by Lorie Lewis Ham

This week, we have a fun special guest post where we interviewed 3 mystery authors whose books tied into spring flowers in some way! The authors and books included are: Crime and Parchment by Daphne Silver, Death in Bloom by Jess Dylan, and Rhythm and Clues by Olivia Blacke.
Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win signed copies of all 3 books and links to purchase them books from Amazon.

Nothing says springtime like flowers. In honor of the “budding” season, KRL chatted with three authors whose cozy mysteries offer up a bouquet of fun flower features.

Read on to find out more about these authors and how to enter to win the grand prize of 3 author signed books: Crime and Parchment by Daphne Silver, Death in Bloom by Jess Dylan, and Rhythm and Clues by Olivia Blacke! Offer open to US shipping addresses only.

KRL: How do flowers fit in to your mysteries?

Daphne Silver: Crime and Parchment focuses on Juniper Blume and her sister Azalea. Like their mother Iris and grandmother Zinnia, all the women in their family have been named after flowers. It ties them together. Azalea has turned their late grandmother’s home, along the Chesapeake Bay in southern Maryland, into the Wildflower Inn, featuring floral watercolors by their grandmother and a vibrant garden.

Olivia Blacke: Funnily enough, there’s also a Juniper in Rhythm and Clues, but she goes by Juni. Her sisters are Tansy and Maggie (short for Magnolia) and together, they run a record shop (Sip & Spin Records) which I originally considered calling Flower Records but I didn’t because I didn’t want to get mixed up with Jess’s Flower House series!

Jess Dylan: The premise of the Flower House Mysteries is that the main character, Sierra Ravenswood, finds herself in charge of a flower shop in an old converted Victorian mansion called Flower House. So, flowers feature heavily, from the day-to-day business of running a florist to the symbolism of certain flowers that tie in to the mysteries. On top of that, Sierra’s granny is a folk healer who knows all about the medicinal (and magical) value of many plants. Yet, believe it or not, none of the characters have flower names!

KRL: What’s similar among your books?

Daphne Silver: Besides Junipers in both our books, Crime and Parchment is set in my state of Maryland where Olivia Blacke lived for ages, and Rhythm and Clues is set in Texas, where Olivia grew up.

Olivia Blacke: In both Death in Bloom (the first in Jess Dylan’s Flower House series) and Vinyl Resting Place (the first book in the Record Shop Mysteries), the main sleuth moves back to her hometown and struggles to figure out where she belongs after being away for a while.

Jess Dylan: Besides being smart and spunky amateur detectives, all of our sleuths have beloved pets that keep them company as they solve the crime: Gus the Corgi (Flower House series), Clover the rescue dog (A Rare Books Cozy Mystery), and Daffy the cat (short for Daffodil) (Record Shop Mysteries).

KRL: How do you do things differently?

Daphne Silver: Juniper Blume is a rare books librarian in the fictional town of Rose Mallow on the west coast of the Chesapeake Bay. She stumbles upon books and bodies where they don’t belong. She uses her librarian superpowers: endless curiosity and an encyclopedic knowledge of history – especially Maryland history – to discover the truth.

Olivia Blacke: First off, can I just say how much I love Daphne’s character name of “Juniper Blume?” In my cozies, Juni Jessup runs a coffee café/records shop in Texas where she and her sisters serve the hottest drinks and the coolest music, and occasionally solve a murder (or three). Her superpower is that everyone in town stops by Sip & Spin Records for a coffee and leaves a tidbit of gossip.

Jess Dylan: Sierra is a former singer-songwriter who failed to hit the big time in Nashville and had to move back to her small hometown of Aerieville, Tennessee. She’s working part-time at Flower House, when her eccentric boss unexpectedly takes off— leaving her in charge. She’s an optimist, who believes things happen for a reason, but this attitude is constantly challenged when she keeps encountering murder and mayhem.

KRL: If you were a flower, what would you be?

Daphne Silver: Daphne is already a flower, so I’d choose this lovely shrub. While daphnes often have beautifully scented flowers and enticing berries, watch out because all parts of daphnes are poisonous, especially the berries.

Olivia Blacke: As a recovering ex-Texan, I would be a yellow rose if I were a flower. Or maybe a bluebonnet!

Jess Dylan: I’d be a sunflower, because (much like Sierra) I try to look on the bright side—and I love the sun!

About Daphne Silver: DAPHNE SILVER (she/her) is the Agatha-nominated author of the Rare Books Cozy Mystery series. The first in the series, Crime and Parchment, is nominated for the Agatha Award for Best First Mystery Novel. She’s worked more than twenty years in museums and symphonies and has the great fortune of being married to a librarian. When she’s not writing, she’s drawing and painting. She lives in Maryland with her family. Although she’s not much of a baker, she won’t ever turn down a sweet lokshen kugel.

