Pages & Poison

When a century-old botanical conspiracy turns deadly at Mockingbird Bay's inaugural garden festival, bookshop owner Lila Hart discovers that some family secrets have roots deep enough to kill for. The town's first Rare Book and Garden Festival should be the perfect celebration of botanical art and literary preservation. But when renowned illustrator Claire Gardner is poisoned during the exhibition preview, Lila realizes someone will kill to keep authentication questions buried along with the victims. As Lila investigates Claire's concerns about forged botanical illustrations, she uncovers a multi-generational conspiracy involving stolen research, pharmaceutical fortunes, and a network of families who have spent nearly a century covering up intellectual theft with murder. When the investigation reveals that Isabella Gardner—Claire's famous grandmother—was killed in 1945 to silence her complaints about appropriated botanical knowledge, Lila must expose the truth before the conspirators eliminate everyone who threatens their profitable legacy. With Sheriff Cooper Reid by her side and her grandmother's hidden archive providing crucial evidence, Lila races to protect festival visitors from chemical weapons attacks while preserving documentation that could bring justice for decades of suppressed scientific research. But when the conspiracy escalates, Lila discovers that some people will use any means necessary to protect generational wealth built on stolen knowledge. This is the fifth installment in the Bookmarked Mystery series.