Helpful Score: 1
I really enjoyed this book and the story of the lady's slipper and how it meant so much to people and what lengths they would go to to have it, keep it, use it or make a profit from it. Lots of interesting facts about the Quakers and how they came to be. A really good read.
Helpful Score: 1
This book has some unique elements and is centered around the theft of a lady's slipper orchid. The characters are fairly well drawn, the author has done her research and the writing is descriptive. Ultimately, however, the story suffers from too much description and not enough action. The first 200 pages focus on the theft of an orchid plant (a type which is very rare in the English setting) from the wild and the resulting aftermath. I like plants as much as the next person, perhaps even more so, as I have a degree in botany, but even I started thinking "ok, she stole the orchid, get on with it". The flower takes center stage here, but there is too much soul searching and not enough botany to make it interesting from that perspective. The second half of the novel makes a murder trial seem almost petty compared to the theft of the orchid, and a subplot of Quaker theology comes off as preachy. I really wanted to like this book, but ultimately could not get past the slow pacing and predictable conclusion. This is the author's first work, and she shows promise; I would be interested in trying her books again, hopefully with some tighter editing. (Note: This review was based on an Advanced Readers' Edition.)
