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Book Review of Blue Poppy (Venus Diamond, Bk 2)

Blue Poppy (Venus Diamond, Bk 2)
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Helpful Score: 1


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Moody's second novel with Federal Fish and Wildlife Agent Venus Diamond opens with a rash of murders in and near a fragile meadow in Yodeler National Wildlife Preserve, on the coast of the Olympic Peninsula. Because the first murder took place on federal land, Diamond and a team of agents initiate the investigation. As more murders occur, Diamond must determine whether the suspects and motives are connected to a perfume business that produces the rare blue-poppy scent, the peninsula's endangered flora and fauna, or a proposal to the secretary of interior to sell the meadow. Although Moody's writing could be leaner, Blue Poppy is filled with interesting facts about the Pacific Northwest and the perfume and fashion industries. In addition, the novel is an intriguing mix of environmental thriller and police procedural, with sympathetic characters; gritty, realistic portraits of police work and bureaucratic politics; and an unexpected solution to the mystery