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Mystery Flowers
Touched by anonymous gifts of flowers, Diana wonders who the mystery giver is. Can it be that he knows of her despair...and plans to help her?
309 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 1936
60 people are currently reading
153 people want to read
About the author
Grace Livingston Hill
574 books565 followersalso wrote under the pseudonym Marcia MacDonald
also published under the name Grace Livingston Hill Lutz
A popular author of her day, she wrote over 100 novels and numerous short stories of religious and Christian fiction. Her characters were most often young female ingénues, frequently strong Christian women or those who become so within the confines of the story.
niece to Isabella MacDonald Alden
also published under the name Grace Livingston Hill Lutz
A popular author of her day, she wrote over 100 novels and numerous short stories of religious and Christian fiction. Her characters were most often young female ingénues, frequently strong Christian women or those who become so within the confines of the story.
niece to Isabella MacDonald Alden
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
January 3, 2024
Rich girl / evil stepmother trope again with boy next door being right there all along...this is one of Grace's more common plot devices and while it's not my favorite, there's enough to Dianna's life and story that I was compelled to read anyway.
I always love Grace's books even when the plot is over the top and somewhat contrived. Maybe because it's so far outside reality, and is melodramatic at times while still giving you something to think about spiritually. This is my comfort food, which means it's the perfect book for me, especially when I need something to go back to which feels safe and secure. You always know things are going to work out all right for the heroine even when the entire world seems like it wants to be against her. I need to hear that sometimes even if it might not always be reasonable.
I always love Grace's books even when the plot is over the top and somewhat contrived. Maybe because it's so far outside reality, and is melodramatic at times while still giving you something to think about spiritually. This is my comfort food, which means it's the perfect book for me, especially when I need something to go back to which feels safe and secure. You always know things are going to work out all right for the heroine even when the entire world seems like it wants to be against her. I need to hear that sometimes even if it might not always be reasonable.
December 9, 2016
I picked this book up for a fluffy, warm read. I wasn't expecting much with the plot or the characters but even my low expectations were dashed; what I got was highly disappointing.
Diana is a classic heroine, weak in need of 'someone' to help her. Her whole situation was annoying, she was mentally weak. Her father, for supposedly being such a 'good' 'godly' man, should have had at least some sense in pick a wife; I mean come on! The Main Man Character (whose name I forget) had absolutely no reason to be so in loveeeee with Diana. I could understand infatuation maybe but to go out of the way for her, in every case, is illogical. The plot was overall thin, the characters were annoying and I wasn't endeared towards any of them.
Diana is a classic heroine, weak in need of 'someone' to help her. Her whole situation was annoying, she was mentally weak. Her father, for supposedly being such a 'good' 'godly' man, should have had at least some sense in pick a wife; I mean come on! The Main Man Character (whose name I forget) had absolutely no reason to be so in loveeeee with Diana. I could understand infatuation maybe but to go out of the way for her, in every case, is illogical. The plot was overall thin, the characters were annoying and I wasn't endeared towards any of them.
May 22, 2025
DNF. Helen was so disgustingly vile that I could not read this book past the first chapter. She was a real sociopath!
July 23, 2021
Gonna give this one a 2 star because...reasons...
1. Weak characters and character development- (if I have to read one more "I fell in love with you before I even met you" line in a GLH novel, I will scream...be listening over the next few weeks, I'm not hopeful) I didn't mind the main character so much, but she was kind of dull (like the main character from The Tryst, whose name I forget) like the stupid little rich girl stereotype. But she was determined to do what she set out to do, even if it was uncomfortable, so I respected that. The other characters were actually just stereotypes with very little fleshing out.
2. Stupid plot devices- the flower thing would have been romantic if it had been resolved sooner, but since it was dragged out so much, it felt contrived. The yacht sinking with the evil stepmother was too convenient. The inheritance issue was also extremely convenient...father is bankrupt, but thank goodness daughter has a huge inheritance that he couldn't touch, but only found out in the last 5 pages of the book!
