AMARYLLIS

Amaryllis, by Craig, Crist-Evans. Candlewick, 2003.
Jimmy and his older brother, Frank, share a love of surfing and their problems with a drunken father...until Frank turns 18 and goes to Vietnam.

Forcing Amaryllis, by Louise Ure. Mysterious Press, 2005.
Calla's sister Amy, a former rape victim, lies in a coma after a failed suicide attempt. A trial consultant, Calla is herself so traumatized that she will handle only civil cases. Then she is forced to to join the defense team for accused rapist and murderer Raymond Cates, whose crimes have disturbing parallels to the attack on her sister.

BELLADONNA

Belladonna, by Karen Moline. Warner, 1998.
In 1935, while visiting London with her cousin, 18-year-old Isabella Nickerson is goes to what she thinks will be a costume party, and is thrust into a horrifying world of domination known only to the noblemen who call themselves the members of the Club. Robbed of her freedom, identity, and dignity, the girl known as Isabella slowly disappears. In her place, a new woman is born. She calls herself Belladonna, and she lives for one purpose -- revenge.

Belladonna, by Anne Bishop. ROC, 2007.
In this sequel to Sebastian, Glorianna Belladonna stands alone against the Eater of the World as the evil entity slowly destroys the world of Ephemera.

Belladonna at Belstone, by Michael Jecks. Headline, 2000, 1999.
In 1321, Sir Baldwin Furnshill, Keeper of the King's Peace, and his old friend Simon Puttock, are summoned to investigate the murder of a young nun.

BLEEDING HEART

Bleeding Heart Square, by Andrew Taylor. Hyperion, 2009.
Fleeing her abusive husband, London socialite Lydia Langstone finds refuge with her estranged father at #7 Bleeding Heart Square, a seedy, decaying lodging house. She soon learns that the owner of the place mysteriously disappeared 4 years earlier and that the current landlord may have had something to do with it..

Bleeding Heart, by Martha Powers. S&S, 2000.
When Maggie Collier learns that her father-in-law's murder may have been the result of his accidentally discovering the whereabouts of a kidnapped child, she takes up the investigation herself and enters into a race against the clock to find the truth before the elusive serial killer and kidnapper can make her the next victim.

CALLA LILY

The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder, by Rebecca Wells. 2009.
Calla Ponder is raised in the small Cajun town of La Luna, where Calla's beloved mother M'Dear, who runs a dance studio, as well as a hair salon on her front porch, teaches Calla to trust in the power of the Moon Lady. While her life is not without lits tragedies, Cala makes a life for herself as a young adult in New Orleans, having inherited M'Dear's gifts for creating beauty and solace through her hands.

CARNATION

The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, by Lauren Willig. Dutton, 2005.
While in London completing her dissertation on the Scarlet Pimpernel, Harvard student Eloise Kelly, discovers lost information about an even more elusive spy known as the Pink Carnation. A "novel within the novel" tells the exciting story of how the Pink Carnation bedeviled the French at the turn of the 19th century. Followed by: The Masque of the Black Tulip (2005), The Deception of the Emerald Ring (2006), The Seduction of the Crimson Rose (2008), The Temptation of the Night Jasmine (2009), Betrayal of the Blood Lily (2010) & The Mischief of the Mistletoe (2010).

CHRYSANTHEMUM

Red Chrysanthemum, by Laura Joh Rowland. Minotaur, 2006.
In 1698 Japan, samurai detective Sano Ichiro finds his role as the shogun's trusted advisor threatened when the shogun's heir, Lord Mori, is found murdered and mutilated, with Sano's pregnant wife, Reiko, lying beside him. The crime scene does not support Reiko’s account of her actions.The only solid clue is a chrysanthemum soaked in blood. Unless Sano can prove his wife’s unlikely claims, both he and Reiko—and their unborn child—face execution for treason.

The Chrysanthemum Garden, by Joseph Cowley. S&S, 1981.
Morna is in her 50s, 30 years married and a grandmother. Denison, a great American poet, is in his 70s and waiting for his life to wind down. Neither is prepared for the unexpected moment that will change their lives.

Chrysanthemum in the Snow, by James Richard Hickey. Crown, 1990.
A dramatic account of a rifle company's fight for survival during its tour of duty in Korea.

The Chrysanthemum Palace, by Bruce Wagner. S&S, 2005.
In this hard-hitting look at the "reel" world, three friends, all children of Hollywood movers and shakers, try to find their own way in Tinseltown, with tragic results.

CROCUS

The Crocus List, by Gavin Lyall. Viking, 1986.
When three shots fired from a Russian rifle narrowly miss the U.S. President at a London memorial service, Major Harry Maxim is far less certain than his superiors that it was an isolated incident by a lone gunman.

DAHLIA

The Black Dahlia, by James Ellroy. Mysterious, 1987.
L.A. cops Bucky Bleichert and Lee Blanchard become obsessed with the Black Dahlia and journey through the seamy underside of Hollywood to the core of the dead girl's twisted life in this fictionalized account of Hollywood's most notorious murder case.

