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.

This cozy mystery totally wowed me! This is my first time reading anything by Deborah Benoit. I read the reviews and found some three stars, four stars and five stars. I decided to read this mystery and loved it from the start. It grabbed me into the story hook, line and sinker. I thought it was scary. The main character thought so too because she was always checking to be sure the dead bolts were locked on her doors. After reading this book in the evenings every time I heard the slightest noise I would be checking my doors also. It was an easy read and I enjoyed the Author’s writing style and the flow of the story. There was more than one murder and there was plenty of suspects who had enough motives to want to kill one of the victims. The characters were all awesome and made this cozy come to life. It was gripping and unpredictable. I had an idea who the killer might be and I hit the nail on the head with the one I picked. I’m glad I decided to read this book. Not only have I found a new to me Author but I’m hoping this series will continue so I can read book two when it becomes available.

I recommend The Gardener’s Plot to readers of cozy mystery and suspense books. This is the first book to the series and it’s scheduled for release on 11/5/24.

I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed here in this review are solely my own.
#TheGardenersPlot #NetGalley

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for this ARC!

"The Gardener's Plot" by Deborah J. Benoit introduces readers to Maggie Walker, a woman returning to her childhood town of Marlowe in the Berkshires for a fresh start. Maggie, drawn to gardening, eagerly joins Violet Bloom in setting up a community garden. However, on the garden's opening day, Violet mysteriously disappears, and Maggie makes a grim discovery: a body buried in one of the garden plots.

Suddenly thrust into the midst of a murder investigation, Maggie finds herself determined to clear Violet's name, convinced her friend couldn't be capable of such a crime. As she delves deeper into the mystery, Maggie uncovers buried secrets and faces unexpected challenges in her quest for justice.

Deborah J. Benoit's debut novel, which won the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award, captures the essence of small-town life in the Berkshires while weaving a compelling tale of suspense and intrigue. Maggie Walker emerges as a tenacious amateur sleuth, navigating through twists and turns to uncover the truth amidst a community rife with secrets.

"The Gardener's Plot" promises readers an engaging blend of gardening passion, community dynamics, and a gripping murder mystery, making it an enticing read for fans of cozy mysteries and amateur detective tales.

This debut crime novel is going to make a fun series. Maggie Walker moves to the Berkshire’s in the house her grandmother left, and can’t wait to redo the gardens. In the meantime she teams up with one of her grandmother’s best friends to develop and open community gardens available to all. On the day of the grand opening her grandmother’s friend Violet is a no show and a dead body is found in the ground.

The Gardener's Plot is a cozy mystery with a garden theme. Maggie Walker has returned to the Berkshires where she spent most of her time growing up in her grandmother's house. Now that her grandmother has passed, Maggie is keen to work with Violet Bloom on the brand-new community garden. Unfortunately, on the day of the grand opening, Violet is missing and there is a dead body in the garden. In true cozy mystery style, Maggie can't help but get into the investigation. With her best friend and neighbor's help, Maggie ruffles more than a few feathers as she tries to solve the mystery. I enjoyed the gardening elements of the story but found it a bit slow and hard to get into. The ending is action-filled and it is clear that there is a lot of potential for future books in the series.

Thank you, NetGalley and Minotaur for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Oh I like this one. It has an interesting storyline, good characters and holds my interest. The garden plot is such a good idea for small communities. Violet Bloom has pushed to get this community garden going and several plots have been claimed. Now it just needs to get open for planting. But she doesn't show up and there is a dead body where there should be none. Maggie is our main character that is way beyond curious and why did anyone die? A good story that was fun to read. Maggie just made me smile. She seemed a bit nutty.

I really enjoyed this one as it had several twists and turns I didn't see coming! Maggie is Violet's assistant and they are excited to open the first community garden when a body turns up on opening day. It's a small town in Massachusetts so everyone knows everyone else and though not all get along, they manage to keep the peace for the most part. But of course a dead body is not an every-day occurrence, so tensions are running high and suddenly another resident is missing, Maggie sees herself as an amatuer sleuth so she begins her search for clues even as she's warned to leave things alone. And you never know what will turn up in a small town!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

This was the first book I read by this author. While I do enjoy cozy mysteries, they usually are not my go-to genre. I was attracted to this book by the title since I am a gardener.