3. So many more things, but I don't feel like this book deserves the in-depth analysis.
Why did I not give this a 1 star you ask? Well, I was actually kind of enjoying the book until the last 60 pages. GLH really likes to end novels with romance, even if it wasn't well developed throughout the rest of the book. Plus she always throws some overly dramatic scene in towards the end (this time it was attempted kidnapping). It was probably on track to be a decent 3 star book til the end, which then made me stop and analyze and then of course realize all the many flaws. I'm a very forgiving and indiscriminate reader for the most part (as anyone who follows my reviews should know).
Overall, not one of Hill's best, but not another Dawn of the Morning, so it won't make you lose your lunch if you read it.
1. Weak characters and character development- (if I have to read one more "I fell in love with you before I even met you" line in a GLH novel, I will scream...be listening over the next few weeks, I'm not hopeful) I didn't mind the main character so much, but she was kind of dull (like the main character from The Tryst, whose name I forget) like the stupid little rich girl stereotype. But she was determined to do what she set out to do, even if it was uncomfortable, so I respected that. The other characters were actually just stereotypes with very little fleshing out.
2. Stupid plot devices- the flower thing would have been romantic if it had been resolved sooner, but since it was dragged out so much, it felt contrived. The yacht sinking with the evil stepmother was too convenient. The inheritance issue was also extremely convenient...father is bankrupt, but thank goodness daughter has a huge inheritance that he couldn't touch, but only found out in the last 5 pages of the book!
3. So many more things, but I don't feel like this book deserves the in-depth analysis.
Why did I not give this a 1 star you ask? Well, I was actually kind of enjoying the book until the last 60 pages. GLH really likes to end novels with romance, even if it wasn't well developed throughout the rest of the book. Plus she always throws some overly dramatic scene in towards the end (this time it was attempted kidnapping). It was probably on track to be a decent 3 star book til the end, which then made me stop and analyze and then of course realize all the many flaws. I'm a very forgiving and indiscriminate reader for the most part (as anyone who follows my reviews should know).
Overall, not one of Hill's best, but not another Dawn of the Morning, so it won't make you lose your lunch if you read it.
June 23, 2021
Rating: 3.9 / 5
When a book starts out with a really dismal prospect like this one, with the advent of a new and hateful stepmother coming into the picture, it sometimes a bit hard to force oneself to read further. In my case, I know that if I wasn't already a convinced fan of Grace Livingston Hill and know that her writing puts emphasis on a happy ending and having faith in the Lord, then I doubt that I would have ventured further than the first two chapters or so. As it is, I pressed on, and was thankfully rewarded for the effort.
Young Diana Disston is in quite the pickle as her father remarries the hateful Helen (a cousin several times removed or something like that), whose sole purpose in life seems to be being a....well, insert the bad word here, if you please. Anyway, his marriage to Helen seems to make him almost as hateful as Helen, and also stupid for falling for her in the first place, but thankfully the scenes with them don't last long as Diana hightails it out of there quickly and goes to start a life on her own separate from them. It's here that the bulk of the story lies and coincides with Diana's rise to faith, and therefore makes up a really nice story with a satisfying, heartwarming ending and even a bit of a tense plot near the end as well!
All in all, as many other reviews state, this is far from being Grace Livingston Hill's best work, but it is a lovely story and a nice way to pass the time. Will definitely be reading it again someday, just for the experience of it.
When a book starts out with a really dismal prospect like this one, with the advent of a new and hateful stepmother coming into the picture, it sometimes a bit hard to force oneself to read further. In my case, I know that if I wasn't already a convinced fan of Grace Livingston Hill and know that her writing puts emphasis on a happy ending and having faith in the Lord, then I doubt that I would have ventured further than the first two chapters or so. As it is, I pressed on, and was thankfully rewarded for the effort.
Young Diana Disston is in quite the pickle as her father remarries the hateful Helen (a cousin several times removed or something like that), whose sole purpose in life seems to be being a....well, insert the bad word here, if you please. Anyway, his marriage to Helen seems to make him almost as hateful as Helen, and also stupid for falling for her in the first place, but thankfully the scenes with them don't last long as Diana hightails it out of there quickly and goes to start a life on her own separate from them. It's here that the bulk of the story lies and coincides with Diana's rise to faith, and therefore makes up a really nice story with a satisfying, heartwarming ending and even a bit of a tense plot near the end as well!
