I read the second entry in this series and liked it well enough to go back and read this first book. I liked it even better. However, the coverage of child abuse is included in a particularly graphic way, which is difficult to read. ( )

Shelf awareness.

This was actually pretty good. I liked the characters - Heloise and Schafer start this series with busy lives and families when they get thrown together to look into a 3yo unsolved murder. Heloise is majorly distracted at her job - her story about a businessman turns out to have been based on a bad source, and maybe she’s having a personal relationship with that source? Uh oh. Is he trustworthy?

And then there are short blips of chapters with Anna Kiel, who was suspected of being the murderer. What is she up to, why is she writing to Heloise? And why has the reporter who looked into the murder dropped out of sight, why is he afraid to talk to Heloise about it?

Anyway, lots happening. And then it starts to maybe be all about something else, and it’s really personal for Heloise. I liked how she and Schafer worked together to figure this out. ( )

Fuck yeah! Ahem, excuse me but I love the way this book ended.

I'm currently ignoring the pleading eyes of my dogs who are clearly starving so I can write this quick review. It took me a few starts to get into the story but once I did, I couldn't put it away.

I love a mystery that has me clueless more than halfway through. And the predictions I did come up with were way off. That doesn't happen very often, unfortunately. Along with some nice twists and turns, The Corpse Flower is also very dark. Which I didn't expect. I don't remember what the blurb said when I requested it on NetGalley, but I'm pretty sure it didn't give away anything of substance because I might not have given it a shot if I'd known what brought the killer and the journalist together.

To be honest, I see myself giving this one a reread at some point. I'm sure there are bits here and there that I missed. As well as keeping an eye open for the next in the series.

Big thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for hooking me up with the audiobook. Oh! The narrator was very good, too. Bonus! ( )

Excellent new author. This book has deep characters and an exciting, twisting plot. There should be a trigger warning, but that would give away too much. ( )

I love the title of this murder mystery, The Corpse Flower by Anne Mette Hancock. It summarizes the main theme of the story. A corpse flower is connected to death. It symbolizes a situation in which something is not quite right.
There are two main characters: Heloise Kaldan, who covers business and consumer issues for a newspaper and Anna Kiel, a suspect in the stabbing death of a prominent lawyer.
The author engaged my interest in the opening chapter. She introduces Anna but doesn’t give us any concrete information about her. Anna is mysterious. Her main purpose is to peek Heloise’s curiosity so that she will become engaged in research as to why Anna is interested in her.. Heloise is resistant. As the letters that Anna sends her become more cryptic and she feels more threatened, she is forced to uncover why Anna insists that there is connection between the two of them.They are both women who have emotional issues that they need to resolve.
Throughout the main body of the story, even though there is less information about Anna, I felt more sympathy about her character than about Heloise.
The author did a good job organizing the plot and creating tension.
I would definitely recommend this book. ( )