A Mystery in Bloom: Murder in the Marigolds (An Alice Bloom Cozy Mystery—Book 1)

By Fiona Grace

For landscape designer Alice Bloom, plants are more than just her job—they are her passion. But her latest project turns grim when a despised socialite is found dead in an Italian villa's garden—and Alice, finding herself blamed for the crime, has no choice but to solve it herself.

Drawing on her own extensive botanical knowledge, Alice must dig through the layers of aristocratic secrets and intrigue to unearth the killer, and to clear her name before it’s too late. But a new romance may just have her distracted with other things…

A Mystery in Bloom: Murder in the Marigolds (An Alice Bloom Cozy Mystery—Book 1) is the first novel in a new series by cozy mystery author Fiona Grace.

The Alice Bloom series is a page-turning, charming cozy mystery that invites you into a picturesque setting, packed with humor, romance, and surprise twists and turns. You’ll be up well past bedtime as you fall in love your new favorite female protagonist.

Future books in the series are also available!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fiona Grace
• Release date: Apr 27, 2024
• ISBN: 9781094384900

Book preview

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A MYSTERY IN BLOOM:

MURDER IN THE MARIGOLDS

(An Alice Bloom Cozy Mystery—Book One)

FIONA GRACE

Fiona Grace

Fiona Grace is author of the LACEY DOYLE COZY MYSTERY series, comprising nine books; of the TUSCAN VINEYARD COZY MYSTERY series, comprising seven books; of the DUBIOUS WITCH COZY MYSTERY series, comprising three books; of the BEACHFRONT BAKERY COZY MYSTERY series, comprising six books; of the CATS AND DOGS COZY MYSTERY series, comprising nine books; of the ELIZA MONTAGU COZY MYSTERY series, comprising nine books (and counting); of the ENDLESS HARBOR ROMANTIC COMEDY series, comprising nine books (and counting); of the INN AT DUNE ISLAND ROMANTIC COMEDY series, comprising five books (and counting); of the INN BY THE SEA ROMANTIC COMEDY series, comprising five books (and counting); of the MAID AND THE MANSION COZY MYSTERY series, comprising five books (and counting); of the ALICE BLOOM COZY MYSTERY series, comprising five books (and counting).

Fiona would love to hear from you, so please visit www.fionagraceauthor.com to receive free ebooks, hear the latest news, and stay in touch.

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Copyright © 2024 by Fiona Grace. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the author. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally.

BOOKS BY FIONA GRACE

THE MAID AND THE MANSION COZY MYSTERY

A MYSTERIOUS MURDER (Book #1)

A SCANDALOUS DEATH (Book #2)

A MISSING GUEST (Book #3)

AN UNSOLVABLE CRIME (Book #4)

AN IMPOSSIBLE HEIST (Book #5)

INN BY THE SEA ROMANTIC COMEDY

A NEW LOVE (Book #1)

A NEW CHANCE (Book #2)

A NEW HOME (Book #3)

A NEW LIFE (Book #4)

A NEW ME (Book #5)

THE INN AT DUNE ISLAND ROMANTIC COMEDY

A CHANCE LOVE (Book #1)

A CHANCE FALL (Book #2)

A CHANCE ROMANCE (Book #3)

A CHANCE CHRISTMAS (Book #4)

A CHANCE ENGAGEMENT (Book #5)

ENDLESS HARBOR ROMANTIC COMEDY

ALWAYS, WITH YOU (Book #1)

ALWAYS, FOREVER (Book #2)

ALWAYS, PLUS ONE (Book #3)

ALWAYS, TOGETHER (Book #4)

ALWAYS, LIKE THIS (Book #5)

ALWAYS, FATED (Book #6)

ALWAYS, FOR LOVE (Book #7)

ALWAYS, JUST US (Book #8)

ALWAYS, IN LOVE (Book #9)

ELIZA MONTAGU COZY MYSTERY

MURDER AT THE HEDGEROW (Book #1)