All in all, as many other reviews state, this is far from being Grace Livingston Hill's best work, but it is a lovely story and a nice way to pass the time. Will definitely be reading it again someday, just for the experience of it.
July 26, 2015
I enjoyed this book. There was a little bit too much kissing for me in the last two chapters. It would make more sense for them to wait until after they're marrried, at least to me. I also would have preferred that the author had solved the problem of Helen some other way. The first half of the book was kinda slow but the second half was exciting :)
September 2, 2019
I found the main character, Diana, exceedingly whiny and wanted to slap her.
April 22, 2020
One of GLH's more sentimental novels, but not bad.
July 25, 2025
I found this an odd read. Helen is probably the one of the most malicious villains I have experienced in reading Grace Livingston Hill books. Diana seemed a bit weak and I am not a big fan of love at first sight.
September 9, 2023
What crap! So, so, so depressing. Mom dies, so the daughter and father are in the throws of grief. It's hard to read but understandable.
Moving on, in general a painful read.1936 published date, ok I guess standard were different. I had to skip a head for most of the book, too painful to read, almost gave up. I just wanted to know about the flowers.
This had such potential, could have been 6 different decent novels, like she took parts out from other books and then shoved them into one. None of it made sense and then it was like somebody said you have to end it and bam! done in 2 pages! Eh, didn't even make sense.
I couldn't tell if she was age 14 or 15 the way everyone talked about main character but then all the sudden 21 bday.
It was odd although not surprising that the manipulative cousin married the girl's dad, but he kept thinking of his young wife as an innocent girl, like his daughter, different time maybe.
Then, the house is clearly set on fire. Made it sound like a total loss, but no one addresses that ever, or the vindictive nature of it, just that the men cover it up.
Speaking of men, she can't understand and is horrified how the one guy could love her, or want to kiss her, offer her marriage to escape Horrible Cousin, and then at the end, accept the flower guy (who lived next door and secretly watched her), that she couldn't ever see ... could love her, allow him to do what she wouldn't with the other guy, and decide to marry him.
Even worse the dad is like the son I always wanted, but this guy didn't help ever until his mom was like, yo! go check this out, no lights in the house.
And then the bible is thrown in the mix. Rather terribly painfully religion was tossed in. The girl was suffering so I can see it. But as a connection point with flower guy that she never knew, odd.
But again, 1936, probably no editor, or different standards. Oh, all perish in boat accident, God's will. Yikes!
After reading the authors life bio in the back, how she lost her father and husband and had to work to support her kids, I can see where this story might have come from.
It's going in the burn pile. I can't get that time back I wasted on reading it, so glad it was free at library share table and not something I paid for. Author was prolific, gosh, hope they all weren't as disjointed as this one.
This was free, and going in the burn pile.
Moving on, in general a painful read.1936 published date, ok I guess standard were different. I had to skip a head for most of the book, too painful to read, almost gave up. I just wanted to know about the flowers.
This had such potential, could have been 6 different decent novels, like she took parts out from other books and then shoved them into one. None of it made sense and then it was like somebody said you have to end it and bam! done in 2 pages! Eh, didn't even make sense.
I couldn't tell if she was age 14 or 15 the way everyone talked about main character but then all the sudden 21 bday.
It was odd although not surprising that the manipulative cousin married the girl's dad, but he kept thinking of his young wife as an innocent girl, like his daughter, different time maybe.
Then, the house is clearly set on fire. Made it sound like a total loss, but no one addresses that ever, or the vindictive nature of it, just that the men cover it up.
Speaking of men, she can't understand and is horrified how the one guy could love her, or want to kiss her, offer her marriage to escape Horrible Cousin, and then at the end, accept the flower guy (who lived next door and secretly watched her), that she couldn't ever see ... could love her, allow him to do what she wouldn't with the other guy, and decide to marry him.
