A Botanist’s Guide to Parties and Poisons (A Saffron Everleigh Mystery)

The Lost Apothecary meets Dead Dead Girls in this fast-paced STEMinist adventure. Debut author Kate Khavari deftly entwines a pulse-pounding mystery with the struggles of a woman in a male-dominated field in 1923 London. Newly minted research assistant Saffron Everleigh is determined to blaze a new trail at the University College London but with her colleagues beliefs about womens academic inabilities and not so subtle hints that her deceased fathers reputation paved her way into the botany department she feels stymied at every turn. When she attends a dinner party for the school she expects to engage in conversations about the universitys large expedition to the Amazon. What she doesnt expect is for Mrs. Henry one of the professors wives to drop to the floor poisoned by an unknown toxin. Dr. Maxwell Saffrons mentor is the main suspect and evidence quickly mounts. Joined by fellow researcher–and potential romantic interest–Alexander Ashton Saffron uses her knowledge of botany as she explores steamy greenhouses dark gardens and deadly poisons to clear Maxwells name. Will she be able to uncover the truth or will her investigation land her on the murderers list in this entertaining examination of societys expectations.