A DALLOP OF DEATH (Book #2)

CALAMITY AT THE BALL (Book #3)

A SPEAKEASY DEMISE (Book #4)

A FLAPPER FATALITY (Book #5)

BUMPED BY A DAME (Book #6)

A DOLL’S DEBACLE (Book #7)

A FELLA’S RUIN (Book #8)

A GAL’S OFFING (Book #9)

LACEY DOYLE COZY MYSTERY

MURDER IN THE MANOR (Book#1)

DEATH AND A DOG (Book #2)

CRIME IN THE CAFE (Book #3)

VEXED ON A VISIT (Book #4)

KILLED WITH A KISS (Book #5)

PERISHED BY A PAINTING (Book #6)

SILENCED BY A SPELL (Book #7)

FRAMED BY A FORGERY (Book #8)

CATASTROPHE IN A CLOISTER (Book #9)

TUSCAN VINEYARD COZY MYSTERY

AGED FOR MURDER (Book #1)

AGED FOR DEATH (Book #2)

AGED FOR MAYHEM (Book #3)

AGED FOR SEDUCTION (Book #4)

AGED FOR VENGEANCE (Book #5)

AGED FOR ACRIMONY (Book #6)

AGED FOR MALICE (Book #7)

DUBIOUS WITCH COZY MYSTERY

SKEPTIC IN SALEM: AN EPISODE OF MURDER (Book #1)

SKEPTIC IN SALEM: AN EPISODE OF CRIME (Book #2)

SKEPTIC IN SALEM: AN EPISODE OF DEATH (Book #3)

BEACHFRONT BAKERY COZY MYSTERY

BEACHFRONT BAKERY: A KILLER CUPCAKE (Book #1)

BEACHFRONT BAKERY: A MURDEROUS MACARON (Book #2)

BEACHFRONT BAKERY: A PERILOUS CAKE POP (Book #3)

BEACHFRONT BAKERY: A DEADLY DANISH (Book #4)

BEACHFRONT BAKERY: A TREACHEROUS TART (Book #5)

BEACHFRONT BAKERY: A CALAMITOUS COOKIE (Book #6)

CATS AND DOGS COZY MYSTERY

A VILLA IN SICILY: OLIVE OIL AND MURDER (Book #1)

A VILLA IN SICILY: FIGS AND A CADAVER (Book #2)

A VILLA IN SICILY: VINO AND DEATH (Book #3)

A VILLA IN SICILY: CAPERS AND CALAMITY (Book #4)

A VILLA IN SICILY: ORANGE GROVES AND VENGEANCE (Book #5)

A VILLA IN SICILY: CANNOLI AND A CASUALTY (Book #6)

ALICE BLOOM COZY MYSTERY

MURDER IN THE MARIGOLDS (Book #1)

RUIN IN THE ROSES (Book #2)

DECEIT IN THE DAFFODILS (Book #3)

SCANDAL IN THE SAFFRON (Book #4)

CATASTROPHE IN THE CARNATIONS (Book #5)

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

CHAPTER ONE

Alice Bloom held her wide-brimmed hat on her head as a playful breeze tried to snatch it away and send it sailing out into the California hills. She surveyed the finished product of the last few months of her work.

Not bad, kiddo. Not bad.

The California honeysuckle — Lonicera hispidula — she had selected for its resilience and vibrancy seemed to nod in approval as she passed, its blooms an exuberant riot against the  latticed woodwork. She inhaled, savoring the sweet aroma.

Marvelous, isn't it? a baritone voice called out, rich with satisfaction.

Startled from her botanical reverie, Alice turned to see her client beaming at her like a child in a candy store. Mr. Hawthorne, who unlike Alice had the manicured hands of someone who didn’t spend his life digging in the dirt, was dressed impeccably even for this casual stroll through the greenery. The blue cashmere sweater he wore over pressed khakis along with his Prada loafers probably cost more than Alice’s monthly rent and were in definite contrast to her own overalls and gardening clogs, but here he was, dark brown eyes squinting in the sunlight, looking utterly delighted by the landscape before him.

