The deadliest bouquet by erica schultz

Illustrated by Carola Borelli,  Gab Contreras, and Tom Chu

​Three sisters - Rose, Poppy, and Violet - try to solve the mystery of the murder of their mother, Jasmine. Jasmine and Rose ran a flower shop together, but previously, Jasmine hunted Nazis in World War II, and even brought home an older pistol as a trophy. She trained all of her daughters to be fighters, even to regard each other as competitors and enemies, in order to strengthen them for the violent world they would grow into. Now, Poppy is married with two kids, Violet has a successful modeling career, and none of them speak to each other nor use the fighting skills they honed. But, they come together and try to follow leads faster than the detective on the case so they can deliver their own brand of justice to whoever murdered their mother.

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The first four chapters of this book are really satisfying and build up a great amount of suspense. I was with the sisters through every step and clue, and I especially liked the touches about Jasmine's past in World War II. But, the ending was a pretty huge let-down, and it's really coloring the rest of the book for me. Perhaps the author is trying to make a statement about generational trauma and critique how the mother raised her three daughters, but I also could be grasping at hidden meanings to try to make it more satisfying. It seems like the series got cut short and this was the failsafe ending that could lead to a “tidy” resolution.

There is some cussing and violence, so this might be better for older readers.

Sara's Rating: 6/10
Suitability Level: Grades 11-12

Publisher: Image Comics
Publication Date: April 25, 2023
ISBN: 9781534324893 (Paperback)

​Tags: Rating: 6/10, Suitability: High School, Comicbooks, Action Adventure, Family, Mystery, ​Image Comics