The first in a new series about botany in the roaring twenties features Saffron Everleigh as an amateur sleuth. Much is made of a plant-hunting expedition to the Amazon, so I was actually disappointed that the book never gets outside of London. I think once you know the story stays put, you can appreciate it better. A BOTANIST’S GUIDE TO PARTIES AND POISONS starts with a party and, following someone’s being taken ill from a suspected toxin, concentrates on poisons for the rest of the tale.

1923 is a fantastically busy year for University College of London. Along with the expedition to the Amazon, research is carried out constantly. Saffron is instructed by her mentoring professor to read through texts and note any mentions of certain plants – the research assistant is shown as doing all the work, and the professor would take the credit, not least because he was a man. But Saffron does quite like Dr. Maxwell, and she enjoys comparing illustrations to the real plants in the college greenhouses. Academia is known for its snobbery, unfortunately, and Mrs. Henry, the wife of another professor, makes sure she is seen with a college benefactor at the evening party. When she is taken suddenly ill, Dr. Maxwell, well-versed in toxic plants, is under police suspicion. Alexander Ashton, a researcher into microbes, and Saffron, with her knowledge of plant poisons, decide to investigate.

I've noticed a feature of some historical romances now is returning soldiers who have been scarred by war. There must have been many such people, but we do not see their portraits with injuries. In the old days of Georgette Heyer novels, everyone wealthy was handsome and had all their limbs and most of their teeth. Today’s novelists are aiming for realism and creating far more sympathetic characters and more interesting ones too.

As a plant lover, I’m enjoying the great start to this series, and I think readers will be interested to know what in their gardens might be toxic and where certain plants originated. I do not recommend trying out the effects, as Saffron quite surprisingly decides to do. Her misadventure should be a warning in itself.  Kate Khavari has researched diligently, and kept the cast list small, as we come across a lot of plant names, so too many characters would be confusing. A second book is in the works, which will enlighten readers about flowers and fatality. A BOTANIST’S GUIDE TO PARTIES AND POISONS combines etiquette, greenhouses, and toxins most elegantly. More please!