Your work transcends simple gardening, Miss Bloom, he continued, gesturing expansively as if trying to embrace the entire garden. It's immersive. It's... it's like stepping into a living painting. I feel like I’m walking through Monet’s garden.

Thank you, Mr. Hawthorne, for the compliment and the opportunity, Alice replied with a smile that crinkled the corners of her eyes. She let her gaze wander across the patchwork of colors blooming beneath the trellises. She had truly poured herself into this landscaping job. It might be the best expression of her gardening philosophy that she’d ever achieved. There was a balance of the wild and natural with design concepts of order and flow. Not every client allows me so much leeway.

Hawthorne had given her a free hand to do whatever she wanted in these gardens. Everything she’d planted here had a purpose and worked together to create a whole that was greater than the sum of its parts. Aspects of it were absolutely about beauty and aesthetics. She knew how to use purple lupine to make yellow monkey flowers pop and how to use native grasses to add some height without overwhelming the sprawling rosemary bushes next to them. There were a lot of landscape designers who could do that, though.

What Alice brought to the table was that underneath the aesthetics was a keen appreciation of how nature worked. Every plant had been chosen to support the ecosystem and each other, from the tiniest insect under her feet to the birds soaring above them.  She built a foundation with plants that were meant to be there that made a safe home for everything else.

 What really thrills me is the challenge of creating a space that's sustainable—that goes beyond the immediate 'wow' factor. She gestured towards a clump of California poppies swaying near the garden's edge intermingled with Bachelor’s Buttons. Take these beauties, for instance. They're more than a splash of vibrant orange against a sea of blue; they're a lifeline for local pollinators and a hardy choice that conserves water.

That hadn’t always been her focus. There’d been a long time when she’d spent her time globetrotting and going on botanical adventures, discovering rare species, and new uses for plants. She’d thought that would be her life forever. But her goals had diverged from those of the man she’d thought she would spend her life with. Every trip they took, every new place they went, Alice became more and more interested in the plants themselves and their world while he became more and more interested in what plants could give to him, especially financially. The end of that relationship was still a tender sore spot she tried not to push on too hard or too often. 

 Both practical and beautiful. Mr. Hawthorne nodded. It’s that kind of thinking that made we want to hire your firm in the first place and you did not disappoint.

Alice waved his words away. A lot of it is observation. Nature has a way of designing things. You just have to stop to see what it has created. After all, who am I to argue with millions of years of trial and error? 

I've heard the local bees have been buzzing about your choice of flora. Apparently, your garden is the new hotspot in town for our pollinating friends! He leaned in and waggled his eyebrows as if he was sharing a secret.

Mr. Hawthorne's enthusiasm was so infectious that even the bees seemed to be eavesdropping with interest. She watched a few zigzagging between blossoms, their tiny bodies laden with pollen.

Supporting the local bee population is one of the sweetest perks of the job, she giggled at her silly joke, but then became serious. They're essential workers in their own right—nature's little gardeners. Sustaining them means we sustain our food supplies and so much more.

Indeed, indeed, Mr. Hawthorne agreed, nodding sagely as though discussing matters of international diplomacy rather than insect activity. I may well start a boutique honey business to go along with my wines. He gestured at the vineyard that climbed the rolling hills in the distance.

Hawthorne Vineyards’ limited-production wines were widely sought after by the oenophiles who flocked to Napa Valley. I’m sure you’d find a market for that! Alice said. Along with the wine-drinkers, foodies also loved this area of California and the way so many of the chefs focused on local produce and foods.

Well, my dear, consider me thoroughly impressed. This garden... it's a sanctuary. For us, for the bees, for anyone fortunate enough to step foot in it. He plucked a sprig of lavender and twirled it between his fingers, the calming scent surrounding them.

