Poppy Harmon Investigates (A Desert Flowers Mystery Book 1)
By: Lee Hollis
Rating: 5 of 5
This is the first book in a new mystery series set in Palm Springs, California. I’ve been to Palm Springs and what I recall most about it was that it was hot as blazes.
Many individuals retire to Palm Springs and this is a book about three such ladies.
Poppy Harmon was an actor in a television series which featured a private detective and she was his secretary. Now, its been a number of years since she left Hollywood but she married and put her acting long behind her.
She is widowed and then discovers that her late husband left her in fairly dire straits. He had a lot of habits that she wasn’t aware of, the least being losing all of their money.
She and her friends, Iris and Violet, get together to form the Desert Flowers Detective Agency (flowers because they are all named for a flower.) When no one comes calling, Violets precocious grandson, Wyatt (12 years old and already hacking into computers) finds a way to bring in business though it isn’t honest.
It involves her daughter’s boyfriend, Matt. Said daughter is very unhappy because she doesn’t believe in her mother’s new business.
While some may think it is derivative of Remington Steele, I think it differs considerably. Still, most books and plays and movies are derivative and many plots can trace their way back to the plays of Shakespeare. I would not consider this a book to avoid because I can see a few similarities.
The story is fun and the mystery is good. I’ve already waiting to read the next book in the series and will be looking for other books written by the writing duo known as Lee Hollis.
This is the first book in a new mystery series set in Palm Springs, California. I’ve been to Palm Springs and what I recall most about it was that it was hot as blazes.