"The Gardener's Plot" is a good mystery that kept me interested through the entire book. I thought the story was written well, and it had a twist that I definitely didn't see coming. It isn't a graphic or gory book, so I believe it is appropriate across age ranges starting with young adult. The book moves at a good pace, although I would have liked to have a little more backstory on the characters. The author does a great job of describing the scenes, making it easy to get immersed in the book. The story was good at keeping me guessing and wanting to read more, with each chapter building on the last. I think that "The Gardener's Plot" is a great read, especially if one likes plots that keep you guessing. It’s a mix of mystery, interesting characters, and plot twists that I believe will appeal to many readers.

If you love a small-town feel, gardening and enjoy a cozy mystery read, The Gardener’s Plot by Deborah J. Benoit is for you.

I gave this mystery a four-star rating!

The story centers around newly widowed Maggie, who purchases her late Grandmother’s home, hoping to make a fresh start. She rekindles old friendships and volunteers in the Community Garden Club.

Things quickly take a turn when Maggie discovers a dead body buried in one of the community garden plots. The slow-burn mystery ups the ante when Maggie’s friend and president of the Community Garden Club also disappears. Maggie also starts receiving threatening letters from a troublesome cousin and faces off with an old high-school female nemesis.

I enjoyed the story and following along in Maggie’s footsteps and she worked to retrace her friends steps leading up to her disappearance and uncovering the truth behind the small town secrets that haven’t remained buried. The last quarter of the book amped up the pace and had me flying through the pages.

I would recommend this book to those who adore an old-fashioned mystery style read.

This ARC was provided by NetGalley for my honest review and opinion. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Minotaur Books.

A cute cozy mystery. Benoit does a good job of creating a story that draws you in, with characters that are quite likeable. I would read more from her.

The Gardener’s Plot
The Gardener’s Plot, by Deborah J. Benoit, is a smoothly written cozy mystery set in the Berkshires. Margaret, a master gardener and writer, returns to the small town of her childhood, helps to set up a community garden, and finds a murder victim buried in the plot on opening day. Frustrated that police can’t find her friend who disappeared on that same opening day, she turns to a bit of her own sleuthing. Revelations, clues, and personal danger ensue.

I found the book enjoyable enough. The characters were women who took action on their own and thought for themselves (mostly). It’s a book for days when you just want an easy read that solves a mystery and ends in hope. Don’t expect more, and you’ll be satisfied.

Thank you, Minotaur Press, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
#TheGardener’sPlot #NetGalley

What a promising debut for a series! I like Maggie and the small-town setting. The plotting is good, and I actually feel a bit sad about the resolution. I like it when characters are not all good nor all bad, and the ending of a book is a bit bittersweet.

I'm looking forward to the next book in this series.

Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Deborah J. Benoit’s debut, The Gardener’s Plot, is a Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award winner. Not only does it introduce an interesting amateur sleuth in the cozy, but it has a gorgeous cover. The story is set in the Berkshires, and gardening is an important part of the story.

After Maggie Walker’s grandmother dies, she bought the family house, and moved back to Marlowe, Massachusetts. She grew up at her grandparents after her parents abandoned her there, and that house always felt like home. Maggie’s ready for a change after her ex-husband’s death. She’s living next door to her best friend, Sally Kendall, and she’s eager to work in her Gramma’s garden.

Gardening has introduced Maggie to others, including Violet Bloom, the director of the new community garden. On opening day, though, Maggie finds a note saying Violet will be late, so Maggie opens the garden, only to find a boot and a foot in one of the plots. Welcome back to Marlowe, Maggie!

Although the police chief is a long-time friend, the Massachusetts State Police are in charge of the investigation. The victim was disliked by many in town, but Maggie’s disturbed by the direction the investigation takes. Why are the police asking questions about Violet instead of looking for a killer? Where is the missing woman?

Maggie might have stayed out of trouble, but she’s concerned about her new friend. She intends to find Violet, even if the police seem interested in her as a killer. Together with Sally, she starts asking a few questions around town, to the displeasure of the state police detective and the chief of police.

