The first in a new series, The Gardener's Plot was an enjoyable cozy mystery read!
What I liked included: the small town feel (always good when "everyone knows everyone"), the relationship between the two best friends, and the main character actually takes advice from others (turning in evidence, etc.).

I was a tad confused about what time period this takes place in (landlines/call waiting/limited cell phone use). Was this the late 90's or early 2000's?

I look forward to the next in the series and the growing of the characters.

I like this! Characters that felt real in a fresh location, and a mystery with just enough turns to keep me guessing.

This was such an enjoyable and entertaining cozy mystery. It’s so bingeable and full of lots of surprises. It kept my attention the whole time and I loved how the story unfolded and the suspense continued to build. Maggie was such a lovable character and I loved her friendship with Sally. This book had everything that I expect to find in a cozy mystery! Highly recommend!

Deborah J. Benoit is a new author for me and The Gardener's Plot was an interesting cozy mystery.

Maggie Walker is starting her life over in the small town of Marlowe in the Berkshires. She seems to be a strong and resilient woman who loves gardening and is settling in nicely in her new home. The plot is smoothly paced but does slowdown in the middle. The twists and multiple suspects kept me guessing until the reveal.

BOOK REPORT
Received a complimentary copy of The Gardener’s Plot, by Deborah J. Benoit, from St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books /NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.

Why this book won Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award is completely beyond me.

I mean, I didn’t go into it expecting to be riveted or anything; I just needed a cozy murder mystery to get me through a few stressful hours, and even though I do not have a garden proper, I love to work in my yard and with potted plants. So The Gardener’s Plot seemed like just the ticket.

Alas, it was just about as slow as molasses, and there was a lot of repetitively repeating repetitiveness. Almost like the author was saying the same thing over and over again. And again and again.

No believable characters/dialogue/plotting. And what the tickety-boo was going on with cell phone usage? Was this supposed to be set in the early 2000s or something? And how did the main character earn a living? I guess through her writing.

Oh, well. C’est la vie, as those proverbial old folks say. Just won’t plan to read anything else by this author.

DESCRIPTION

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

The Gardener’s Plot takes readers to the heart of the Berkshires and introduces amateur sleuth Maggie Walker in Deborah J. Benoit’s Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award-winning debut.

Thanks NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is an American cozy book. Maggie moves back home to Marlowe in the Berkshires after her grandma passes away. She bought the house fair and square from the estate but now her cousin, Simon, wants part of it. Maggie happens to live next door to her childhood friend Sally Kendall. Maggie has been busy in her short time back including helping Violet Bloom get a Community Garden up and running. The first day the garden is open for digging, there is a body in the dirt. A pesky developer who was not liked. He was trying to buy up property and create Marlowe Estates. Maggie and Sally begin snooping, especially after no one seems to have seen Violet. Is she the victim of foul play? Did she run away? This is a quick read, you will have figured out whodunnit quickly. Benoit leaves lots of room for a sequel. Maggie’s archenemies is married to the local cop, a cute detective drives her just a little too crazy, and Cousin Simon isn’t quite out of the picture.

I think this series will get even better as the characters develop and we get more backstory. I loved the friendship of the main character with her neighbor.

Maggie Walker is happy to be home and helping set up the plots for all to garden. Until that is, she finds a body in one of the beds. Also, Violet the one setting up this garden plot is nowhere to be found. Maggie can't help but be sucked into trying to solve the murder. Question is  will she solve it or be the next victim. This was a captivating read and I will look forward to more from this author.

The Gardener's Plot didn't catch my interest at first, but after a few chapters, I was immersed in the cozy mystery. It's somewhat predictable, but well-written with engaging characters.

Maggie is getting used to being back in town after buying her grandmother's house. She's become involved with the new community garden project and reconnecting with old friends. But soon she's found a dead body, a new friend is missing, and the police are looking at Maggie as a suspect. To add to the drama, she's harassed by the old school bully and by a relative looking for money. As Maggie hunts for her missing friend, she starts to find connections to the murder as well.

