This cozy mystery takes place in spring but can be read any time of year. I liked the community garden storyline, but the mystery felt a little too dragged out and I started skimming through the final third. Read when you’re looking for an easy story with a mystery that isn’t scary or gruesome.

Thank you so much to Minotaur Books for the ARC!

Title: The Gardener's Plot
Author: Deborah J. Benoit
Pub Date: November 5, 2024

Cozy mystery lovers, this one is for you! Much in the veins of Finlay Donovan is Killing It and Thursday Murder Club, this one is cute and fun with a side of mystery and murder.

Our main character, Maggie Walker discovers a body buried in one of the plots at the community garden! I love that this book is full of humor and puns, even the title is adorable with it's double meaning. We have a character named "Violet Bloom", talks of "digging up the dirt" on people, etc. I thought it was all a blast, but my favorite thing about this book was Maggie! She was such an easy character to root for (see what I did there?)!

It was the perfect light and easy read/listen that kept me entertained the whole time! If you're weeding through November releases, I definitely think you'll DIG this one!

After a few setbacks in life, Maggie Walker moves back home to her small town in the Berkshires. She purchased the house she practically grew up in, her grandmother's, and is trying to settle in by helping out her friends and neighbors with the communal gardening plot. However, Violet Bloom, the director of the garden, goes missing on opening day and Maggie finds a boot stuck in a neighbor's soil. With the foot and body attached. Soon Maggie is launching her own murder investigation and search for Violet. But someone is willing to go a long way to protect their secrets.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this e-arc.*

What a great debut! I love a good cozy mystery and this hit all the spots. Good characters, Good plot. Good twist. Good ending. Thank you for the opportunity to read this arc.

The Gardener’s Plot
By Deborah J. Benoit
Narrated by Patricia Santomasso
4 ⭐️

This light small town mystery was a good listen. It was well paced, full of small town drama, and held my attention without a lot of effort. I enjoyed the garden theme of the story. I also liked that most of the characters were older - maybe their mid 30s/early 40s? This was a great cozy Sunday read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Deborah J. Benoit, Dreamscape media and St. Martin’s press for this audio and eARC.

Deborah J. Benoit’s book, The Gardener’s Plot, is a delight for those who love gardening and cozy mysteries. This debut features Maggie Walker who has moved back to her hometown of Marlowe. She volunteers to help Violet Bloom set up a community garden. When opening day arrives, Violet doesn’t show up and one of the gardeners complains about a boot in his plot. When Maggie pulls on the boot, it turns out there’s a body attached to it. The police keep asking questions about Violet while Maggie doesn’t believe her friend is the killer. That means she decides to do some sleuthing to prove it.

Maggie is a master gardener and writes a gardening column for the newspaper. She needs to find the answer to whatever question pops into her head. She also is organized, uses lists, and has a natural curiosity. She’s an easy character to like unless you are the police trying to solve the murder. The other characters have a variety of depths based on their roles.

This mystery is full of small-town atmosphere, including a sense of community, but also some negatives like vicious gossip and social power plays. The world-building is well done and the writing flows well. While I guessed the killer, the journey through some twists and red herrings that kept me engaged. The author is a master gardener and was born and raised in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. Her expertise in gardening and familiarity with the area added a level of depth and realism to the novel.

Overall, this is an entertaining and fast read with good characterization and a few suspenseful scenes. I would love to see this turned into a series.

St. Martin’s Press and Deboroh J. Benoit provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. The publication date is currently set for November 05, 2024.

I’m a cozy mystery girl and The Gardner’s Plot hit all the spots for me. It’s got the typical sleuth putting herself in danger and going out of her way to investigate when she probably should have left it alone, but it was so well-done overall and super stinking cute. I liked the small town and the cast of characters. I liked Maggie’s backstory with her grandmother and ex-husband. I liked the neighbor friendship and, though Benoit didn’t dive super into the unrequited-long-lost-love storyline, but there’s definitely something there and if this became a series I’d definitely read on for all these aspects. I felt the mystery wrap-up was believable. Overall, just an excellent cozy mystery I’d definitely recommend.