The Gardener’s Plot is a solid debut. Maggie and Sally seem to be always in trouble with the police, but they have a valid reason to search for Violet Bloom. They support each other during their search. Cozy readers who are also gardeners will appreciate the descriptions. And, other cozy readers? Well, here’s a line that sums up every cozy mystery; “Never underestimate the power of a small-town grapevine.”

Unearthing a body was not on any gardener’s agenda for opening day of the community garden. When Maggie takes charge of the situation by keeping everyone back and sending someone to call 911, she may have dug a deeper into a deadly plot than she realizes.

Taking up residence in her late grandmother’s home and tending to the her beloved garden, Maggie is still relearning to navigate the small town she used to know so well. When the community garden plot turns up the body and a woman goes missing, Maggie and her close friend Sally begin their own amateur investigation and find out there’s a lot more dirt to discover. Will they locate their missing friend? Will anything they learn be useful to the official police investigation? Maggie only hopes that the unwelcome and sinister threat can be uprooted before it can blossom into something worse.

The Gardener’s Plot was an enjoyable and pleasant read. The characters and small town vibes were charming and loveable, making me want to get involved at my own community garden. It was honestly lovely to read a mystery novel where there wasn’t a ton of blood and gore, or suspense that had me shaking in my shoes.

Recommended for people who love sweet, small town, charming murder mysteries, à la Murder She Wrote.

Many thanks and appreciation to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advance copy to read! This was my genuine, honest review.

Cute little cozy mystery. It was a little bit slow for me and I wish it had a little more backstory on the protagonist. I do love a citizen detective that wants to protect their home town so the author had me hooked there!

Maggie had no idea what she was getting into when she volunteered to help organize the community garden opening.

Murder, missing friends and a cute detective round up this cozy little mystery.

If there isn’t already a genre called ‘cozy mysteries’ there should be and I’d like to submit this book for the taking.
Sadly there are no book shops involved, but this simple ‘who-dun-it’ will make you want to sit with a cup of tea and cozy up for a nice read on a rainy day.
There is a certain ‘type’ of book where you can’t be too critical. If this were not a ‘cozy mystery’ I would comment on the fact that Maggie never had any real emotions, worry, sadness when she found out about the murder, the missing people and all the other craziness going on in her life. She must be a borderline pyschopath for how little emotions she showed.
On the same token, we needed our book’s spotlight character to be the heroic sleuth we all knew she could be.
This slow moving, who-dun-it is not for everyone. It’s a simple read, easy to understand and the author does an excellent job of laying out all the characters and moving parts for readers to follow along.
Amazon Link – The Gardener’s Plot: A Mystery By: Deborah J. Benoit
***Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley and of course, Deborah Benoit, for a copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Publishing on Nov 05, 2024.

If you're a fan of cozy mysteries set in a small town, then I think you'll love this book.

BLURB:
A woman helps set up a community garden in the Berkshires, only to find a body in one of the plot's on opening day. 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 a 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.

I very much enjoyed reading The Gardener's Plot. It was an easy read, very descriptive without being overwhelming, I would highly recommend this book!

Thank you so much to NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

⭑ ⭑ ⭑ ⭑

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Deborah J. Benoit for the advanced copy.

I loved this cute cozy mystery!

Maggie moves back home after her grandmother’s death, buying her grandmother’s old house. Her love for gardening motivates her to become involved in the planning of a new community garden. On the morning of the opening, Maggie finds a boot in one of the community garden plots, but quickly discovers the boot is attached to a foot! Whose body is buried in the garden? How did it get there? And now a beloved member of the community has gone missing. When Maggie feels the police are dragging their feet in the investigation, she decides to do something digging of her own.

Lots of suspense, great character development, and a really fun read. With so many potential killers, it was hard to put this book down. I couldn’t wait to find out whodunnit!

This book was slow for me. When sally and Maggie were on the hunt to find out what happen I just felt like it could have been more attention grabbing. I understand no one in the town saw anything but I just felt like she just kept asking questions. The mysterious called didn’t happen enough for her to feel like fearful to me. Me I wish she would have been a little for fearful while hunting for the kill and the body. There were personally many times I wanted to put the book down and not read it. But with it being an ARC I wanted to finish it to write my review. It was a good book at the end it did have my attention. I love that Mags was able to save Sally. It was a good book just slow for me

3.5/5
A cute little thriller. Small town feels, great mystery. Would love to read more by this author.

