A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons by Kate Khavari: A review

First off, I must confess that I finished reading this book several days before I left town on my recent trip and so much has happened since then that I really find it hard to recall a lot about the plot. You might gather from that that it didn't make a lasting impression on me and you would be right in that conclusion. At the time that I finished it, I rated it as a three-star read which means that it was not terrible but not great. It was basically mediocre.

I read somewhere that this was the writer's second novel, but I can only find this one listed under her name, so I'm assuming that it was, in fact, her first. She is a Texas writer, living in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The time is 1923 and the place is London. Our protagonist, Saffron Erleigh, is a botanist at University College London. In this position, she is following in the footsteps of her late father. She is an assistant to Dr. Maxwell who is very supportive of her career ambitions. It's important that she has his support because she doesn't have that of her family from whom she is alienated.

The head of the botany department is Dr. Berking who is not a nice guy. He is a sexual harasser and Saffron does her best to steer clear of him whenever possible.

At a party for donors, faculty, and their spouses, Saffron meets a dishy and accomplished microbiologist named Alexander Ashton and we can sense immediately that this may develop into a romantic relationship. But also at the party, Saffron overhears a conversation detailing the many affairs of one of the professors, Dr. Henry. Soon after, she watches in horror as Mrs. Henry collapses and dies. Poison is suspected and soon confirmed.

A few days earlier, Dr. Maxwell had had an explosive argument with Dr. Henry and now he becomes the chief suspect in what is determined to have been murder. Maxwell had been scheduled to lead a large research expedition to the Amazon, but now he finds himself arrested and charged with murder. His plucky assistant, Saffron, is determined to prove his innocence and realizes she will have to do it on her own. She does however get a helping hand from that dashing microbiologist that she met earlier.

So what we have here is a romance/mystery with the emphasis a bit more on the romance side featuring a spunky and impetuous heroine. It was a quick read with a likable main character. It held my interest and certainly did not tax my brain cells; in other words, it was a nearly perfect summer read. The chapters were short and the action moved along at a steady clip. But the characters were all pretty one-dimensional and frankly, I can't even recall most of them. I know there were others besides Saffron, Dr. Maxwell, Alexander, and the Henrys, but they are only a blur to me now.

Still, not every book is Pulitzer-worthy but they can still be entertaining for a short while, if not particularly memorable in the long run. This one met those criteria.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no...

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try. ...

Poetry Sunday: Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney

My mother was a farm wife and a prodigious canner. She canned fruit and vegetables from the garden, even occasionally meat. But the best thing that she canned, in my opinion, was blackberry jam. Even as I type those words my mouth waters! Of course, before she could make that jam, somebody had to pick the blackberries. And that somebody was quite often named Dorothy. I think Seamus Heaney might have spent some time among the briars plucking those delicious black fruits as well, so he would have known that "Once off the bush the fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour." They don't keep; you have to get that jam made in a hurry! Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney Late August, given heavy rain and sun For a full week, the blackberries would ripen. At first, just one, a glossy purple clot Among others, red, green, hard as a knot. You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet Like thickened wine: summer's blood was in it Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust ...

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