This was a very good read. I enjoyed the plot, the twists, and the cast of characters. The mystery was intriguing and fun. Being a gardener myself, I loved the gardening aspects of the story.

The characters were likable and
the writing was easy to follow. This book was uniquely entertaining and a nice simple book to spend an afternoon reading.

Overall, the Gardener's Plot was a lighthearted murder mystery that kept me guessing until the end. I hope to read more books by this author in the future.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I received a free copy from NetGalley. An interesting cast of characters drive this plot along. Entertaining location and small town.

An excellent mystery that mixes elements of cozy (small town, amateur sleuth) with a sharp description of small town life and a solid mystery
Maggie is a clever and strong woman, she grew on me and I would be happy to read more about her.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Not my favorite cup of tea. A little slow at the beginning, the tram is certainly interesting, but it could have been done better. Thanks to nNetgalley for the chance of reading this book in adv, and sorry for the delay :)

I loved, loved, loved this book! Maggie is a great main character. I love a good mystery and this one had it all. Grab it!

I was a bit behind on my reviews and I just happened to find the audio to this so I was able to read and listen I highly recommend the audiobook!
Small down cozy mystery with 2 dead bodies and a kidnapping!

This was action packed and it didn't slow down. I didnt even see who the suspect was. I was shocked and the ending was great.
As far as cozy mysteries go I'll be loking for more.

My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A cozy mystery and.a quick read. I enjoyed the references to the master gardener program and wanted to get digging in the dirt with them. A little too much introspection that got a bit repetitive. I couldn't get a real feel for the ages of these folks. Why wasn't Maggie working? I did like the characters and was kinda sad to see one go.

“The Gardener’s Plot” is the nicely done debut mystery novel by Deborah Benoit. The book introduces readers to Maggie Walker who bought her late grandmother’s house and has moved back home to the Berkshires. Determined to make a fresh start, Maggie volunteers to help set up a community garden. Unfortunately, things bet off to a bad start when she finds a dead body and someone else is missing. The police are investigating but Maggie and her friend Sally do some digging on their own but will their sleuthing put them in danger?

For the most part, I really enjoyed this book. It serves as a nice set up to future books in the series – setting up Maggie as a strong main character, introducing the town she lives in, and the various people in her life including her relationship with Sally, the police, Catherine who hates her for reasons Maggie can only guess at, and friends and neighbors. The gardening aspects were well done – I am not a gardener but I found that there was just enough information about the gardening without it being overwhelming. Unfortunately, while there was plenty of information about the gardening I found the book to be low on details about other things – Maggie’s age, how she was surviving money wise (she used much of her money to buy the house and I doubt her part time gig writing a gardening column paid that well), even the name of Sally’s children (one was finally named late in the book). While I thought the mystery was good, with some great moments of suspense, I did find there was a lack of suspects. However, as a first book this was well-written and I think future books in the series will fill in some of the missing gaps.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

Thank you Minotaur and NetGalley for the eARC of The Gardener's Plot! All opinions in this review are my own.

I really like that there are two mysteries in this one - a body and a missing person! I wish there had been more clues or discoveries in the middle of the mystery, but it makes for a very exciting ending! I can't wait to read the next book in this series!

Thank you for #NetGalley for this book in exchange for an honest review. This was a decent mystery, I thought the characters were good. The story was a bit slow. I am not sure I will be reading anymore from this author.

Maggie Walker has come back to her hometown for a fresh start - after he grandmother's passing she purchases her house but he cousin Simon is not happy with the inheritance. Carl Henson, a real estate developer, is constantly hassling her to sell the home and property. Maggie keeps pushing them both aside and is focusing on working with her friend Violet Blook to open a community garden. The day the garden is supposed to open a boot is found in the dirt, Maggie goes to pick it up but discovers it was not only a boot but a body buried in the garden. Violet is missing and never showed up to the opening. With the help of her friend Sally, Maggie sets off to find out what is going on.

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC.

3.5 stars.
A dead body in a newly opened community garden and a missing friend (who is a generally super busy organizer of many things), and little information from police, propel main character and gardener Maggie Walker into taking matters into her own hands to figure out what is going on.

Maggie has returned to the small town of Marlowe in the Berkshires as she's looking to restart her life. A writer and gardener, she eagerly agrees to help Violet Bloom create a community garden in town, as she settles into her deceased grandmother's home.

All is not well, though. A local, pushy real estate agent keeps pestering her to sell, while Maggie's cousin Simon insists the house should be his, despite never having expressed any desire to purchase it when it was available. Also, Catherine Whitaker, wife of the Marlowe chief of police Sam, persists in saying pointed and unkind things about Maggie; this is longstanding behaviour, going back to when they were in school together.

Then, on the opening day of the garden, Violet is nowhere to be found and Maggie finds a dead body of the pushy real estate agent in a plot, leaving her shaken. Violet remains at large during the police investigation, with Maggie, and friend and neighbour Sally Kendall, doing their own sleuthing when Maggie feels frustrated by the lack of information released.

The two unearth jealousies, secrets, and motives, and eventually learn of various deals the dead man had on the go, and how his shenanigans affected people in town.

This was a pleasant story, with a likeable pair of amateur sleuths in Maggie and Sally. The small town atmosphere, full of personalities and gossip, was amusing and the story moved well, making this a fast and entertaining read.

Thank you to Netgalley and to St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.

This was a cute cozy mystery that had me entertained the whole time. I enjoyed the garden talk and the characters were well done. I did a combo audio/physical reading and enjoyed both. The ending was slightly predictable and I'm getting a little worn out of the "I'll just investigate myself" trope that is floating everywhere but, overall, a solid story that kept me entertained!

