Flowers of Evil by N.L. Holmes
Who would want to murder a florist? Especially the florist in charge of floral offerings to Amen-Ra, supreme deity of all Egypt? Award-winning author N.L. Holmes launches her latest fantasy novel Flowers of Evil (Wayback Press) with this question, devising twists and turns that make us suspect just about every character and alibi presented before the answer finally reveals itself.
This cozy mystery — set in Egypt during the first regnal years of King Tut-ankh-amen and within the context of a devoted high-society Egyptian family — offers a well-textured and engaging view of social hierarchies, religious beliefs, family dynamics, politics and the rich material culture that supported Egyptian life circa 1335 BCE.
Holy Florist’s Mysterious Death
As the book opens, 24-year-old Neferet and her beloved partner Bener-ib have just left lucrative jobs as royal physicians for Queen Nefertiti to open a medical dispensary that aims to serve the modest working-class neighborhood of Waset. With high hopes that even the poorest workman will receive proper medical care, these well-trained women have yet to receive a client.
But then a bloody man — Chief Florist of the Hidden One’s temple — is dragged in by two associates and his distraught wife and after uttering one mysterious word he dies on the spot. The mystery begins.
The severity of his wounds suggests a professional killing. In wanting to do the right thing Neferet — along with Bener-ib and their fearless teenage apprentice who is also their adopted daughter — resolves to uncover the significance of his last word and how it might help solve the crime.
They start at the crime scene itself, where flowers stretch out before us, as vividly as if we were there.
“Whatever it lacked in mature shade trees, the area more than made up for in floral splendor. Among their irrigation runnels, the beds were densely planted in blocks of color — white chamomile and gold calendulas, blue cornflowers and even the butterfly-delicate wings of scarlet poppies. … such profusion; one couldn’t even see the ground between the plants. It’s clear a florist lived here. Beneath the young sun of an early summer morning, the blooms shook their perfumed locks and delicious scents rose like incense.”
The flowers yield no obvious answers, putting Neferet and family in hot pursuit of every lead they can uncover. Their biggest obstacles come from Neferet’s father Hani who fears for his youngest daughter’s safety and with good reason. Answers come at a price.
Ancient Egypt Comes to Life
Flowers of Evil is written in a sensual and immersive third-person narrative, with strong pacing, rich visuals and clearly elucidated character motivation and relationships. Ancient Egypt comes across as a patriarchal society for sure but nuanced by self-actualized women — literate and pragmatic — who face challenges with courage and energy. Absorbing to the last word, the novel imagines a vibrant world that brings ancient Egypt to life.
While Flowers of Evil may easily be read on its own, it is the first of a new series, Hani’s Daughter Mysteries. It picks up shortly after Pilot Who Knows, the last in Holmes’ previous six-book series entitled Lord Hani Mysteries, where Hani — Neferet’s father and Egyptian diplomat — gets himself caught up in the political intrigue of the Hittite Empire. Hani’s Daughter Mysteries feature Neferet and continued focus on family in the new reign of King Tut.
About N.L. Holmes:
N.L. Holmes is the pen name of a professional archaeologist who received her doctorate from Bryn Mawr College. She has excavated in Greece and in Israel, and taught ancient history and humanities at the university level for many years. She has always had a passion for books, and in childhood, she and her cousin (also a writer today) used to write stories for fun.
The inspiration for her Bronze Age novels came with an assignment she gave to her students one day: here are the only documents we have telling us about a certain royal divorce in Ugarit in the 13th century. How much can we say about what happened? It quickly became apparent that almost anything we might come up with was as much fiction as historiography!
Today, since their son is grown, she lives with her husband, three cats and a dog. They split their time between Florida and northern France, where she gardens, weaves, plays the violin, dances, and occasionally drives a jog-cart. And reads, of course.