Blue Dahlia, by Nora Roberts. Jove, 2004.
When her husband dies, Sella Rothchild is left with two small boys to raise. She goes to work for Roz Harper, managing a plant nursery. But the job comes with one small catch: she must live at Harper House, an old plantation manor that comes with its very own resident ghost. Then there is Logan Kitridge, the nursery's sexy landscape designer.... Followed by Black Rose (2005) & Red Lily (2005).

The Book of Dahlia, by Elisa Albert. Free Press, 2008.
Returning to her native L.A. in search of a new start, Dahlia Finger avoids her dysfunctional family and spends her days in a drug-induced stupor in front of the television, until her diagnosis with an inoperable brain tumor forces her to reevaluate her life.

The Red Dahlia, by Lynda LaPlante. S&S, 2007, 2006.
Detective Inspector Anna Travis tries to take down a copycat killer who commits a murder in the style of the infamous Los Angeles "Black Dahlia" case 50 years earlier. Things are complicated by having to work with her ex-lover, DCI James Langton. Sequel to Above Suspicion (2006).

DAISY

The Daisy Chain, by Sally Stewart. Severn, 2001.
Two decades after he crash-landed in Gascony, France, former British RAF pilot Robert Ashton, now in his 50s, moves there with his daughter, Daisy. There he finds himself face-to-face with Jeanne, whose parents helped rescue him and with whom he shared one passionate night. Now the sins of the past come back to haunt them when Daisy falls for Jeanne's son, Daniel. .

Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man, by Fannie Flagg. Warner, 1992.
Daisy Fay Harper's journal recounts her upbringing in rural Mississippi that sees her grow from a sassy 11-year-old to the winner of the Miss Mississippi contest. By the author of Fried Green Tomatoes.

Inside Daisy Clover, by Gavin Lambert. Viking, 1963.
15 year old tomboy Daisy reams of being a movie-star, but after she becomes the toast of Hollywood, she must come to terms with her new found fame and all that comes with it.

Princess Daisy, by Judith Krantz. Crown, 1980.
Princess Marguerite Alexandrovna Valensky, aka Daisy, is the daughter a Russian nobleman and an American movie star. Her life is a fairy tale filled with parties, jewels, and love...until the fairy tale comes to an abrupt end.

Pushing Up Daisies, by Rosemary Harris. T. Dunne, 2008.
When landscaper Paula Holliday, who has given up the corporate rat race to run a gardening business, stumbles upon a mummified corpse on the overgrown property of a wealthy dowager's estate, she joins forces with a wise-cracking ex-colleague, an aging rocker who owns the neighborhood greasy spoon, and a sexy Mexican laborer to dig for the truth and solve the crime.

The Second Daisy Queen, by Bryant Val Jeane Faubion. ACDB, 2007.
When a second Daisy Queen magically appears in Hanghat, Texas just before the town's Centennial Plus Ten celebration, pandemonium ensues. The second Queen causes the townspeople to discover why they are so zany, exposes an undiscovered nudists colony, and salvages true love.

Daisy Doolittle Does Divorce, by Anna Pasternak. 5-Spot, 2007.
Her marriage over and done, self-help addict Daisy Doolittle re-enters the harrowing singles scene with the help of her two best friends.

DANDELION

Dandelion Wine, by Ray Bradbury. 1957.
During the golden summer of 1928, 12-year old Douglas Spaulding, caught between the secure, uncomplicated world of childhood and the fascinating yet frightening sphere of adulthood, wanders in and out of the lives of his elders.

Day of the Dandelion, by Peter Pringle. S&S, 2007.
Horticulturist Arthur Hemmings, a researcher at the Royal Botanic Gardens (as well as an undercover agent for the British Secret Service) tackles an international conspiracy to control the world's food supply.

DEADLY NIGHTSHADE

Deadly Nightshade, by Mary Freeman. BPC, 1999.
Landscaper Rachel O'Connor digs up some troubling clues in the murder of a city councilman, but her sleuthing efforts wreak havoc in her town and her family.

Deadly Nightshade, by Cynthia Riggs. T. Dunne, 2001.
Standing on a dock one night 92-year-old Martha's Vineyard resident Victoria Trumbell hears a chilling scream and discovers a mutilated body. And it isn't the last homicide to shatter the summer calm as she concocts a scheme to unmask the killer.

FORGET-ME-NOT

Forget Me Not, by Stef Ann Holm. Pocket, 1997.
Independent city girl Josephine Whittaker succeeds in making it to the West on her own, only to lose everything she owns in Sienna, Wyoming, forcing her to get a job as a ranch cook-even though she doesn't know the first thing about cooking. J.D. McCall suspects that hiring Josephine means trouble, but he takes her on. Does she have the grit to be a cattle rancher's wife?

Forget Me Not, by Vicki Hinze. Multnomah, 2010.
The battered woman suffering from amnesia who comes to Benjamin Brandt's Crossroads Crisis Center in search of answers bears a close resemblance to his murdered wife. Even more unsettling is that she is wearing the dead woman's necklace.

