Exotic plants, enough food to make your stomach growl and the cozy mystery genre’s most unique murder combine to deliver a breathtakingly original, humorous, fascinating college campus-based mystery in Kira Seamon’s Dead Cereus.
Both heartwarming and hilarious, Dead Cereus follows pandemonium-prone “Hurricane Holly” on the night of Shellesby College’s Night Lights Gala, where the rare night-blooming cereus plant is scheduled to open its petals. Holly is there, hoping to impress the professors and secure her college scholarship, which is hanging by a thread. But in an unexpected turn of events, Holly finds herself smackdab in the middle of a murder investigation that not only threatens her scholarship, but also her life … and that of her rival.
Holly’s boyfriend, William Smith, the swoon-worthy and ingenious master gardener taking care of all the rare plants in the hothouse, remains steadfastly by Holly’s side as she races against the clock to save herself and her arch nemesis while catching a murderer.
With Holly’s scholarship hanging in the balance, her gorgeous rival batting eyes at William, a competition for a coveted internship and the body of a professor, Holly is juggling much more than a typical college course load. Can she handle the heat in the hothouse, or is she headed for a spectacular meltdown?
With vivid, botanical references, unforgettable characters and a blooming romance adding lush layers atop the cozy mystery genre’s most unique murder mystery, Dead Cereus draws readers into a surprisingly funny narrative set against the backdrop of academia.
“This is the ultimate escape book with an epic romance and a fantastic, unique mystery rolled into one hilarious story,” Seamon says. “In fact, it just might be the funniest book you’ve read all year!”
About the Author
Born and raised in Hawaii, Kira Seamon is a multi award-winning scholar, dancer, choreographer, photographer, visual artist, pianist and author. She’s had over 50 newspaper cover stories about her art. Her Patriot Ledger arts cover story (voted New England’s best regional paper), was picked up and published online/print in 123 towns, or the entire eastern half of Massachusetts.
She has choregraphed over 100 dance pieces, including solos, duets and large ensemble, evening-length works. She was an Editors’ Choice for Video of the Month in Dance Teacher magazine and an Editors’ and Viewers’ Choice for a Future Star of the Month in Dance Spirit magazine. In a 10-year dance competition career, she won a national dance title, two regional dance titles, along with 18 awards, including Platinum awards and special awards from the judges. All of this culminated in her receiving the prestigious Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award, for which she appeared in the Wall Street Journal in 2020. Dead Cereus is her first novel.
For more information, please visit www.kiraseamonauthor.com, or follow the author on Facebook (@authorkiraseamon), Twitter (@KiraSeamon) or Instagram (authorkiraseamon).
Dead Cereus
Release Date: January 18, 2022
ISBN-13: 979-8985095609
Available from Amazon.com