Maggie Walker is looking for a fresh start to her life after the rough year she's had. With the passing of her aunt, she inherits an old Victorian home in need of repair, which she is determined to restore to its full glory. Renewing her childhood friendship with Sally who lives next door and joining the effort to create a community garden, give Maggie a purpose to her days. When Violet Bloom, the head of the community garden doesn't show up for the grand opening, Maggie is concerned. When Maggie unearths a boot in one of the recently tilled plots, she is at first annoyed and then horrified as a foot is still attached to that boot! With the locals closing ranks and the police in search of a killer, Maggie ends up in their sights. Maggie is also dealing with a shady real estate developer who desperately wants to buy her property (it's not for sale-ever!) and her slimy Cousin Simon harassing her for a bigger cut of her aunt's will, Maggie finds herself in the role of detective since no one else seems to think that Violet's disappearance is all that important. But one shouldn't go asking too many questions in a small town where friendly faces may be hiding ugly truths.
Follow along as Maggie tackles her feelings about returning to this small town, the death of her aunt, her greedy cousin and exactly where could Violet Bloom be?

Maggie Walker has returned to Marlowe after purchasing her grandmother's home and reconnecting with old friends.
She becomes involved with setting up a community garden in town with plots assigned to interested residents.
Her partner Violet is a no show the day the garden opens and things take a turn for the worse when a dead body
is discovered in the garden. Another concern is where is Violet - she's not answering the phone and seems to
have disappeared. Is Violet involved in the murdered man's death. As the victim was trying to buy up properties
for a real estate development, many people had reason to dislike him. Maggie investigates, hoping to discover
Violet's whereabouts and unmask the killer.
Likeable, interesting characters - first in a new series.
#TheGardenersPlot #StMartinsPress #NetGalley

The Plot is in the Garden...

How fortunate for me to have stumbled onto the first of this series instead of jumping into the middle someplace, as I often do. The protagonists promise to keep things exciting, and there are hints of future relationships, but the main focus is on the behavior and misbehavior of the heroine, her companions, and various antagonists. There are animosities yet to be worked out, and a groundwork is established in the background as, beginning with a relaxed pace, the plot moves forward logically, but with surprises. And, bonus! How delightful to experience gardening vicariously, without having to endure it's tedium, for those of us who are not organically inclined toward that experience.

This is a fun cozy mystery! I will admit that it took me a bit to get into it but when I did! Wow!!

Maggie Walker loves to garden, and then she discovers a body in the community garden! She decides to investigate to help her friend.

Great pace (except for the beginning, at least for me), great characters and great friendships.

If you like cozy mysteries, you should like or maybe even love this one!

The Gardener’s Plot is a new unique cozy with a twisted whodunnit that introduces a new tenacious, amateur sleuth Maggie Walker. Maggie’s love of gardening has her volunteering to help her friend Violet with the community garden plans. But opening day finds a dead body in the garden and Violet missing. Maggie refuses to believe her friend has anything to do with the death and begins an investigation that pits her against the local police. Full of determination, Maggie uncovers a murderer and tracks down her friend in a suspenseful and unpredictable cozy that sets up the opening of an original new series that cozy mystery fans are sure to adore. My voluntary, unbiased, and non-mandatory review is based upon a review copy from NetGalley.

Small town? Check. Cute hobby? Check. Tough but slightly broken female lead who finds a dead body and then gets in the police's way while trying to solve the crime? Check! Loved this cozy mystery and can't wait to hopefully see more from this series.

Fairly typical cozy - entertaining, easy read. Perfect for the beach!

Maggie Walker is back in town. She’s interested in gardening, so she volunteers to help set up a community garden. Everything seems to be on track until her friend (and head of the community garden) Violet Bloom is MIA when the proverbial ribbon cutting to open the garden is scheduled. Then there’s a boot in one of the plots, unfortunately, still attached to the body. Suspicion naturally falls on the missing Violet; Maggie, with the help of her good friend Sally, starts asking questions to figure how where Violet is so she can clear her name.

I enjoyed this book, although it could have used more back story about Maggie and some of the other characters. I think Maggie was a writer? but she didn’t do much writing. Still, it was entertaining and great for reading on a lazy summer day.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.com that I voluntarily chose to review.

This was definitely a mystery that had me hooked but I’m not sure enough depth and context was given in some parts. I would’ve loved to hear more about Catherine Whitaker and about the town. Overall, great beach read!

