Lavender Lies Bleeding: Spice Shop #9    by Leslie Budewitz Order:  USA  Can Seventh Street Books, 2026 (2026) Softcover, e-Book      Reviewed by Rheta Van Winkle Pepper Reece sells all things lavender in her Spice Shop, and all the lavender comes from Lavender Liz, whose product is the best in Salmon Falls, Washington. Pepper's assistant manager, Sandra, is going to retire soon, and new employees have been hired, so she worries about how she'll manage without Sandra's experience and help. A bright spot in Pepper's life is her boyfriend Nate Seward, a fisherman who seems to have all the good qualities that have been missing in her past relationships. She turned away from love and closeness after her last breakup. Now, she likes having Nate spend the night with her when he's in town, but she resists any further commitment. Pepper insists that she is happy with her shop, her friends, her family, and her wonderful dog, Arf. She is shocked when some of the greenhouse glass on Liz's farm is smashed, and she asks Liz what she can do to help. Many of the seedlings have been uprooted, but repairs must be made before much planting can take place. Liz tells her that her crew will be able to take care of the repairs and gives her a seedling in a pot, telling her to keep it safe and plant it in the largest pot she can find. Later on a visit to town, Liz is interrupted before she can explain why that lavender seedling is special. As they discuss the seemingly halfhearted efforts the police are making to find the person who messed up her farm, Liz makes Pepper promise to investigate if anything happens to her, because she trusts Pepper to do a thorough job. Sheriff Joe Aguilar doesn't want Pepper to interfere in the case before or after Liz dies, so she has to be careful when she talks to others about what happened. Even asking about the meaning of the 'farms are for farming' signs from people can cause problems. Joe accuses her of interfering as she tries to learn about everyone's relationship to Liz and lavender. The sale of Salter Farm is upsetting people, especially those with small farms and shops, and she believes that somehow that is connected to Liz's murder. There are a lot of characters with a helpful list at the beginning of the book. I still made notes about connections between people, trying to see if I could solve the mystery. It's always fun to try, but I ended up being surprised. Maybe readers of earlier Spice Shop mysteries by Leslie Budewitz will be able to figure it out themselves. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Mystery books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews