by Gloria Ferris
Dundurn
Every now and then it's good to cleanse the palette with a fun, zany mystery! You know the kind, where you end up snickering every couple of pages or else you're thinking, 'oh boy, why did she do THAT?', which is the equivalent of closing your eyes if watching a movie. Corpse Flower had just such an effect on me.
The plot is fairly common, who killed the town employee at the cemetery? Or was it murder? The opening paragraph sets the tone for what's to come. By the end, there are two more murders; some very creative distribution and usages for marijuana; not one but two slightly erotic exotic plants that are about to require cross-pollination and only our intrepid main character, Bliss Moonbeam Cornwall can make sure it happens; and the possibility of romance for Bliss, who is still trying to get even and get a fair settlement out of her ex-husband, the mayor.
If it sounds like a lot going on, it is but it all fits and makes sense. Along the way there are some very zany characters, like Bliss's cousin, the agoraphobic Dougal; his hystrionic ex-wife Glory; the cute, naive neighour, Rae turning tricks at the trailer park; and...sorry, they are just too unique to describe.
Sounds like it would be tricky, working this all into a mystery novel. Not every writer can write for laughs and make it work.
It takes great skill to do both. Enter Gloria Ferris, whose first novel, Cheat the Hangman won the 2012 Bony Blithe Award. And, Corpse Flower won the Unhanged Arthur Ellis Award in 2010 from Crime Writers of Canada.
Read! Enjoy! And go ahead, laugh out loud when necessary!
Thank you, Linda. I truly enjoyed writing Corpse Flower, so I'm beyond pleased when someone enjoys reading it!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to reading this. I enjoyed Gloria's first book. 'Cheat the hangman'
ReplyDeleteThanks, Pam. I do hope you enjoy Corpse Flower as well!
ReplyDeleteOh poop! I had the first spot in the comments but I must have hit the wrong button.
ReplyDeleteI've been waiting to get Corpse Flower at Gloria's launch--which I am looking forward to--but I might sneak a peak at the archive copy sitting on my dining room table. (Shhh, don't tell anyone.) :)