I am so glad that I found this book and author. I totally enjoyed every minute within the pages. Great characters and a plot that was easy for me to follow. I, of course, did not guess who done it, and usually that is the case for me.

I definitely will be reading more books by Ms. Benoit.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books and NetGalley for giving me the pleasure of reading this book.

This was a fun, quick read. The story kept me intrigued throughout the entire book. While I can often predict the ending, I was unable to with this book. Just when I thought it was winding down, it took me on an unexpected roller coaster. It’s hard to make a character who isn’t the killer the worst person in the book, but that is what this book offers with its antagonist. Just a good, fun mystery that most people would enjoy.

I enjoyed The Gardener's Plot. The quirky characters add a lot to the story. Maggie Walker and her friend Sally are on the trail of the killer, even as the handsome detective warns them off, but without them will the crime be solved. I'm not a fan of the curse words that were sprinkled throughout the book, but I won't deduct stars for that. The story is well-written and the setting is great. If you enjoy cozy mysteries, this is a good one. I received a free copy from Netgalley, opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this first book in a new series. It focused on gardening which is a hobby of mine. The story was slow at times but kept my attention. It is a nice typical cozy mystery for spending an afternoon on the couch. The reveal was a bit unexepected but I think because at times I had difficulty remembering characters. I would have liked the characters and scenery to be a bit more fleshed out to help bring the story to life.

What a delightful cozy mystery! Well written, the pages turning themselves to find out what happens next! I look forward to finding out what Maggie gets up to next.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGallery for the advanced copy in return for an honest review!

An absolute gem of a cozy mystery! Engaging plot, charming characters, and just the right amount of suspense. A must-read for mystery lovers!

Very slow burn. Took me awhile to get into and was kind of boring. Pleasant to read but not much was happening to keep intrigued.

Maggie Walker returned to Marlowe, Massachusetts, where she spent a majority of her childhood being raised by her grandparents. After the death of her almost ex-husband, she buys her grandmother’s house after she dies, and has plans to fix it up and improve the gardens.

One of the first things Maggie did was volunteer to help Violet, a new friend, create a community garden. On the opening day of the garden, a body was discovered and Violet was missing. This seemed to point to her guilt, but Maggie was not convinced. She and her best friend Sally began to trace Violet’s steps from the day before in order to find her. I really enjoyed the ride I was taken on to find Violet.

I loved this book! I was engrossed from beginning to end in the journey to find Violet and prove her innocence. I loved Maggie and Sally’s longstanding friendship. I was concerned that there would be a Maggie/Sam/Catherine triangle, but was glad this didn’t happen. I am not a fan of the mean girl mentality in books and hope Ms. Benoit finds a way to soften up Catherine so that she is not so hateful. I liked the small-town vibe going on and the potential love interest for Maggie in Detective Quinn. I am really glad I was able to get an ARC to this book and cannot wait to read more Maggie stories!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cozy-ish easy read but sloooooooow. In my mind it could have been a short story and just as effective. It feels like it’s trying to hard to be cozy and feels forced

While there was a good cozy in there somewhere, this needs a massive editing job to pull that story out of what we have currently. 😕 The first full quarter of the book could be cut, as well as so much more. And with all that, the murderer barely made sense. More focus on the things that matter to the story, less on.. everything else.

3.5 rounded up to 4

It's nice to read a murder mystery book once in a while that doesn't have extreme gore and isn't scary. The cozy vibes were there with the small town and some of the characters. I definitely thought Maggie was unreliable at first, but she turns out to be trustworthy. Good luck, guessing who the killer is! You'll need it. All my guesses were wrong.

Murder she wrote vibes. ✨

Having read the synopsis, I knew I was waiting for a body to be found. Problem is, they didn’t find it til the end of chapter three.
A modern day Nancy Drew story. The main character Maggie Walker is determined to find her friend, Violet Bloom, even if it means putting herself and her friend Sally in jeopardy.

This was such a good book. If I didn’t get an advance copy, this is a book that I would definitely buy, because look how beautiful the story is. The story inside is just as great.