Forget Me Not, by Marliss Melton. Warner, 2004.
Helen Renault has just started to forge a new life for herself and her daughter when Gabe, her Navy SEAL husband thought dead for three years, returns home. He seems different and more caring, until the memory of the past three years starts to come back to him, exposing a trail of government treachery and jeopardizing his and Helen's second chance at love.

GARDENIA

Gardenias for Breakfast, by Robin Jones Gunn. WestBow, 2005.
With happy memories of the time she spent in her grandmother's company when she was a child, Abby makes the trek from Hawaii to Louisiana so that her own daughter might be touched and inspired by the now 92-year-old woman's wisdom.

GLADIOLA

North Gladiola, by James Wilcox. H&R, 1985.
The amusing trials and tribulations of cello-playing, rosé-drinking Ethyl Mae Coco of Tula Springs, LA, who must deal with a husband who is a compulsive buyer of agricultural bargains, a bevy of messed-up children, and charges that she has murdered a Chihuahua.

HIBISCUS

Bruised Hibiscus, by Elizabeth Nunez. Seal, 2000.
When they were young, Rosa and Zuela were inseparable. But after they witnessed an unspeakable act through the leaves of a hibiscus bush, shame divided them for 20 years. Now, when a fisherman pulls the body of a woman from the seas off Trinidad, memories of the horror they witnessed resurface and bring Rosa and Zuela together in a desperate search for liberation.

Purple Hibiscus, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Algonquin, 2003.
Growing up in a wealthy Nigerian home with a tyrannical, fanatically religious father, 15-year-old Kambili and her brother, Jaja, find happiness during a visit to their Aunty Ifeoma. In the aftermath of a military coup, Kambili and Jaja return home changed by their newfound freedom, tension within the family escalates.

HYACINTH

Cat on a Hyacinth Hunt, by Carole Nelson Douglas. Forge, 1998.
When battling Egyptian barges outside the Oasis hotel in Las Vegas bring a dead body to the surface, feline detective Midnight Louie and his two-footed companion, Temple Barr, hunt for the killer.

The Eve of St. Hyacinth, by Kate Sedley. St. M., 1996.
Pedlar Roger the Chapman puts his extraordinary powers of deduction to good use in the service of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, the devoted brother of King Edward IV, as England prepares for war with France.

Girl in Hyacinth Blue, by Susan Vreeland. M&B, 1999.
A professor invites a colleague to his home to see a painting which he claims is an unknown Vermeer, that he has kept secret for decades. The story of the painting is told through its ownership of the painting back to World War II and Amsterdam, and still further back to the moment of the work's inspiration.

JASMINE

The Jasmine Trade, by Denise Hamilton. Scribner, 2001.
In this suspenseful novel, LA Times reporter Eve Diamond is investigating the murder of a teen-age girl and uncovers a deadly connection between Asian gangs and the rich, unsupervised teens whose parents live and work in Hong Kong known as the parachute kids."

The Jasmine Moon Murder, by Laura Childs. BPC, 2004.
While catering a Charleston benefit that includes a "Ghost Crawl" through Charleston's Jasmine Cemetery, Indigo Teashop owner Theodosia Browning finds herself investigating the mysterious death of the event's organizer.

The Jasmine Isle, by Iōanna Karystianē. Turnaround, 2006, 1997.
In this modern Greek tragedy, the formidable and tyranical Mina forces her eldest daughter, Orsa, to marry a man she doesn't love and enjoys the heartache Orsa suffers as the man she does love weds her own sister.

The Temptation of the Night Jasmine, by Lauren Willig. Dutton, 2009.
The fifth in the "Pink Carnation" series.

Lady Jasmine, by Victoria Christopher Murray. S&S, 2009.
In A Sin and a Shame, Jasmine Larson Bush, nearly wrecked her marriage to he pastor husband after confesseing her shameful secrets to him. The problem is, she didn't reveal all of them and when she is blackmailed about another indiscretion from her past and contemplates the ultimate act of violence to protect that secret.

LARKSPUR

Larkspur, by Dorothy Garlock. Warner, 1997.
Over the objections of her family, Kristen Anderson, leaves her home for wilds of Montana and the ranch she has inherited. There she encounters ruthless men who want her land and the ranch foreman, who catches her heart.

LAUREL

Mountain Laurel, by Jude Deveraux. Pocket, 1990.
Capt. Ring Montgomery gets all he can handle when he is assigned to escort an opera singe-who is clearly not the Duchess she claims to be--into the Colorado gold fields.

LAVENDER

Lavender Lady, by Carola Dunn. Walker, 1983.
Hester Godric, who is raising her half-brothers and sisters in the wake of her father's death, takes in a handsome traveler who has been injured in a coach accident, unaware that young David Fairfax is really the Earl of Alton. A Regency romance.

Lavender Lies, by Susan Wittig Albert. BPC, 1999.
Just before her marriage to Mike McQuaid, the police chief of Pecan Springs, TX, herbalist China becomes involved in solving the murder of a greedy developer.

The Lavender Field, by Jeanette Baker. Mira, 2006.
International relations attorney Whitney Benedict travels to California to make an offer on behalf of the Austrian government to buy Gabe Mendoza's famous Lipizzaner horses. But Gabe won't sell his legacy and Whitney finds herself drawn to Gabe's children and his beautiful horses.

