Fatality in F by Alexia Gordon Narrator: Helen Duff
Series: Gethsemane Brown Mysteries #4
Published by Dreamscape Media on February 26, 2019
Source: Library
Genres: Cozy Mystery, Paranormal
Length: 7 hrs 27 mins
Pages: 241
Format: Audiobook
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Fresh from solving her third mystery, Gethsemane Brown’s ready to relax and enjoy her summer. Her plans include nothing more dangerous than performing in the opening ceremony of the annual rose and garden show and cheering on Frankie Grennan, who has entered his hybrid rose into the competition.
But when a mysterious stalker starts leaving Frankie floral bouquets as coded messages, Gethsemane fears a copycat may be planning to recreate the still-unsolved murders of the infamous Flower Shop Killer. Then Frankie’s main competitor in the rose show—and the reason his marriage failed—turns up dead in Frankie’s rose garden. Frankie takes first prize in the category of prime suspect.
So much for a relaxing summer.
As bodies start dropping like rose petals, Gethsemane must judge the other suspects and find the real killer. Or rose bushes won’t be the only things dead-headed in Dunmullach.
I liked Fatality in F a little more than the previous one in the series. It’s back to more solid ground, or at least as solid as it can be when a ghost is around. Gethsemane is one of those amateur sleuths who has a knack of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and usually discovering a dead body in the process. This time around a rose show has come to Dunmullach and one of the competitors, who is also Gethsemane’s friend Frankie’s main rival, is found dead with a pair of garden shears sticking out of his back. In the meantime, Frankie is receiving bouquets reminiscent of the Flower Shop Killer of decades ago.
The plot moves along at a nice pace. We had several suspects, clues, red herrings, and several secret agendas. We also learn a bit about the language of flowers and plant-based pharmaceuticals.
I like Gethsemane. She a brilliant musician. She’s strong and independent. I like that she actually has male friends, who she’s not interested in dating. Eamon, her ghost sidekick, is a lot of fun – and help.
There’s one more in the series, which I’ll probably pick up soon. I listen to these on audio and I love the narrator. She makes Gethsemane stand out a bit from the usual cozy mystery amateur sleuths. Her tone for Gethsemane is richer, somehow, and a touch Southern.
About Alexia Gordon
A writer since childhood, Alexia Gordon won her first writing prize in the 6th grade. She continued writing through college but put literary endeavors on hold to finish medical school and Family Medicine residency training. She established her medical career then returned to writing fiction. Raised in the southeast, schooled in the northeast, she relocated to the west where she completed Southern Methodist University’s Writer’s Path program. She admits Texas brisket is as good as Carolina pulled pork. She practices medicine in El Paso. She enjoys the symphony, art collecting, embroidery, and ghost stories.
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