Join Daphne’s newsletter at daphnesilver.com for the free story “A Midsummer’s Night Scheme.’ Follow Daphne at www.facebook.com/daphnesilverbooks and www.instagram.com/daphnesilverbooks.

About Olivia Blacke: OLIVIA BLACKE (she/her), author of the Record Shop Mysteries and Brooklyn Murder Mysteries, finally found a way to put her criminology degree to use by writing murderously fun, cozy, and caffeinated mysteries. Olivia is a little nerdy, a lot awkward, and just the right amount of weird. A recovering ex-Texan, she resides with her husband, Potassium, and Baileycakes, their roly-poly rescue puggle. She wants to be a unicorn when she grows up. Connect with Olivia on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Bsky, or check out her website OliviaBlacke.com, where you can join her newsletter for a first look at updates, giveaways, and exclusive offers.

About Jess Dylan: JESS DYLAN is an environmental attorney by day and author by night. A lifelong mystery lover, she’s thrilled to write fun cozy mysteries including the Flower House Mysteries and, as Jennifer David Hesse, the Wiccan Wheel Mysteries. Born and raised in Central Illinois, Jess now lives, works, and plays in “sweet home” Chicago. In her spare time, Jess enjoys hanging out with her family, hiking in the woods, practicing yoga, and reading old Nancy Drew books. Connect with Jess and sign up for her newsletter at JessyDylan.com, and follow her at instagram.com/jenniferdavidhesse and facebook.com/AuthorJenniferDavidHesse.

BOOKS IN THE GIVEAWAY
Rhythm and Clues: It’s raining murder in the third book in the Record Shop Mysteries by Olivia Blacke, Rhythm and Clues. It’s been months since Juni Jessup and her sisters solved the last murder in Cedar River when disaster strikes again. After a sketchy financier dies outside Sip & Spin Records during a torrential Texas thunderstorm and the overflowing river spits out a macabre surprise, can they catch the killer without missing a beat? The rhythm is gonna get you March 26, 2024 from St. Martin’s Paperbacks.

You can click here to purchase this book.

Death in Bloom: First in the Flower House series by Jess Dylan, Death in Bloom introduces Sierra Ravenswood, a former singer-songwriter who failed to hit the big time in Nashville and had to move back to her small Tennessee hometown. She’s working part-time at the Flower House, when her eccentric boss unexpectedly takes off— leaving her in charge of both his store and his high-energy Corgi puppy, Gus. Sierra is an optimist who believes in the power of positivity, so she tries to make the best of it. Then things take a decidedly negative turn when a customer drops dead in the middle of her bouquet-arranging workshop. It will take more than an upbeat attitude and a bouquet of sweet-smelling roses, but Sierra is determined to figure out whodunit, once and floral.

You can click here to purchase this book.

Crime and Parchment: Nominated for the Agatha Award for Best First Mystery Novel! Rare books librarian Juniper Blume knows this much… an ancient Celtic manuscript shouldn’t be in a Maryland cemetery. But that’s exactly what her brother-in-law claims. Last year, Juniper saw the 1,200-year-old Book of Kells in Ireland. She learned how their bejeweled covers were stolen centuries ago, never to be seen again. So how could they have ended up in Rose Mallow, a small Chesapeake Bay town? Being Jewish, the Book of Kells might not be her sacred text, but as a rare books librarian, the ancient book is still sacred to her, making it important to Juniper to find out the truth. Rose Mallow is the same place where Juniper used to summer with her sister Azalea and their grandmother Zinnia, known as Nana Z. Ever since Nana Z passed away, Juniper’s avoided returning, but her curiosity is greater than her grief, so she heads down in her vintage convertible with her rescue dog Clover. Juniper discovers that her sister Azalea has transformed their grandmother’s Queen Anne style mansion into the Wildflower Inn, backing up to the Chesapeake Bay. Although Juniper isn’t much of a cook, Azalea has kept their grandmother’s legacy alive, filling the house with the smells of East European Jewish treats, like sweet kugels and tzimmes cake. Will coming back here feel like returning home or fill Juniper with a deeper sorrow? Can she apologize to her sister for not being there when she was needed most?

You can click here to purchase this book.

To enter to win signed copies of all 3 books, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “spring flowers” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen March 16, 2024. U.S. residents only, and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win–we will delete it after the giveaway. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. Also listen to our new mystery podcast where mystery short stories and first chapters are read by actors! They are also available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Spotify. A new episode went up last week.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.