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It’s 1923 in London, and Saffron Everleigh is working as a research assistant at University College London. Her late father worked in the department, and she’s trying to forge a path in a scientific field as a woman. Needless to say, it’s tough going. She faces slights, a feeling of invisibility, opinions that she’s only there because of her father and, sadly but unsurprisingly, unwanted sexual advances.
A large expedition to the Amazon is coming up soon in the botany department, and Saffron would love to have some of her research accepted for inclusion in the trip. One evening she attends a dinner party held at the home of one of the professors. But rather than having the opportunity to talk about her work, she sees the man’s wife collapse. Mrs. Henry ends up in a coma in the hospital, victim of an unknown poison.
Saffron’s mentor, Dr. Maxwell, is the main suspect because of his work with a deadly toxin, a sample of which is kept in the university greenhouses. When he is arrested, Saffron decides she has to investigate on her own because the police clearly have the wrong man. Well, she’s not entirely on her own, because she ends up getting help from a handsome colleague.
A Botanist’s Guide to Parties and Poisons is a satisfactory but forgettable mystery. It mixes some nice elements — a STEM focus, women pursuing science in an era that it was unusual to do so, and romance. But it just didn’t “wow” me. I’m sure, however, that some readers will really enjoy it, and the clean content is an element I can definitely recommend.
Rated: Mild. Profanity includes one instance of moderate profanity, about 10 uses of mild language, and two instances of the name of Deity in vain. Sexual content includes kissing and references to people having affairs. People are poisoned and someone threatened with a gun.
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