Even worse the dad is like the son I always wanted, but this guy didn't help ever until his mom was like, yo! go check this out, no lights in the house.
And then the bible is thrown in the mix. Rather terribly painfully religion was tossed in. The girl was suffering so I can see it. But as a connection point with flower guy that she never knew, odd.
But again, 1936, probably no editor, or different standards. Oh, all perish in boat accident, God's will. Yikes!
After reading the authors life bio in the back, how she lost her father and husband and had to work to support her kids, I can see where this story might have come from.
It's going in the burn pile. I can't get that time back I wasted on reading it, so glad it was free at library share table and not something I paid for. Author was prolific, gosh, hope they all weren't as disjointed as this one.
This was free, and going in the burn pile.
August 10, 2024
I happen to love the idea of a secret admirer leaving flowers - one every night - along a walk for a girl that he admires. It's a sweet idea, really.
Having said, this is one of GLH's least probable books. First, we have movers who show up SAME DAY and take everything away. There's no way that anyone can prep a house to be moved in that time. Second, there's NO WAY the father would marry someone and leave his only daughter out of it. Not if he's a keen, upright, decent person the way Diana's father is portrayed.
Also, this smacks of the same storylines as SO MANY other GLH books. There's the one where the father of the hero collapses coming home and is paralyzed, instead of having a heart attack. There's the one where the stepmother is wretched and the girl flees.
And it's annoying when everything works out perfectly. The bad guy falls down an elevator shaft at the end, so she doesn't have to do anything to prosecute him. The stepmother dies in a boating accident, so the dad doesn't have to divorce her. It's too convenient - God doesn't work that way.
I would've liked this better if there had been a relationship between Diana and Gordon. Have her visit the little cottage. Have him help her find a job. Have them meet up at a church. C'mon... SOmETHInG!!!
That's not to say there isn't a lot here that's good. Diana's coming to faith, the loving relationship between Gordon and his mother, the kindness of the people in the gardener's cottaget to the people in the 'big house'.
It's sweet. But it's TERRIBLY formulatic, for GLH.
Like she was churning them out, at this point.
Having said, this is one of GLH's least probable books. First, we have movers who show up SAME DAY and take everything away. There's no way that anyone can prep a house to be moved in that time. Second, there's NO WAY the father would marry someone and leave his only daughter out of it. Not if he's a keen, upright, decent person the way Diana's father is portrayed.
Also, this smacks of the same storylines as SO MANY other GLH books. There's the one where the father of the hero collapses coming home and is paralyzed, instead of having a heart attack. There's the one where the stepmother is wretched and the girl flees.
And it's annoying when everything works out perfectly. The bad guy falls down an elevator shaft at the end, so she doesn't have to do anything to prosecute him. The stepmother dies in a boating accident, so the dad doesn't have to divorce her. It's too convenient - God doesn't work that way.
I would've liked this better if there had been a relationship between Diana and Gordon. Have her visit the little cottage. Have him help her find a job. Have them meet up at a church. C'mon... SOmETHInG!!!
That's not to say there isn't a lot here that's good. Diana's coming to faith, the loving relationship between Gordon and his mother, the kindness of the people in the gardener's cottaget to the people in the 'big house'.
It's sweet. But it's TERRIBLY formulatic, for GLH.
Like she was churning them out, at this point.
February 23, 2020
Loved this book. Could hardly put it down. Have read a lot by this author and very much appreciate a good story and Christian overtones with no bad language.
Would recommend to anyone. Will certainly be looking forward to reading more books by GLH. So many authors think using offensive, bad language makes a book better---not to me!
Would recommend to anyone. Will certainly be looking forward to reading more books by GLH. So many authors think using offensive, bad language makes a book better---not to me!
December 28, 2020
What I loved: the portrayal of God
What I didn't: the characters, the almost uninterpretable dialect from one character, the excessive dramatic nature of the main character, that it waned on and on
I have really heard good things about this author, so I will try more of her work but this book was certainly not what I had hoped. Hopefully it's her dud and I just happened to start there.