It's a well-ordered plot with lots of clues, suspects, and action. For those who care about that sort of thing, it's free from sex, swearing, etc. and the violence isn't explicit. The author leaves some possibility of continuing the series but this may also be planned as a stand-alone. Overall, a worthwhile easy fun read.

Set in the Berkshires, a murder and disappearance sets a small town on edge just as they are opening their community garden. Amateur sleuths insisting on helping the authorities round out this this wonderful cozy mystery!

I had a blast reading this cozy mystery! The pacing was slow, and the plot unraveled a little slow, but that’s the beauty of a cozy mystery! I was never bored, and remained curious the entire time.

different from what i would typically choose to read, but not in a bad way. this book was well executed. great plot!

4 🌟 Read

Such a fun murder mystery, it's suspenseful and engaging without being gritty and dark .

The story unfolds slowly but it never gets boring, your given just enough each chapter to keep the pages turning and your suspicions growing.

Maggie Walker has just moved back to the quiet town she grew up after many years away. Getting involved with a local community garden project seems like the perfect operation to do something she loves and get settled back in. That is until she finds a body in one of the garden plots.

Thank you netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC.

I really enjoyed The Gardener's Plot. Being an avid gardener I appreciated the building of a community garden, and also enjoyed the mystery that followed. This was a fun mystery, easy to read. Well done.

I have to say that I finally made it through this book. I don't know what it was about it, but it simply was not holding my attention. I would read some, then put it down to read something else and come back to it. Maybe it was I simply am not into gardening and that put me off. I did like the friendship between the main character and her friend Sally. I also didn't guess who the killer was. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to give this book a try.

I had so much fun with this cozy mystery!
Maggie Walker moved back to Marlowe after her grandmother's death and the subsequent purchase of her grandmother's home. But returning home, even living next to her best friend, isn't turning out to be exactly what Maggie was expecting. She's constantly dealing with the catty Catherine Whitacker, her cousin Simon demanding his fair share, and a pushy real estate developer who won't take no for an answer. The only saving grace is the community garden that Maggie and her friend Violet Bloom have worked tirelessly to get up and running. But what happens when the sanctuary of the community garden is broken when Maggie discovers a body in one of the plots? And why can't anyone find Violet who never even showed up for the opening?
There was so much about the book that I loved. While I am not a gardener (I wish I had a green thumb) I loved the gardening aspect of the book. The story moved a little slowly at times but I still found myself interested in how the plot would develop. I thought the cast of characters was fun and varied. I would be interested in reading more books by Deborah Benoit.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Interesting twists and turns (not to mention plantings). I will be looking for more by Deborah J Benoit.

A cozy mystery. It’s kinda slow for me and I’m not sure if it’s the mood that I was in, but I think it could be better. The plot itself was slow.

I really enjoyed this story! I’m not sure you can call two murders, an abduction, and near death “cozy”, but this who-dunnit was. I loved the gardening angle! I did not see the ending being the way it was. Overall, likable characters and well written. Good story!

3.5/5

In "The Gardener's Plot", Maggie Walker helps set up a community garden in Marlowe, the town where she spent much time as a child with her grandmother. As Maggie had always loved gardening, it was only natural to sign on to help Violet Bloom set it up. However, when opening day arrived, Violet was nowhere to be found. Things went from bad to worse when Maggie found a boot buried in one of the plots… and a body attached to it. Suddenly, the police are looking for a killer and they keep asking questions about Violet, who's still missing. Maggie doesn’t believe her friend could do this, and she’s going to dig up the dirt needed to prove it.

The gardening theme was on point, so this cozy mystery would be a great read for garden lovers.

There were many plot twists that kept me interested, with more than one murder needing solving and many, many suspects. However, I found the pacing very slow at times, which made it difficult for me to stay engaged.