Book Review: The Gardener's Plot by by Deborah J. Benoit

     Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this ebook, free of charge, from St Martin's Publishing via #netgalley, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it. All opinions are my own.

A woman helps set up a community garden in the Berkshires, only to find a body in one of the plots on opening day.

Synopsis:

After life threw Maggie Walker a few curveballs, she’s happy to be back in the small, Berkshires town where she spent so much time as a child. Marlowe holds many memories for her, and now it also offers a fresh start. Maggie has always loved gardening, so it’s only natural to sign on to help Violet Bloom set up a community garden.

When opening day arrives, Violet is nowhere to be found, and the gardeners are restless. Things go from bad to worse when Maggie finds a boot buried in one of the plots… and there’s aDad body attached to it. Suddenly, the police are looking for a killer and they keep asking questions about Violet. Maggie doesn’t believe her friend could do this, and she’s going to dig up the dirt needed to prove it.

Review

The Gardener’s Plot takes readers to the heart of the Berkshires and introduces amateur sleuth Maggie Walker..Maggie is an older protagonist (yeah) and is settling into her new life in the Berkshires by volunteering and taking part in community activities. But she didn't expect murder to be in the plot (literally) and to have to charge when Violet disappears. As she tries to figure out where she could be and what happened to her, she soon realized there may be more than a simple argument gone wrong, and someone doesn't want the new community activity to succeed. A fun new start to a series, this cozy wraps up nicely and is a quick read!

About the Author

DEBORAH J. BENOIT was a legal secretary for 30 years before deciding to pursue more creative endeavors. Her debut novel, The Gardener’s Plot, won the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Competition. Born and raised in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, there’s no place she’d rather call home, even in winter. Determined to never stop learning, Deborah loves sharing her knowledge of gardening, through articles she’s written, in person, and on social media. When not writing or digging up plots in her garden, she can be found working on her latest fiber arts project.