CONISTON CASE

Even the idyllic Lake District has dark secrets. Valentine's Day is fast approaching, and Persimmon 'Simmy' Brown is busy in her flower shop near Lake Windermere. She receives a string of anonymous orders and when one of the recipients disappears, Simmy suspects foul play. Are the flowers masking a darker message? And if that isn't enough, Simmy's friend Kathy turns up, on the trail of her wayward daughter Joanna, who she fears has grown unhealthily close to one of her university tutors. Simmy and her friend find themselves caught up in a web of deception, blackmail and murder. The novel has a good plot with oodles of atmosphere. 318 pp in paperback.