
wasn't pleased. I thought Churchill's novel didn't live up
to the genre, romance/mystery. It read like these events
were happening in the author's personal life, and she cut
and pasted them into this novel. Every scene and character
seems like a string of two dimensional events. I felt like I
was being dragged along. Although I admire that she shared
the Women's Safety lessons with her readers, I would have
liked to have seen it put into practice within the story.
Suburban supersleuth Jane
Jeffry and her detective beau Mel VanDyne have finally
decided to tie the knot. While Jane's planning the wedding
of her dreams—with no overbearing mother-in-law to steamroll
the entire event and tell her what to wear—Mel convinces her
and her best friend Shelley to take a women's self-defense
class. But before Jane and Shelley can learn the karate
kicks and mean moves to fight off even the perfect
purse-snatcher, their class is cut brutally short . . . when
two participants are murdered.
Between her new
writing project, an addition to the house, and battling
mothers-in-law, she's got her hands full. But she'll have to
make time to help Mel find the killer if she wants to walk
happily—and safely—down the aisle.
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