What I didn't: the characters, the almost uninterpretable dialect from one character, the excessive dramatic nature of the main character, that it waned on and on
I have really heard good things about this author, so I will try more of her work but this book was certainly not what I had hoped. Hopefully it's her dud and I just happened to start there.
April 26, 2025
DNF. I usually like Grace Livingston Hill’s books, but, in this one, the character of Helen was so disgustingly evil that I couldn’t read past the first chapter.
December 13, 2019
Delightful story
I love the quaint love stories of Grace Livingston Hill. This one deals with the severe disappointments & sorrows of life, including a hateful, spiteful stepmother. The wonderful mystery flowers & an overheard prayer are the only bright spots in her life. A gospel tract & the memory of the prayer start Dianna on a search for the God who cares. Suspense takes over when Dianna leaves her father & home to escape the terrible stepmother. It's a scary world for one who has never worked & has no one to protect her from the evil she encounters. The love & mystery are interwoven throughout & Dianna learns that God indeed cares for us & answers prayer. Loved this book!
I love the quaint love stories of Grace Livingston Hill. This one deals with the severe disappointments & sorrows of life, including a hateful, spiteful stepmother. The wonderful mystery flowers & an overheard prayer are the only bright spots in her life. A gospel tract & the memory of the prayer start Dianna on a search for the God who cares. Suspense takes over when Dianna leaves her father & home to escape the terrible stepmother. It's a scary world for one who has never worked & has no one to protect her from the evil she encounters. The love & mystery are interwoven throughout & Dianna learns that God indeed cares for us & answers prayer. Loved this book!
May 10, 2021
Rating: 5 Stars!! (Wish i could rate it 10 Stars!!)
Review:
Another great Christian Romance by Grace!! I really loved this one as much as i have her other books.
The Character were interesting to read about, i didnt like Helen tho she got on my nerves and came off as an Alexis Carrington of Romance Books.
The Settings were so beautiful told it was easy to picture the places that Diana went to.
Can't wait to read more books by Grace in the future!!
Review:
Another great Christian Romance by Grace!! I really loved this one as much as i have her other books.
The Character were interesting to read about, i didnt like Helen tho she got on my nerves and came off as an Alexis Carrington of Romance Books.
The Settings were so beautiful told it was easy to picture the places that Diana went to.
Can't wait to read more books by Grace in the future!!
February 8, 2024
Wow! The best GLH book ever?
I recommend this book wholeheartedly. It's among the few remaining books by Grace Livingston Hill I hadn't yet read. This should be a first book for new GLH readers. It's satisfyingly perfect, with many surprises, twists, and turns. Yet, each storyline was entirely believable, even the seemingly subtle romance. That's it! I've talked myself into reading it again starting right now!
I recommend this book wholeheartedly. It's among the few remaining books by Grace Livingston Hill I hadn't yet read. This should be a first book for new GLH readers. It's satisfyingly perfect, with many surprises, twists, and turns. Yet, each storyline was entirely believable, even the seemingly subtle romance. That's it! I've talked myself into reading it again starting right now!
November 7, 2019
I love all the books by Grace Livingston Hill. I read them over and over again. I have since I was a teen and I am now 78 years old. This one is so good. The idea of receiving mystery flowers is something you can imagine.
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November 18, 2019The plot is slow to pick-up in the first couple chapters. The romance is cute and sweet. There is a small climax that is intriguing enough. The book is more fun to read once the plot picks up in the later half.
September 22, 2019
Good Christian story
While written in the first half of the 20th century the story is still relevant today. Great characters with a wonderful Christian theme
While written in the first half of the 20th century the story is still relevant today. Great characters with a wonderful Christian theme
December 1, 2021
Maybe my favorite one of all
Wonderful story, it has some sad, frustrating moments, but comes out in the end. Very enjoyable, glad I read it.
Wonderful story, it has some sad, frustrating moments, but comes out in the end. Very enjoyable, glad I read it.
August 30, 2021
Interesting story line. I only gave it a 4 because I would have liked the main male character to have more of a presence in the story.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews