The Gardener's Plot

July 1, 2024

DEBUT After the deaths of both her ex-husband and her grandmother, Maggie Walker bought her Gramma's house in Marlowe, MA, and moved home. She hopes to restore the house's landscaping, and she is also eager to work with Violet Bloom, director of the new community gardens. The day of the community garden's grand opening, though, Maggie receives a note saying that Violet will be late, so Maggie lets all the gardeners into their assigned plots. One plot has a boot in it--a boot with a foot. Opening day is ruined as the police descend on the gardens. The victim was a pushy developer in town, disliked by many, including Maggie. She's more concerned, though, that no one is as worried about Violet as she is. The police seem to think that Violet has disappeared because she's a murder suspect, but Maggie worries that no one is truly looking for her. Maggie and her best friend Sally backtrack to learn what Violet was doing on the day she went missing in hopes of uncovering her whereabouts. VERDICT Cozy readers who garden will enjoy this descriptive debut mystery, winner of the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel competition.--Lesa Holstine

Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2024

Benoit won the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Competition for this cozy debut set in the Berkshires, starring amateur sleuth Maggie Walker. She volunteers to work in the community garden, but on opening day, more is found in the garden than plants--a body has been buried. Maggie digs in and investigates. Prepub Alert.

Copyright 2024 Library Journal

Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2024
Sometimes rivalries from the past never fade away. Maggie Walker has been drawn back to her hometown of Marlowe, Massachusetts, by warm memories of her recently deceased grandmother. In the grocery store, she runs into Catherine Whitacker, who has been mean to her since seventh grade. Catherine's husband, Police Chief Sam Whitacker, dated Maggie in high school, providing yet another reason for her mistreatment. When Maggie's grandmother's estate was being settled, Maggie had bid for her Victorian home, which none of the other legatees wanted, and that money went into the residual estate. Now her cousin Simon is demanding more money, which he insists she can give him by selling the place to Catherine's half brother, pushy developer Carl Henderson. Meanwhile, Maggie's developed a friendship with Violet Bloom, whom she's helped with plans for a community garden. The day of the garden's opening, Maggie finds a note from Violet warning that she may be late. So Maggie begins the event on her own, only to find a body partially buried in one of the food plots. Her best friend, Sally, provides much-needed support when the body is identified as that of Carl Henderson. In the absence of Violet, who's vanished without a trace, Catherine and her equally snarky friends all but accuse Maggie of murder. Henderson's development schemes antagonized many people, but Maggie, who can't help feeling that she's the main suspect, sets to work to prove her innocence and find Violet. Both the state police detective and Sam warn her to stop, but she continues nosing around, putting herself and Sally in danger from a desperate killer. All those obvious suspects give the plucky heroine plenty of scope for her investigation.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 1, 2024
Maggie Walker returned to small-town Marlowe (located in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts), purchased her grandmother's house from her estate, and now works as a freelance writer. She is also assisting her friend Violet Bloom in getting a new community garden started. On the garden's opening day, Violet doesn't show, and Maggie finds a body buried in one of the garden plots. The victim, Carl Henderson, had been pestering Maggie to sell him her house, but Maggie has refused. When Violet doesn't appear, Maggie is concerned, and she feels she is under suspicion, too, since she is the only other person who has a key to the fenced-in garden. To locate Violet and clear them both, Maggie begins an investigation with the help of her good friend Sally, against the wishes of handsome state-police detective Matt Quinn. T heir investigation leads to dire consequences. Gardening information is seamlessly woven throughout this satisfying debut cozy with well-drawn characters that hopefully will be the first in a series.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 2, 2024
A young widow discovers a corpse in a community garden in Benoit’s sweet debut. After Maggie Walker’s husband dies in a traffic accident on his way to see a divorce lawyer, she returns, grief-stricken, to her childhood home in Marlowe, Mass. To keep busy, she joins the nascent Marlowe Community Garden, which is overseen by local busybody Violet Bloom. On the day of the garden’s grand opening, Violet is a no-show, forcing Maggie to assign the assembled volunteers their plots. Then, to her horror, Maggie finds a body partially buried in some freshly tilled soil. She calls 911, summoning her old friend, police chief Sam Whitacker, to the scene, alongside handsome state detective Matt Quinn. Quinn’s aggressive questioning leads Maggie to believe Violet has become a person of interest in the case, which inspires her to do a little digging of her own. With the assistance of her neighbor Sally, and Sally’s trusty dog, Dreyfus, Maggie learns of some simmering local land disputes—and then more bodies start piling up. Benoit takes her time setting the scene and introducing the players, but she keeps things lively and charming all the while. There’s not much innovation on offer, but readers will find this executes the cozy formula well.