The Walled Flower

 I had started this series a few years ago and enjoyed the premise of the small square full of shops where the shopkeepers looked out for one another.   I picked up on the series again this year when I decided to read this book from my TBR pile.   I have enjoyed reading this book and the next few in the series featuring Katie Bonner.  I don't always like her as a character but the storylines are interesting and the ensemble cast is well written and endearing.  The emotional reactions given to the characters and the situations do feel authentic.  All in all the series is a good one.

The Walled Flower by Lorraine Bartlett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the 2nd book in the Victoria Square series. I read the first a while ago so I had forgotten the plot details. There are many references to the previous mystery without details which made it fine to skip. Unfortunately I found it a bit annoying to be unable to recall the details but then have the repeated reminder of the murder. This is one of the reasons I only gave it a 3 star rating. The other factors are I find Katie a bit annoying at times. I don’t feel as though her relationship with Andy is sincere and it feels like she’s using him sometimes especially when it comes to her living arrangements.
The mystery itself is good and I appreciated the complexity and the multi layers of the crime and the guilty party. I do plan to continue to read the series and hopefully Katie will grow on me

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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Finishing the Series   #FinishingTheSeries2021 Victoria Square #2
2. Mount TBR   #MountTBR2021  Book #14
3. Back List Reader  #Backlistreader  Book #105
4. Calendar of Crime  #CalendarOfCrime2021   
5. Cruisin thru Cozies  Free choice #60
6. Cloak & Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal  Book #90
7. Craving for Cozies  Book #77
8. Medical Examiner Challenge  3 Toe Tags
9. Beachcomber Challenge  
• Crime Scenes 
• Row 3
• Cliff, roof, high place

Row 4

Street or sidewalk
Row 5

Bedroom

• Weapons
• Row 2 
• Hand gun
• Row 4
• Push or fall
• Pillow, smother, asphyxiation
• Detectives- Katie
• Victims-Barbie/Angie/Jeremy
10. Six Shooter Challenge  Target #67  Shot #6