Michelle Blanchard Ardillo

First of all, when I read the author’s bio for this book, I was 100% IN and immediately requested an ARC of this new mystery from Macmillan Publishers via NetGalley. This is Deborah Benoit’s debut novel and The Gardener’s Plot won the First Crime Novel Competition sponsored by Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America. Prior to taking to the blood-dripping pen of mystery writers, Benoit was a legal secretary for 30 years. As an aspiring writer working on my first novel, who coincidentally spent 20 years in the legal field, I take great comfort in knowing it’s not too late to swing for the fences!

It was obvious to me early on that this was no run of the mill debut novel. The writing is solid and engaging. The characters are fully developed and the plot is compelling. While I spent the first quarter of the book angsting over the disappearance of Maggie’s good friend and fellow gardener Violet, a body is found in the new community garden…and it’s not the missing Violet! Nice twist there.

In The Gardener’s Plot, I didn’t find many of the usual weaknesses in debut novels, but if I had to quibble over anything it would be that there is not much in the way of physical description of the characters. I like to be able to paint a picture in my mind of the characters and I found it difficult to do so with this one. Not a deal killer by any stretch, as the imagery and descriptive writing for the flowers and trees was excellent. It is a book about gardening after all!

I zipped through this mystery at top speed, not just to learn the identity of the killer, but because the plot and character development kept me very interested. The ending is very satisfying, if a bit of a nail-biter—to be honest a bit less cozy than the traditional cozy mystery—but it left a few loose threads that I can only imagine Ms. Benoit is hard at work to tie up in book #2. I’m banking on this one being the start of a Maggie Walker series! As stated earlier, I’m 100% IN on this one! Well done, Ms. Benoit, well done!