I have always enjoyed a cozy mystery and this one did not disappoint. The main character was paranoid about so many things but that added to the charm. I could definitely relate to checking, double checking and triple checking locks and doors when home alone. I was able to figure out the ending but even so, it was such a fun read. Thanks Netgalley.

Looks like the beginning of an enjoyable series with a master gardener/amateur sleuth set in the Berkshire mountains in Massachusetts. The plot Line (no pun intended) moved right along,= with several twists and turns and. the characters likeable .Looking forward to the next one.

On opening day of the community garden, Maggie Walker finds a boot sticking out of a plot, with a body attached! And where is Violet Bloom, the woman in charge of the garden. Maggie doesnt believe her friend is a murderer and searches for clues to find Violet and clear her name. This was a nicely done cozy with likeable main characters and lots of red herrings. I can't wait to read the next book in this series.

I know this is categorized as a cozy mystery but something about the writing didn’t feel like it fit that genre. There was a lack of funny or romantic moments, or where the main character gets herself into difficult situations. It felt like it was mostly the main character just talking to her friend, and talking to the same few people. It was an interesting mystery which I figured out about halfway through but it was a bit of a slow moving novel.

I’m not sure, if describing this book as a cute and cozy murder mystery, is appropriate to represent a book about murder, but that’s what it was! I enjoyed reading it from start finish. It kept my interest and kept me guessing. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own. #TheGardener’sPlot, #St.Martin’sPress.

The Gardener's Plot is a fun cozy mystery taking place in the Berkshires, with amateur sleuth Maggie Walker trying to solve a murder and clear her missing friend's name. Lots of interesting and relatable characters and an interesting plot (no pun intended) make this a very enjoyable read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A woman who loves gardening inherits an old house in a town where she helps create a community garden. On opening day, they find a body buried in the garden. It just gets more crazy after that.

This book was cute and just the palette cleanser I needed between other heavy hitter books. I loved the whole garden plot and just how cozy this mystery was.

The Gardener’s Plot by Deborah J. Benoit is a great small town, cozy mystery. Maggie Walker is an extremely well written character & I loved everything about her. Very entertaining from the first page- you won’t want to put it down~!

Thank you NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press|Minotaur Books for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars; A delightful cozy that does everything it's supposed to do for that genre, but it was so slow going that I almost didn't want to finish. Not much really happened other than our lead going back and forth between her friend's and her houses while they deliberated on the case. Cute characters and friendships and the mystery was well done. I knew who the killer was about 60% of the way and working to prove it was interesting.

The Gardener's Plot is a cozy mystery that introduces a new amateur sleuth, Maggie Walker. When she moves to a small Berkshires town and helps set up a community garden, she has no idea what she is about to discover! When a body is found in the dirt, Maggie will have to investigate to clear the name of her friend. This is a fun mystery story with well-planted clues and suspects, and those who adore gardening and reading about female friendships will find much to enjoy! This looks to be the start of a series that is sure to be full of suspense!

Thank you to NetGalley for a free copy of the book in exchange for a fair review.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Minotaur Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

SYNOPSIS: Maggie Walker is 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, and Violet is nowhere to be found, tings go from bad to worse. 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; Maggie doesn’t believe her dear friend could be responsible for this, and she’s going to dig up the dirt needed to prove it.

MY REVIEW: The Gardener’s Plot was a (too) slow burn… it did not captivate my attention at first, and really didn’t until about 65-70% of the way in. I felt like there was a lot of repetition, and was reading a slight variation of the previous chapter. I think a multiple POV would have added depth and made it more intriguing.

IMO this was completely plot driven; we had minimal details about the characters and I am still unsure of the timeframe of when this all takes place. I want to know more about Maggie and her back story, etc.

What I did like/love: I loved the friendship between Maggie and her neighbor, Sally; I felt the dialogue was genuine between the two women. I also love a whodunit, and there was no shortage of suspects. The small town/community feel was definitely felt, as most of the characters seem to go way back and the descriptions of the town of Marlowe (i.e., diner, print shop, garden supply store, etc.), had a realistic and varied cast of characters to go along with it.

I am looking forward to seeing how this series (and hopefully the characters) develop; for me, a sheerly plot driven novel needs more timeline jumps and a deeper plot line. Also hoping to get a POV of some of the suspects and/or those that are murdered so I can really immerse myself into the rest of the series!

3.5/5!!!!