Saffron Everleigh Mystery: Book 5
Publication Date: June 9, 2026
Brilliant botanist Saffron Everleigh has set sail on her first research expedition, but it’s disrupted by accusations of murder when one of her fellow scientists is murdered in this daring fifth installment.
Saffron Everleigh is newly engaged and full of optimism as she sets off on the adventure of a lifetime for any scientist: a research expedition. She sails to newly formed Turkey with her fiancé, Alexander Ashton, and a bevy of fellow researchers under the watchful and reformed eye of Dr. Henry. With only two other women on board, Saffron soon finds she is right back in the same infuriatingly misogynistic environment that marked the earliest days of her career. Only this time, Saffron is determined to show everyone, including Alexander, that she can handle the trials of an expedition.
And trials she has in spades. Before the expedition team has even arrived, Saffron has managed to find an enemy in historian Joseph Clark, who frequently torments the assistant that Saffron has taken under her wing, Martin Neill. But when Martin unexpectedly dies, Saffron is targeted as the main suspect.
Falling ruins, venomous snakes, and mysteriously blocked passages are the least of Saffron’s worries. With unexpected help from a familiar face, Alexander and Saffron have to work fast to prove not only that Saffron is innocent but that they both have nothing to do with a larger conspiracy at play among the expedition crew.
Saffron Everleigh is ready for a new adventure in Turkey, but murder is right around the corner in A Botanist’s Guide to Tradition and Treachery by Kate Khavari.
Saffron and her new fiancé, Alexander Ashton, are traveling to Turkey together, joining an expedition team ready for a new adventure. However, the trip has already started rocky for Saffron. Joseph Clark is determined to make this expedition her own personal hell, tormenting her at every turn. However, she finds friendship in a kind assistant, Martin Neill.
The expedition is going well, but suddenly, excavated items start going missing, and things go from bad to worse when Martin takes ill. When Martin dies, suspicion turns to Saffron. To prove her innocence, Saffron and Alexander must figure out who harmed Martin. Filled with twists and turns, can Alexander free Saffron before she goes to the gallows?
This was my first time reading a Saffron Everleigh Mystery, and I really enjoyed it. I loved Khavari’s writing. She was able to give a lot of information that could be heavy, making it easy to read. I enjoyed the relationship between Saffron and Alexander and found that, even though I hadn’t read the other books, it was very easy to pick up.
However, I did struggle with the story’s plot. I was able to guess who the killer would be, even before the victim was killed. I also found the story very slow-going. I just kept waiting for someone to finally die! Also, while I know that Clark was meant to be a horrible person, he was so horrible that I didn’t even want to read about him. He just made me angry! The writing, however, saved this story for me and made me want to continue with the series.
A Botanist’s Guide to Tradition and Treachery brings you back in time and opens a world of mystery and scheming with twists and turns on every page.
Kate Khavari is the author of fiction ranging from historical mysteries to high fantasy epics. She has her parents to thank for her fascination for historical mysteries, as she spent the majority of her childhood memorizing Sherlock Holmes’s and Poirot’s greatest quips. She lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas with her husband, children, and a lovely garden that contains absolutely no poisonous plants.