The Lavender Hour, by Anne LeClaire. Ballantine, 2007.
Downsized from her teaching job, 32-year-old cancer survivor Jessie Long decides to spend a year on Cape Cod, where she volunteers with a local hospice program and promptly falls in love with her first patient, 45-year-old commercial fisherman Luke Ryder, who is dying of pancreatic cancer.

Lavender Morning, by Jude Deveraux. Atria, 2009.
After the death of her mother, Jocelyn Minton is shunned in upper-crust circles after her handyman father marries a working-class second wife. She is eventually befriended by a wealthy elderly woman who leaves Jocelyn her considerable estate and more than a few secrets to unravel.

LILAC

The Lilac Bus, by Maeve Binchy. Delacorte, 1991.
As they journey back home, the passengers on the Tom Fitzgerald's lilac bus--the bus that transports weekday Dublin workers back to their family homes in Rathdoon--come face to face with the unexpected.

Lilac Spring, by Ruth Axtell Morren. Steeple Hill, 2005.
Although she is drawn to Silas van der Zee, the apprentice of her shipbuilding father, Cherish Winslow discovers that both he and her father are all too aware of their vastly different social classes.

LILY

Lily, by Cindy Bonner. Algonquin, 1992.
In McDade, Texas, in 1883, proper, but spirited 15-year-old Lily DeLony falls in love with a dashing outlaw named "Shot" Beatty, the youngest of the infamous Beatty brothers. Followed by Looking After Lily (1999).

Lily Nevada, by Cecelia Holland. Forge, 1999.
In this sequel to Railroad Schemes (1997), Detective Brand is dismayed to learn that the man he's after may be a member of Lily Nevada's roving theater troupe, now headed for the gold-rush town of San Francisco.

Lily White, by Susan Isaacs. HarCol, 1996.
Successful criminal defense lawyer Lily White has it all. Or does she? Jjust as she is facing her toughtest case yet (involving a con man who charms lonely women out of their assets), her husband says he wants out of their marriage to wed another woman--who happens to Lily's sister--and he wants to take their daughter with him.

The Lily Theater, by Lulu Wang. Talese, 2000.
In Maoist China, young Lian is brought to live in the "reeducation" camp where her father has been sent. There several leading scholars, all prisoners of the regime, teach her lessons she would never have learned at school, and Lily finds a place to repeat her politically condemned lessons and thus discovers her own voice, a place she calls "the Lily Theater."

Looking for Lily, by Africa Fine. Genesis, 2008.
Delighted to have finally escaped from her controlling and critical Aunt Gillian, Tina Jones is faced with the task of caring for her when Gillian, suffering Alzheimer's and no longer able to live alone.

Gilding Lily, by Tatiana Boncompagni. Avon, 2008.
A lot of things have changed in Lily's life. She hasn't managed to lose all thos pounds she gained while pregnant and her rich husband has quit his job to spend more time with her mother-in-law from hell. Soon Lily decide what she's willing to pay to maintain her social standing among the "elite."

Red Lily, by Nora Roberts. Jove, 2005.
In this conclusion to the "In the Garden trilogy," Hayley, finally finding a place to settle down with her young daughter, revels in newfound friendships, one of which leads to romance with the son of her boss, who feels the same about her. But Amelia, the man-hating psychotic ghost who haunts the grounds of Harper House may have something to say about it. Preceded by: Blue Dahlia (2004) & Black Rose (2005).

Consider Lily, by Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt.Boradway, 2008.
Determined to make her own way in life despite her powerful department store-owning parents, Lily Traywick, who prefers to hang out at home in ratty jeans and an old T-shirt, receives a major makeover from her fashionista friend, Reagan Axness. Transformed, Lily embarks on a life of high fashion, a writing career, and dates with a "perfect" guy. But is this what she really wants out of life?

Betrayal of the Blood Lily, by Lauren Willig. Dutton, 2010.
Sixth in the "Pink Carnation" series.

LOVE-LIES-BLEEDING

Love Lies Bleeding, by Geraldine Evans. Severn House, 2005.
Even though blood-spattered Felicity Raine stumbles into the police station and confesses that she has just murdered her husband, Detective Inspector Rafferty wonders if the case is as cut and dried as it seems.

MAGNOLIA

Magnolia Wednesdays, by Wendy Wax. Berkley, 2010.
Finding herself pregnant and jobless, 41-year-old top investigative journalist Vivian Armstrong Gray returns home to Georgia, where her widowed sister lives, having taken on the thankless job of writing an anonymous scathing column ridiculing about the social lives of the locals for New York readers. But the more she learns about the detah of Melanie's husband, the more hings don't quite add up, and Vivian's investigative instincts kink into high gear.

Magnolia Creek, by Jill Marie Landis. Ballantine, 2002.
Sara Collier and Dru Talbot shared only one night together before he rode off with the Confederate Army. A year after the end of the war, a battle-scarred Dru returns home to his love, only to learn that he has been reported dead and Sara is raising the child she bore by another man. A tender story of love, betrayal, and forgiveness.