This was a delightful cozy mystery filled with characters in a small town and a state police officer. Maggie, a Master Gardener, has purchased her Grandmother's house from her estate. Her cousin, Simon, feels he has been cheated and she did not pay what it was worth. She becomes friends with Violet Bloom and works with her to create a community garden. On opening day of the community garden, a body is found and Violet is missing. Maggie, ever curious, asks a lot of questions trying to figure out where her friend is and why there is a body in her garden. I should also mention that her next door neighbour is her friend, Sally. The reader is guided along while Maggie makes her inquiries and deals with her cousin and her town nemesis Catherine. I feel like this will become a series. I recommend this story. It wasn't overly "heavy" or too much redundant wording. It was written in a simple style that I enjoy.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARD of The Gardener's Plot by Deborah J. Benoit.

It’s the third or fourth mystery I read and omg it kept me coming back for more every time ! I liked that it was descriptive enough of all the events without dragging me for hours. The writing was so good but yet simple that I got all the details to make the story keep me hooked for hours. I devoured the last 30% when everything started to speed up with answers and evidence. I didn’t see the ending coming at all which I appreciate it a book of this genre because I love the feeling of “OMG that’s who it was!”, I suspected everyone but the murderer! The twists and turns (especially at the end) had me gasping every time. I loved the cover too! I can’t wait to buy my physical copy!

I had an amazing time reading this book and I’m so grateful I got to read this ARC! Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books and Deborah J. Benoit for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley! It was an amazing experience and I’m so happy to share my review.

A very enjoyable cozy in the vein of Joanne Fluke, and I really liked it. The mystery was fun and kept you engaged, and the gardening is a great background subject. Happy to up-sell the title, and look forward to the next one

I love a good cozy murder mystery.
The old fashioned Agatha Christie style.

The Gardener's Plot reminded me of that style of story.

Maggie returns to her old home town where she has purchased her late Grandmother's beloved home.
I wanted to walk around in that old home and help Maggie renovate the gardens her Grandmother loved so much.
The descriptions made them clear and vivid in my imagination.
As Maggie settles into her new life, she doesn't waste any time rekindling friendships and becoming involved in the small town activities.
One of these activities is the new community garden.
Maggie makes a new friend through the community garden.

While she is establishing her new life, there are bumps along the way.
A troublesome cousin who won't go away. His whining annoyed me almost as much as it annoyed Maggie.
A tenacious realtor/developer that continues to hound her to sell her home.
An old female nemesis from high school.
She handles each of them with a firm hand.

Opening day of the new community garden, a body is unearthed.

Thus begins the mystery.
The author has laid the ground work (no pun intended) for the questions that are sure to come.
There are red herrings along the way.

I enjoyed the story.
This one was a quick read I was able to snuggle into.

I gave this book 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a cozy, easy to read, good old fashioned murder mystery.

The Gardener's Plot introduces us to Maggie Walker, a fresh, fun, character who is a gardening enthusiast. Maggie has bought her grandmother's home, and she and a local resident, Violet, are starting a community garden.
Naturally, not everyone is open to this idea, and when a body is found in a community plot, and Violet goes missing, Maggie becomes the prime suspect. With the help of her friend Sally, they follow Violet's footsteps, leading them both directly to the killer.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of the book.

3.5 - rounded up to 4!
Thank you so much to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book!
This is your classic "whodunit" story. Takes place in an innocent small town where Maggie and Violet decided to start a community garden - Maggie just moved back to town and finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation and Violet is missing. This story kept me interested and guessing on who could be the culprit. I do wish we would have been given more information on her late husband - early on in the story she talks about a divorce and being a widow and a small mention of cheating but otherwise there is nothing else. I thought that detail was going to be more pertinent to the story.
When I first started reading, I was thinking it might be an unreliable narrator situation. Maggie turned out to be trustworthy - but who was the murderer? :)