Thanks again. Alice beamed with pride. Her gardens were her legacy, tangible proof that beauty and function could coexist harmoniously. She should probably take a photo. If her sister Daisy were here, she'd no doubt be whipping out her phone for a spontaneous photoshoot, declaring the scene 'Instagram gold.’ Alice could already imagine her sister's post, captioned with something like, Bees adore Alice's florals—and so do we! accompanied by a string of bee and flower emojis and all sorts of creative hashtags.

But before Alice could fully indulge in her mental image of Daisy's imaginary social media campaign, reality buzzed back into focus with the gentle vibration of her phone from within her pocket. Duty called, every bit as insistent as the hum of the bees.

Excuse me one moment, Alice said, her hand slipping into her overall’s pocket to retrieve the culprit. This could be important.

Of course, take your time, Mr. Hawthorne responded, his attention momentarily snagged by a ruby-throated hummingbird darting through the air like a feathered acrobat.

Hello? Alice answered after checking the Caller ID and stepping away. Her shadow stretched long across the pathway, a single figure detached from the living tapestry she'd woven. The day was waning. She’d need to get to the airport soon for her return trip home, but it was never wise to ignore a phone call from one’s boss. Owen, to what do I owe the pleasure? Her tone held a wry note. Owen wasn’t the easiest man to work for.

Ah, Bloom, you're going to love this, Owen's voice crackled through the phone, his excitement palpable even through the static of distance. We've just landed a commission in the Italian Riviera. And not just any patch of land – it's Villa Belladonna, owned by none other than Anastasia Velluci herself.

A frown played across Alice’s lips, her eyebrows knitting together in concentration. The name struck a chord, but it took her a second to place it. Once she did, Alice gasped. Anastasia Velluci was as notorious for her social maneuvers as she was for her extravagant soirées. Gossip and tales about her spread through high society like kudzu. The Anastasia Velluci? Alice echoed. The Villa Belladonna?

Images of the villa with its classic Italianate design that she’d seen online danced before her eyes.

Indeed, Owen confirmed, a trace of smugness creeping into his voice. It was a big fish to land, but land it we did. She specifically requested us, Bloom. Or should I say, she requested you. Your reputation is blooming far beyond the States, my dear. You’re getting famous.

Alice's heart performed a curious little flip. To be sought out by someone with Anastasia's clout was flattering, but the thought of diving straight into another big project left her uneasy. That's... incredible, Owen, she managed, her voice trailing off like a vine seeking support.

Think of the possibilities, Alice! The plants, the design, the prestige! Owen was practically buzzing more than the bees that Mr. Hawthorne so admired. We need to get your red head onto a plane to Italy and we need to do it fast.

Alice paused, pressing the phone tighter to her ear as if proximity could grant clarity. It's an honor, truly. But... She glanced back at the garden. It was so tranquil, so peaceful. She wanted a moment to rest in that feeling before whirling away as Owen was proposing. I was hoping to take some time off, Owen. This project— She gestured at the garden he couldn’t see —it took a lot out of me.

She’d loved her time in California, but she wanted to spend a little time at home in New England before jetting off to the next project.

Time off? Owen's tone soured like a man who had just bitten into an unripe persimmon. But Bloom, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Exactly why I need a breather before I dive in, Alice countered, I’m not saying no. I’m saying not right now. I need some time to refill my creative well, Owen. Villa Belladonna is the kind of project I would need to go into at the very top of my game, not exhausted.

There was a beat of silence on the line, during which Alice imagined Owen's brow furrowing in disbelief.

Recharge quickly then, came his eventual, gruff reply. Alice could almost hear the cogs turning in his head, recalibrating. Don't take too long. Opportunities like this have a way of wilting if not tended to immediately. It’s the start of shoulder season in the Italian Riviera, the perfect time to plant. We don’t have time to waste.

Understood, Alice said. Her gaze lingered fondly on a cluster of lavender swaying softly in the coastal breeze. Just seconds ago, she'd been  calmed by its scent. Now her stomach was in knots.