Magnolia Moon, by JoAnn Ross. Pocket, 2003.
L.A. homicide detective Regan Hart is shocked to find that she was adopted. She heads for Blue Bayou, Louisiana, to learn the truth about her mysterious family and finds herself falling for the town's charming mayor, Nate Callahan, not realizing that her meeting him is at least as important as delving into her unknown past. .

Sweet Magnolia, by Norma L. Jarrett. Harlem Moon, 2006.
Summer, a soon-to-be bride, has planned a weekend event that prompts a major family reunion. But once relatives come together to celebrate Summer’s wedding, generational secrets that have spanned decades slowly come to the surface, including the long-standing resentments of Summer’s older sister, Misa.

The Messenger of Magnolia Street, by River Jordan. HarSF, 2006.
Three childhood friends reunite to fight the unnamed menacing presence that has slowly been draining their beloved town of goodness and light for years, while a Recording Angel stands by to document the epic conflict.

The Ballroom on Magnolia Street, by Sharon Owens. GPPS, 2004.
Johnny "Hollywood" Hogan owns the thriving ballroom on Magnolia Street in Belfast, where sisters Kate and Shirley Winters, along with other regulars, go every Saturday night-to escape the realities of Belfast life, and to seek fun and romance. Sequel to: The Tea House on Mulberry Street (2005)..

NARCISSUS

The Paperwhite Narcissus, by Cynthia Riggs. T. Dunne, 2005.
In this In this fifth book in the Victoria Trumbull series has the 92-year-old sleuth tackling more murder and mayhem on picturesque Martha's Vineyard.

Narcissus and Goldmund, by Hermann Hesse. FSG, 1968.
Brother Narcissus helps Goldmund, a student at the Mariabronn Cloister to discover that he is not at all suited for the monastic life and sends him out into the world where he lives a completely amoral life and discovers what he was meant to be.

Narcissus in Chains, by Laurell K. Hamilton. Berkley, 2001.
Vampire hunter Anita Blake finds herself caught in a deadly triangle between vampire Jean-Claude and werewolf Richard, men whose immortal powers can give her the strength she needs to overcome her deadly enemiesl.

OLEANDER

White Oleander, by Janet Fitch. LB, 1999.
When Ingrid, a beautiful, obsessed and manipulative poet, poisons a former lover and is imprisoned for life, her daughter, Astrid, goes from foster home to foster home trying to find a place for herself in an irrational world.

ORCHID

Black Orchid, by Karen Harper. Signet, 1996.
A Jordan Quinn begins investigating the disappearance of her husband, an AIDS researcher, in the Florida Everglades, she finds herself the prey of a mysterious enemy and turns to her treacherous former lover, a Seminole Indian, for help.

Black Orchid, by Nicholas Meyer & Barry Jay Kaplan. Dial , 1977.
A travel-worn 19^th century soldier-of-fortune poses as an orchid hunter in order to penetrate the wealthy society of Manaus, Brazil. His secret mission: to smuggle out a cache of rubber seeds to destroy the monopoly on the world's source of rubber.

Death of an Orchid Lover, by Nathan Walpow. Dell, 2000.
Plant-loving L.A. actor Joe Portugal is asked to investigate the murder of a man who loved orchids.

The House on Orchid Street, by T. M. Wright. Leisure, 2003.
Seeking solace and a place to call home, Katherine Nichols purchases a picturesque bungalow on a secluded street only to discover that within the walls of her new house lurks a horrifying and violent evil that has thrived for centuries, feeding on its inhabitants.

Empress Orchid, by Anchee Min. HM, 2004.
The beautiful Tzu Hsi, known as Orchid as a girl, enters the Forbidden City at the age of 17 as one of the many wives and cuncubines provided to the Emperor so that he may conceive an heir. Orchid has the great good fortune to bear him a son. Elevated to the rank of Empress, she still must struggle to maintain her position and the right to raise her own child. With the death of the Emperor comes a palace coup that ultimately thrusts Orchid into power.

The Wild Orchid Society, by Lauire Moore. 5 Star, 2004.
Cezanne Martin is put in charge of the cold case squad of the Fort Worth Police Department and joins a decadent secret society in order to track down a sadistic killer known as the Executioner.

The Ghost Orchid, by Carol Goodman. Ballantine, 2006.
Young novelist Ellis Brooks is one of the lucky few chosen for a retreat to the Bosco estate, an artists' colony located in upstate New York. Soon after her arrival Ellis, the daughter of a psychic, begins to feel all is not right and mystical clues point to a sinister event that took place on the estate 100 years earlier.

The Orchid Hunter, by Jill Marie Landis. Jove, 2000.
When Trevor Mandeville sets eyes on Joya Penn in the steaming rainforest on an island off the coast of Africa, he is stunned by her resemblance to adopted sister. He soon learns that she is indeed his sister's long-lost twin and brings her home with him to Victorian England, where their growing love shocks his straight-laced acquaintances.

Death in the Orchid Garden, by Ann Ripley. Kensington, 2004.
It doesn't get much better than this: filming her public television garden show in Hawaii and sipping mai tais amidst beautiful exotic flowers. But the mood is spoiled for Louise Eldridge when she discovers the body of an arrogant botantist.