This is a good mystery and especially if you’re into gardening this is a great one for you in my view. From a general perspective, I was hoping for a slight bit more sleuthing earlier in the book, but that only really started at about 40% in and that was slightly late for my taste. But then the pace really picked up and I have to say the showdown was way more thrilling than I expected from how the book progressed.

I liked the characters and Maggie as a main character. She is a passionate gardener and very engaged in the community gardening project. I liked how she would not sit still and let the investigation progress slower than possible, but how she took the matters in her own hands. Sally is Maggie’s friend and fellow sleuth. I liked how she contributed to the investigation and the friendship she shows toward Maggie. The other characters were great for the storyline and it was just the right amount of participants for a good mystery so to say.

All in all I enjoyed the mystery a lot and also the characters and storyline. A solid 4⭐️ for me.

(A review will be posted on Oct 30th, 2024 on both instagram and Goodreads)

"The Gardener's Plot" by Deborah J. Benoit is a captivating cozy mystery that draws you into the vibrant community of Marlowe. Maggie Walker’s return and her efforts to launch a community garden are heartwarming, but the plot takes a suspenseful turn with the discovery of a dead body and the mysterious disappearance of organizer Violet Bloom. The story is enriched by an engaging cast of characters, including local "mean girls" and Maggie’s supportive best friend, Sally, who lives next door. Benoit’s clever writing creates an immersive experience filled with intrigue and charm. (I received an advance listener copy and all opinions are my own.) A delightful read for anyone who loves a good mystery!

Maggie Walker has returned to her hometown in the Berkshires. She purchased her grandmother's home and is renovating it as well as bringing back its garden to life. She has also been recruited to be the assistant director of the new community garden in town. She soon has more than gardening problems with a dead body is found in a plot in the garden and the garden's director is missing.

What a fantastic book...I could not stop reading! The mystery was a darn good one! I was stumped to the end. The plot was well crafted, and the characters made you either root for them or not like them very much. It did have some intense moments as well, where I was holding my breath. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can't wait till book two. This is one of the best first books in a series I have read this year.

Thank you, St Martin's Press/Minitour Books, and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC,

Thank you NetGalley for the free ARC ebook.
The Gardener’s Plot was a delightful story of resilience and growth - both within yourself and in nature. The characters were relatable and their journey’s were inspiring. This was a heartwarming and uplifting read. I really enjoyed it!

An enjoyable red that is will written with a fully developed plot, well rounded characters and great dialogue.

After life has taken a few wrong turns, Maggie Walker has returned to her hometown in the small Berkshire village, and is looking forward to a quiet life among the plants. However, when she discovers a body in the newly established community garden, it seems like her life is going to be anything but quiet, as she tries to find out who the body is and who placed it there.

I absolutely fell into this book, like in a curl up in the sun on a beautiful spring day with a good cozy mystery, kind of way. I instantly felt a kindred spirit to Maggie, who after a few knocks is ready to lead a quiet life, with her best friend, Sally, living next door. However, not everyone is happy that Maggie has returned - including Queen Bee "Catherine", and when things start to go from bad to worse for Maggie it seems quite a few town folk are ready to the point the finger. Thankfully Maggie has a ride-or-die friend in Sally and together they are hunting down clues and trying to find a killer!

I enjoyed the mystery immensely. It runs at a thrilling pace, and with red herrings every which way, it makes for a difficult mystery to solve before Maggie and Sally.

The Gardener's Plot is the perfect cozy mystery for the gardener in all of us. With the delightful descriptions of Maggie's own garden, and ideas for the community garden, I instantly wanted to go delve into my own garden to see if I could make it better... even in the Fall! Whether you're a gardener or not, I think readers will be absolutely charmed by Deborah J Benoit's first cozy mystery, and will be coming back for more!