The Gardener’s Plot is Deborah J. Benoit’s debut novel and an award winning one at that. It follows Maggie and the other residents of a small town called Marlowe. Maggie came back to Marlowe looking for a fresh start, but that wasn’t in the cards for her. First she finds a body in a plot in the community garden and her new friend Violet is missing. She doesn’t think that the lead detective is taking her friend’s disappearance very seriously, so she and her best friend start retracing Violet’s last steps before she vanished. Unfortunately, that grabs the killer’s attention. Will Maggie and her best friend find out what happened to Violet and who killed Carl before it is too late? Read The Gardener’s Plot to find out.
This story was intriguing and a little bit different than I was expecting, but very good nonetheless. I can’t wait to read what else this author creates.

*I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for my honest review.*

A light'ish mystery - not quite a cozy, but quite enjoyable. Maggie has lost her beloved grandmother and bought the house where she lived with her grandparents while she was growing up. Now that she is back in town, she is diving back into life and joining in where she can and that includes with a new town garden. Everything is going well until the day of the opening at the town garden and a body is discovered and the head of the garden, Violet, is missing. Maggie and her best friend start to look for Violet and look into the murder in the garden.

I really enjoyed this novel and Maggie adapting to being back in town and seeing people that she has a history with but hasn't seen in years. Add in harassments from her cousin about her owing him money for the grandma's house she bought and bullies from her high school. Maggie has quite a lot to sort out, but with the help of her best friend and taking the time to keep from getting too anxious, she can make it all work out ok.

⅘ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Gardeners Plot
Author: Deborah J Benoit
Mystery

This was a fun and unique read! Thank you so much Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC! “A woman helps set up a community garden in the Berkshires, only to find a body in one of the plots on opening day”. This was the best one line summary of a book I have ever read. 😂. Maggie is a really interesting character. Honestly this book kind of reminded me of “The Maid” by Nita Prose. It was quirky and fast paced. It was definitely more of a cozy mystery, not a keep you on the edge of your seat, heart racing, palms sweating kind of read. You don’t read many books about gardening so this was fun! I would definitely read more by this author.

Maggie Walker spent summers at her grandmother’s home in Marlowe. When her grandmother died and the house was put up for sale it had been neglected and needed work, but with fond memories Maggie purchased it. An avid gardener, she became involved in her friend Violet’s project to create a community garden. On the opening day Violet never arrives to open the gates. With the gardeners getting restless, Maggie opens the gates to find a boot sticking up from one of the plots. It leads to the discovery of a recently buried body. Police are called and Maggie is questioned to the point where she believes that they suspect her. Violet’s disappearance also makes her a person of interest. This leaves Maggie no choice but to investigate to find and clear her friend. With the help of her neighbor Sally, she begins asking questions around town that could put them in danger.

This is Deborah Benoit’s debut mystery and she keeps you guessing. Maggie begins receiving prank calls, must face the town’s gossips and deal with a cousin who is threatening legal action regarding the grandmother’s property. A local realtor had also been pestering her to sell the home. He had been involved in a real estate scam and had a number of enemies in the town. Benoit sets her story in a small town that has a neighborly feel, but it also means that gossip passes quickly. Maggie has her supporters and is friends with Sam, the police chief. They once dated. Now Sam’s wife runs the local garden club and has become her nemesis. After getting to know the residents of Marlowe, Benoit reveals a murderer who comes as a complete surprise. While Maggie frustrates the efforts of the investigating officer to keep her safe, there is a hint of a possible romance that will leave you hoping that Benoit will bring Maggie back soon. I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press - Minotaur for providing this book.

This would be perfect for someone who really likes to garden. Some of the desriptions and names of the plants as well as many of the gardening scenes just felt unnecessary to someone without an appreaciation for digging in the dirt.

There are definitely cozy mystery vibes here. The pacing is nice and leisurely.

I'd consider this to be a great palate cleanser between darker books or for when you want to read something that won't require a lot of brain power to follow along.

I read "The Gardener's Plot" by Deborah J. Benoit on NetGalley. The mystery of this novel occurs when a dead body is discovered in a community garden on opening day. Maggie is the one to find the dead body and her friend, Violet, is also missing. I really enjoyed this book, and can't wait to read more from the author.

This is a great series starter and well titled with a main character is a master gardener named Maggie/Margaret Walker. Maggie finds herself back in her hometown after 15 years, to settle her Gramma’s estate which included purchasing the family home where she spent so much of her life. While there was an offer on the house, Gramma’s heirs had right of first refusal and Maggie couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. Maggie wasn’t the only one who wanted the house; annoying Cousin Simon and shiftless wheeler dealer Carl Henderson have been more difficult than invasive weeds each badgering her to sell for different reasons. Thankfully, Violet Bloom is keeping Maggie busy as her assistant for the city community park project. Maggie has never been busier, what with the disappearance of Violet, the death of Carl Henderson, and the endless nagging calls and certified letters from Cousin Simon. The other troublesome problem in the cozy town of Marlowe is that gossip is a major league sport and Catherine Walker is a heavy hitter. We have no idea why Catherine has such a strong aversion to Maggie but the past romantic high school history that Maggie shares with police Chief Sam Whitaker aka Catherine’s husband, doesn’t help.
This story does a great job of keeping you guessing and hoping against hope. I was hoping that Cousin Simon would give it a rest. There is humor, angst, a smidge of sassiness, a touch of sarcasm, and some ride or die friendship. This was a great series starter; at least I hope it is a starter and that there are more in the works. An entertaining cozy it is also educational with some great gardening tips right alongside of the clues that are sewn into the story.