The Orchid Shroud, by Michelle Wan. Doubleday, 2006.
In this sequel to Deadly Slipper (2005) interior designer Mara Dunn stumbles upon the body of a murdered infant, dead for more than a century, in the stone walls of the home of wealthy Christophe de Bonnefon in the Dordogne region of France. Mara and her orchidologist boyfriend, Julian Wood to investigate the case, which may be linked to the modern-day killing of a genealogist.

Orchid House, by Cindy Martinusen.. T. Nelson, 2008.
When Julia Bentley travels to the Philippines to bury her grandfather, she stays in the family mansion he left behind when he went into exile, and discovers her grandfather's cryptic notes which lead her to seek out an orchid, discovered by an aunt several generations ago, that purportedly can work miracles.

Orchid Beach, by Stuart Woods. HarPap, 1999.
Retired military cop Holly Barker accepts a position as deputy chief of police in the well-to-do island town of Orchid Beach, FL, but gets more than she bargained for when her one of her new colleagues is murdered. An outsider with no one to help her, Holly finds an ally in Daisy--a Doberman who becomes her companion and protector. Read also: Orchid Blues (2002), Iron Orchid (2005) & Hothouse Orchid (2009).

The Cranefly Orchid Murders, by Cynthia Riggs. T. Dunne, 2002.
Victoria Trumbull, a 92-year-old Martha's Vineyard native, "deputy police officer" and naturalist, investigates the murder of sleazy lawyer Montgomery Mausz along with her new sidekick, an 11-year-old boy named Robin.

PEONY

Peony in Love, by Lisa See. RH, 2007.
In 17th-century China, young Peony, the cloistered daughter of a wealthy scholar, is allowed to see The Peony Pavilion, a famed controversial opera that takes three nights to complete and is rumored to cause lovesickness and even death. During the performance she meets and falls in love with a mysterious young man. But she is already betrothed and it is onyl on her deathebad that she learns the men are one and the same. After her death she haunts her former fiancé, who has married another.

Peony, by Pearl S. Buck. 1948.
Chronicles the life of Peony, a selfless Chinese servant sold to a prominent Jewish family in19^th century China.

The Jade Peony, by Wayson Choy. Picador, 1997, 1995.
Three siblings tell the stories of their childhoods growing up in Vancouver's Chinatown during World War II.

The Peony Pavilion, by Xiaoping Yen. H&S, 2000.
A 16-year-old girl visits a forbidden garden where she falls in love with a young man she meets in a dream. She dies longing for him but, even in death, her spirit continues to seek him.

PRIMROSE

The Primrose Convention, by Jo Bannister. St. M., 1998.
Advice columnist Primrose Holland joins forces with an elderly bird-watcher and his second-sighted gardener to solve the mystery of a long-absent another bird-watcher who has disappeared in Scotland. Followed by: The Primrose Switchback (2000) and The Primrose Setback (2000).

Primrose Hill, by Helen Falconer. Norton, 2001.
During their summer break from school, Si and his best friend, Danny, while away the hours hanging out on Primrose Hill. The boys plot to kill the abusive, drug-dealing boyfriend of Danny's mother.

A Primrose Wedding, by Jo Ann Furguson. Kensington, 2005.
More than happy to keep her own company than to participate in polite society, shy scholar Primrose Dunsworthy finds an ally in Rupert Jordan, a dashing aristocrat who shares her passion for ancient Egypt and aversion to marriage. As this is a romance, there can be only one result!

Rumpole and the Primrose Path, by John Mortimer. Viking, 2003, 2002.
In this collection of 6 stories, curmudgeonly London barrister Horace Rumpole is recovering from a heart attack, but this does not prevent him from investigating the mysterious death of an elderly patient at his convalescent center.

PURPLE SAGE

Writers of the Purple Sage, by Barbara Burnett Smith. 1994.
Aspiring mystery writer Jolie Wyatt of Purple Sage, TX, becomes the prime suspect when a judge is murdered by the method used in her unpublished manuscript. Now Jolie must turn her talent for creating murder into solving on. Followed by: Dust Devils of the Purple Sage (1995), Celebration in Purple Sage (1996), Mistletoe from Purple Sage.(1998), Skeletons of the Purple Sage (2002).

Riders of the Purple Sage, by Zane Grey. 1912.
In the Utah frontier, the Mormon church seeks control of Jane Withersteen's rich lands by forcing her to marry Elder Tull. She and her foreman are rescued by Lassiter, who has been on an endless search for his sister, abducted long ago by the Mormons. Jane hires him as a ranch hand with the stipulation that he renounce violence, but it is a promise he cannot keep.

RHUBARB

Death by Rhubarb, by Lou Jane Temple. St. M., 1996.
When lawyer Tasha Arnold is poisoned during open-mike night at her Kansas City café, Heaven Lee (whose ex-husband was squiring the deceased) transforms herself from chef to sleuth to find the killer.