Maggie Walker moved back in with her grandmother that raised her, after her almost ex’s death (her husband was killed on the way to the court for their divorce). Her grandmother has recently passed, and she brought her house and is reintegrating herself into the community she grew up in. One of the ways she is doing that is working with Violet Bloom on starting a community garden. On the grand opening of the community garden, Violet is a no show, so as second in command, Maggie opens up the garden. Of course, there is a shoe sticking out of one of the plots, and when Maggie pulls on it, it is attached to a foot. Maggie has to work to solve two mysteries, who caused the murder in the garden, and where is Violet. Overall, an enjoyable first in a cozy series. The only thing that kept this from being a five star read was that they introduced so many characters, it was hard to keep everyone straight. Now that the characters are established this is definitely a series I will continue to read. I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley for my honest review.

Maggie Walker returns home after a tumultuous life. In an effort to establish normalcy and calm, she buys her grandmother's house and throws herself into gardening, so much so that she helps with a community garden. The opening day for the garden is less than wonderful when Maggie finds a body buried in one of the plots. But that's not the end of the sad twists and turns, all while Maggie is playing amateur sleuth. It's a plot that the reader will find so interesting that you won't be able to put it down. Kudos Ms. Benoit!

Maggie is looking for a fresh start. She's moved to a new area and is working on a community garden project doing what she loves. But on opening day somebody is found murdered. She decides since the police aren't listening to her that she is going to investigate herself.

I would definitely consider this more of a cozy mystery than a murder mystery or a thriller. It did feel very slow to start and it took a while to become attached to any of the characters. But at the end of reading this book I was very attached to Maggie and the community of friends that she had made and I was even starting to be fond of one of the police detectives.

This is clearly the start to a series and I can see myself reading more as they're published because this was very well written and I feel like the further you get into it the more you will grow to love the characters.

This is a well written debut. It hits all the marks for cozy mystery fans - small town community, friends, a twisty mystery to be solved, amateur sleuthing, mean girls, a murder victim that many people disliked, and we can’t forget a potential love interest. The murder mystery is well plotted, offers plenty of suspects, keeps you guessing, builds to a tense climax and ends with a satisfying conclusion. The Gardener’s Plot is a very good debut and hopefully the start of an entertaining series.

Cute cozy mystery. Nothing really shocking or anything that kept me up at night. Wish we had a little more mystery.
I liked the cover and think they did a nice job with the design.

The Gardener’s Plot
Deborah J. Benoit
November 05, 2025

Maggie Walker grew up in the Berkshires in the small town of Marlowe. After years of working elsewhere in New York she moved back to her grandmother’s large home. She arrived in early summer. Her grandmother’s garden was mostly planted although she needed to add veggies to make it perfect. She met a friend who was head of the local garden group. They met the week the gardens were to be cultivated, then with those who were earmarked for a plot. After their meeting it seemed rather simple. She would meet Violet at the fenced in garden space at 10 AM, help anyone who might need suggestions for setting up their space, and develop her own plot.
The Gardener’s Plot will be published on November 05, 2024 by Minotaur Books. I was able to read and review The Gardener’s Plot via NetGalley with an invitation from Sara Eslami. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Benoit’s suspense filled journey of Maggie Walker’s return to Marlowe. Many friends and relatives still lived there although in some cases old disputes still existed. This book is a great adventure for fans of cozy plots. It is a baffled story that keeps the mystery unsolved to the very end. Do enjoy this one!

My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

Genre: Cozy Mystery, Mystery, Mystery Thriller
Language: It's cozy, so no profanity or sex
Mystery Element: I thought it was tricky to solve before the characters figure out whodunnit

THE GARDENER'S PLOT intrigued me from beginning to end! It gave me lots of questions—why, and why bury the body there, and who would do such a thing? It reminds me of an Agatha Christie book.

Maggie is loving being in her grandmother's old house. And the garden is sublime. What's not so great? An old nemesis who's jealous, the cop who hassles her, and a murder!

I felt like the tension ramped up as different people joined in the investigation. It's firmly in the cozy realm.

If you're a fan of murder (meaning in a book) and gardening, this is the perfect read for you!

Happy reading!