MYSTERY

The Gardener’s Plot

Minotaur: St. Martin’s. Nov. 2024. 336p. ISBN 9781250334978. $28. M
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DEBUT After the deaths of both her ex-husband and her grandmother, Maggie Walker bought her Gramma’s house in Marlowe, MA, and moved home. She hopes to restore the house’s landscaping, and she is also eager to work with Violet Bloom, director of the new community gardens. The day of the community garden’s grand opening, though, Maggie receives a note saying that Violet will be late, so Maggie lets all the gardeners into their assigned plots. One plot has a boot in it—a boot with a foot. Opening day is ruined as the police descend on the gardens. The victim was a pushy developer in town, disliked by many, including Maggie. She’s more concerned, though, that no one is as worried about Violet as she is. The police seem to think that Violet has disappeared because she’s a murder suspect, but Maggie worries that no one is truly looking for her. Maggie and her best friend Sally backtrack to learn what Violet was doing on the day she went missing in hopes of uncovering her whereabouts.
VERDICT Cozy readers who garden will enjoy this descriptive debut mystery, winner of the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel competition.
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