ROSE

Bloody Roses, by Natasha Cooper. Crown, 1993.
Willow King's idyllic Tuscan holiday with Chief Inspector Tom Worth is rudely interrupted when Willow learns that her old friend, Richard Crescent, has been arrested for the murder of a colleague. Also in the series: Festering Lilies.

Yellow Roses, by Elizabeth Cullinan. Viking, 1977.
Stories of young women facing the trials and tribulations of mid-life passage.

The Blue Rose, by Anthony Eglin. St. Martin's, 2004.
After buying their dream cottage, a charming 19th-century house in Wiltshire, Alex and Kate Sheppard discover a rose bush with remarkable sapphire blue roses and quickly find themselves in a cut-throst web involving genetic experiments, coded journals, and murder.

Roses are Dead, by Loren D. Estleman. Mysterious, 1985.
In this sequel to Kill Zone, Detroit hit man Peter Macklin, who has severed his ties to the mob, is faced with a wife who wants to divorce him, a son who wants to follow in his footsteps, and an unknown enemy who wants him dead.

For the Roses, by Julie Garwood. 1996, 1995.
A rough gang of street urchins find an abandoned baby girl in a New York City alley, name her Mary Rose, and head for Montana, where they raise her as their "sister." Years later, their unusual but happy make-shift family is threatened by the arrival of a stranger.

The White Rose, by Jean Hanff. Miramax, 2004.
48-year-old history professor Marian Kahn is swept in to a passionate affair with flower shop owner Oliver, who is half her age and the son of her oldest friend. When she begins to pull back, he falls for Sophie, who is engaged to Marian's unctuous cousin, Barton. If all this sounds like the plot of some opera, you're right! Think Der Rosenkavalier.

Wild Roses, by Hannah Howell. Kensington, 1997.
Ella Carson must convince Harrigan Mahoney, who has been hired by her greedy relatives to bring her home to Philadelphia from her aunt's Wyoming home, that they only want to kill her for her inheritance.

Roses, Roses, by Bill James. Foul Play, 1998, 1993.
Before Megan Harpur can inform her husband, Detective Chief Superintendent Colin Harpur, that she is leaving him for another man, she is stabbed to death. Harpur is left to cope with the tragedy, and his teen-aged daughters while trying to solve his wife's murder.

A Rose for Virtue, by Norah Lofts. Doubleday, 1971.
This historical novel tells the story of Hortense, the daughter of Josephine Bonaparte.

A Matter of Roses, by David Manuel. Paraclete, 1999.
Childhood friends police chief Dan Burke and monk Brother Bartholomew (formerly Andrew Doane) join forces to solve the grisly murder of a CEO in the little harbor village of Eastport, Massachusetts.

Vanish with the Roses, by Barbara Michaels. 1993.
Posing as an expert gardener, lawyer Diana Reed appears at the Nicholson estate determined to find her missing younger brother, who worked there as a caretaker for the mansion's previous owners.

Days of Crime and Roses, by Kate Morgan. Berkley, 1992.
Dewey James travels to New York to visit her pal Jane, a patroness of the arts, and becomes involved solving the murder of the director of the Bentley Foundation.

Roses are Red, by James Patterson. LB, 2000.
While Det. Alex Cross matches wits with a brilliant and terrifying bank robbing mastermind, his personal relationships are in turmoil.

The Rose Rent, by Ellis Peters. Morrow, 1986.
In his 13^th adventure, Brother Cadfael investigates the murder of a priest making his abbey's annual rent payment to a wealthy widow-one white rose.

Snow on the Roses, by John R. Riggs. Barricade, 1996.
Right before Garth Ryland's small local newspaper was to serialize the memoirs of his friend and mentor, Dr. Airhart, the old man dies. Ryland soon realizes that the death may not have been natural and is somehow connected to a 30-year-old murder.

The Last of the Winter Roses, by Jeanne Savery. Walker, 1991.
Although her father has promised a thousand pounds to the man who gives him a grandson Lady Ardith is in no hurry to give in to the attentions of any man.

A Rose for the Crown, by Anne Easter Smith. S&S, 2006.
Kate, a humble farmer's daughter, has no idea that her life's path is about to become entwined with that of a king.

Rose, by Martin Cruz Smith. RH, 1996.
In Victorian England, engineer Jonathan Blair is asked by Bishop Hannay to investigate the disappearance of a curate (his daughter's fiancé) in the mining town of Wigan.

Bed of Roses, by Katherine Stone. Warner, 1998.
Due to a series of misunderstandings, lovers Cassandra and Chase separate. Years later, after Cassie is viciously assaulted, Chase comes back into her life. They try to re-connect while Cassie's attacker continues to stalk her.

Blood Roses, by Chelsea Quinn Yarbo. Tor, 1998.
In 14th-century France, the vampire Saint-Germain is caught amidst the devastation of the Black Plague.

The Rose in the Wheel, by S. K. Rizzolo. Poisoned Pen, 2002.
In early 19th century London, a gentlewoman is mowed down in the street and the death is called murder, Bow Street Runner John Chase joins forces with the accused's wife to learn the truth. This book will appeal to readers of historical mysteries and Regency romances.

The Seduction of the Crimson Rose, by Lauren Willig. Dutton, 2008.
Fourth entry in the "Pink Carnation" series.

