Maggie Walker is back in the small Berkshires town, where she spent summers with her aunt. After her aunt’s passing, Maggie is now the proud owner of the home she loved as a kid. When Violet Bloom sets out to create a community garden, Maggie jumps at the chance to co-chair the effort and share her love for gardening. All goes to plan until Violet doesn’t show up for opening day and Maggie find’s a dead man in one of the plots. As the police start investigating, Maggie is desperate to locate her friend and to figure out who in their small town might be a killer.
This is you’re quintessential small town cozy mystery. Filled with plenty of old grudges, gossip, friendships and rivals; Benoit does a fantastic job of capture the small-town atmosphere. With writing that flows and plenty realistic gardening advice, this book is a comfort read for sure. The gardening aspects and Benoit obvious depth of knowledge in this area, really added a unique characteristic to this cozy but never overshadows the mystery plot within the story.
Maggie is a decently interesting narrator but was by and large your typical cozy sleuth. For me the characters all blended together, and I never felt they had ‘distinct’ voices. There were also plenty of aspects where a red herring was being pushed at us a little too hard, which detracted from the story for me. Then again, I might just read too many mysteries to truly be surprised by plots nowadays.
For anyone who wishes they had a Green Thumber, The Gardener’s Plot is a fun small-town mystery that is perfect for when you’re looking for something light and airy. While the plot wasn’t terrible complex, there is still enough small-town gossip to keep you guessing and hoping for a sequel.
The Gardener’s Plot is out now. Thank you to Minotaur Books for my advanced copy in exchange for my review. If you liked this review, please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my Instagram @speakingof.books
