Lavender Lies Bleeding

Spice Shop Mysteries, Book 9

Spring is in full bloom in Pike Place Market, where Pepper is celebrating lavender's culinary uses and planning a festival she hopes will become an annual event. When her friend Lavender Liz offers to share tips for promoting the much-loved—and occasionally maligned—herb, Pepper makes a trek to the charming town of Salmon Falls. But someone has badly damaged Liz's greenhouse, throwing a wrench in the feisty grower's plans for expansion. Suspicions quickly focus on an employee who's taken to the hills, though Liz herself is not convinced.

Then Liz is found dead among her precious plants, stabbed by a pruning knife. In Salmon Falls, there's one in every pocket.

Pepper digs in, untangling the tensions between Liz and a local restaurateur with eyes on a picturesque but neglected farm, a jealous ex-boyfriend determined to profit from Liz's success, and a local growers' cooperative. She's also hot on the scent of a trail of her own, sniffing out the history of her sweet dog, Arf.

As Pepper's questions threaten to unearth secrets others desperately want to keep buried, danger creeps closer to her and those she loves. Can Pepper root out the killer, before someone nips her in the bud?

©2025 Leslie Ann Budewitz (P)2025 Tantor Media

As usual a well crafted mystery

I’ve enjoyed the whole series & this one did not disappoint. The mystery is good with just enough twists to keep you guessing & the narrator is excellent

The narrator tells a fantastic engaging story

Great series and location with interesting characters that come from different backgrounds add to the story

Culturally Interesting and Intriguing Cozy

Leslie Budewitz, a masterful story teller, brings us once again into the world of Pike Place Market. Her consistent ability to weave a tale that draws us in is always a treat, but this time she showcases small town life as well, demonstrating her knowledge of rural as well as urban culture. An excellent cozy mystery!

Not up to usual standards

Too many characters resulting in confusion. Disjointed which too often led to the reader scrambling to keep up.