ROSEMARY

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Crime, by Tamar Myers. Doubleday, 1995.
Amish innkeeper Magdalena Yoder isn't too keen to have a film crew on the premises making a movie about the murders that occurred at her guesthouse. And the assistant director turns up dead, she becomes the prime suspect.

The Rosemary Tree, by Elizabeth Goudge. H&S, 1956.
Once he was a famous author. Now, just released from prison, Michael Stone tries to put the pieces of his life back together in the village of Belmaray, where a former sweetheart who has married the kindly vicar lives.

SUNFLOWER

Sunflower, by Martha Powers. S&S, 1998.
A serial killer of young blonde girls in River Oaks taunts the law by leaving sunflower seeds or blooms at each crime scene. For Lt. Sheila Brady, who left the Milwaukee P.D. for a quieter life with her young daughter, the crime spree is about to become very personal.

The Sunflower Forest, by Torey L. Hayden. Putnam, 1984.
17-year-old Lesley is forced to contend with the pressures of her coming of age while her mother's dark and tragic past in Nazi Germany drives her to the brink of insanity.

The Sunflower Girl, by Sara Hylton. St. M., 1997.
In 1894 France, beautiful Marie Clair Moreau returns home to her family's humble farm for a holiday and becomes romantically involved with a dashing Englishman visiting her wealthy, noble neighbors. When their affair leaves her pregnant and abandoned, even by her family, Marie Clair becomes bitter and vengeful.

The Sunflower Plot, by John Sherwood. Scribner, 1991.
In need of funds, widow Celia Grant, a professional horticulturist and amateur sleuth, reluctantly agrees to design an Elizabethan garden for the obnoxious but rich Victor Stratton and soon finds herself digging into not just dirt, but a mysterious death.

The Sunflower, by Richard Paul Evans. S&S, 2005.
After Christine's fiance calls off the wedding a week before the nuptials are to take place, she joins her best friend on a humanitarian mission to work at a Peruvian orphanage. There she meets American doctor Paul Cook, whose promising medical career was destroyed, along with his faith, and the woman he loved with one fatal mistake. Events lead towards the promise of a future together, until Christine's ex has second thoughts.

TULIP

The Black Tulip, by Milt Bearden. RH, 1998.
As the Soviet Union starts to come apart, two agents are caught between national honor and the bonds of blood.

The Tulip Virus, by Danielle Hermans. Minotaru, 2010.
In 1636 Holland, a tulip-trader is found brutally murdered with an antireligious pamphlet stuffed in his mouth. In 2007 London, Dutchman Frank Schoeller is found near death with a 17th-century book about tulips in his hands. The victim's nephew and his antique dealer friend place their own lives in jeopardy to find the killer and unravel the mystery of the murder 400 years earlier.

The Golden Tulip, by Rosalind Laker. Three Rivers, 2007, 1991.
Francesca Visser's dreams of accepting an apprenticeship with the great artist Jan Vermeer and having a future with a tulip-grower named Pieter, are shattered when her father arranges a marriage between her and Ludolf Van Deventer, a wealthy and unscrupulous shipbroker, in order to pay back a gambling debt.

The Shy Tulip Murders, by Rebecca Rothenberg. Mysterious, 1996.
While fixing up her cabin in the San Joaquin Valley, Sr. Claire Sharples becomes involved with a group of environmentalists fighting loggers who have the rights to harvest the valley's stately sequoias. When she discovers a rare, endangered flower called the shy tulip living in the shadow of the sequoias, Claire thinks the battle is won. But theft and murder follow.

The Topless Tulip Caper, by Lawrence Block. A&B, 1984, 1975.
Chip Harrison, the teen-age assistant to Leon Haig, a famous detective, is sent out by his boss to investigate the murder of a topless dancer's roommate. Fourth in a series.

Tulip Fever, by Deborah Moggach. Delacorte, 2000.
In 1630s Amsterdam, a wealthy merchant commissions talented young artist Jan van Loos to paint a portrait of himself with his beautiful and much younger wife, Sophia. But as the work progresses, Jan and Sophia become lovers, and ultimately pin their hopes on escape by gambling all they have in the hopes of procuring the most perfect tulip bulb.

The Masque of the Black Tulip, by Lauren Willig. Dutton, 2005.
Sequel to The Secret History of the Pink Carnation.

VIOLET

The Third Violet, by Stephen Crane. 1897.
The love story of a bohemian New York City artist and a girl from the fashionable part of town.

Through Violet Eyes, by Stephen Woodworth. Dell, 2004.
In an alternative present day, the police call them "Violets"--people who have the ability to channel the dead and allow victims of crime to unmask their killers. But now a serial killer is preying upon the Violets and FBI agent Dan Atwater is paired with Natalie Lindstrom, a Violet, to unmask the stalker.

ZINNIA

Zinnia, by Jayne Castle (Jayne Ann Krentz). Pocket, 1977.
Second in the series (after Amaryllis) about a futuristic world where love and psychic powers entwine. Followed by Orchid (1998).

Created and maintained by: Lynne M. Kennedy.

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