Cozy mysteries have a special place in my heart. This is such a charming story, though it deals with a murder. Small-town sleuths motivate me to devour a story. This was so well written, and I loved the use of deduction.
I am not a gardener, and I don't enjoy playing in the dirt, but I did enjoy this story and the characters. A good cozy is such a palette cleanser, and after some of the thrillers I've been reading, this was the perfect sprinkle of humor, charm, intrigue, and mystery. If you like a well-done " who did it" without the weight of a thriller, this is the perfect balance.

I enjoyed this. Some of the characters ran together, and I had a hard time keeping them straight. I would continue reading more if it was a series.

This is the first book by this author that I have read. I enjoyed it very much. Maggie is back in Marlowe, the town where she has many fond memories. She loves to garden and is trying to settle into the community. What better way than to help Violet Bloom establish a community garden. However, on the day of the grand opening, Violet is nowhere to be found. What is found is a body buried in one of the gardening plots. The police are wondering where Violet has gone and Maggie is afraid they think her friend killed the man. She likes Violet and feels sorry for her family. So Maggie decides to ask a few questions and see if she can't find another suspect for the police.

It's a fun mystery and provided me with a nice way to spend an afternoon. The story held my attention and kept me guessing. I liked Maggie and the people of Marlowe. There is a bit of a twist at the end.

The Gardener's Plot by Deborah J. Benoit in quick, rapid-fire thoughts.

-a light and airy read (for a murder-mystery!)
-main character Maggie seemed super naive for a good chunk of the book
-(and looking back, I wish she had more personality)
-character name "Violet Bloom" fit in perfectly within a gardening-based book
-oppositely, "Sam Whitacker" was a familiar sounding character name
-Maggie seemed to have luck on her side, with everything working in her favour
-similar feeling plot to other mysteries I've read lately
-I had fun guessing the perpetrator
-perfect cozy mystery for spring

All in all, this was a decent debut with a beautiful cover!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the complimentary copy to read and review.

Thank you to Minotaur & Netgalley for the arc

Finding a body in the plot of your community garden isn't the best way to adjust to a new life but it's what happens to Maggie. This was a charming debut novel combining small town cozy mystery with a gardening twist. However, the author used zero physical descriptors for her characters and it was an odd choice for me and took some adjustments.

This was one of the more entertaining cozy mysteries I've read recently. I liked the characters and the setting. The story moved a little slowly at times, but it held my attention for the most part. I don't know if this was the start of a series, but a potential sequel would at least make its way onto my maybe/not absolute TBR list if it appears.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

"The Gardener's Plot" is a small-town murder mystery with Maggie Walker at its center.

Maggie grew up in the town, but moved away when she became an adult. After the sudden death of her soon-to-be ex-husband a year earlier and her grandmother's recent passing, she comes back to town to heal her wounds and live in her grandmother's house, a place she knew and loved well.

When she and her friend Violet prepare to open the town's first community garden, everyone is surprised to find a dead body buried in one of the plots. But when Violet also goes missing, Maggie and her childhood friend, Sally, decide to try to locate her by retracing her steps.

Despite frequent warnings from the detective investigating both the murder and disappearance, Violet and Maggie seem to make a bit of headway, only to end up in the killer's crosshairs.

Overall, the story is fairly well done, but for whatever reason, I just never really connected with the main character. I enjoyed the story, but that disconnect meant I didn't love it. Too many of the characters seemed flat and two-dimensional and some connections just didn't make sense. For example, Maggie's nemesis happens to be the wife of another of her childhood friends, Sam. While Sam seems like a nice, personable, caring guy, his wife is your stereotypical mean girl, even as an adult. So, the relationship just makes no sense.

Thank you to Deborah J. Benoit, the publisher and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

Maggie, along with her neighbor and friend, Sally, are curious, concerned about missing Violet. Maggie has just discovered a body, well, a boot, in the new community garden. She has a concern for the missing Violet. Soon Maggie and Sally are chasing clues and asking questions. A tale of their pursuit and where it leads them--into danger. Read to find out what happened, why it happened, and who did it.

When Maggie Walker buys her grandmother's house in the Berkshires and returns after the loss of her husband she also returns to her love of gardening. But when a body is found in the community garden Maggie and her friend Sally are determined to try and solve the mystery and stay ahead of the killer.

A cute cozy mystery that I enjoyed. I did figure out who the killer was but it was an enjoyable read and I will be looking for more books by this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the chance to read and review this book.

A delightful and captivating read that weaves mystery with charm. I loved the quaint village that was the setting and also the characters, each with their own quirks and secrets. The plot was good with a few twists and turns to keep the reader guessing.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Maggie is back home in the house of her beloved grandmother. Maggie has had a few setbacks in her life but if she thought things would be smooth, she was sorely mistaken. She volunteers to help lead a community garden group with Violet but the day the garden was set to open, there is a body discovered in one of the plots. Violet is nowhere to be found and since the deceased had been making a pain of himself trying to coerce Maggie into selling her home, she becomes a suspect.

Things do not improve when her childhood nemesis accuses Maggie of all sorts of evils including murdering her brother, who happened to be the corpse. The fact that Catherine is the wife of the chief of police and her husband, Sam, was a former beau of Maggie does not help. The fun has just begun and the detective investigating the murder is a gruff no-nonsense sort. His biggest concern is Maggie is asking a lot of questions with her friend Sally. When the two discover Violet’s body in the woods things get too real and Maggie is determined to back off.

Circumstances conspire to prevent that and Maggie gets close to the Darwin line when she pokes the killer once too often. The plot was pretty straight forward without any real twists but it still had its moments of intensity and proved to be an entertaining read. Four purrs and two paws up.

A quick cozy mystery read. Possible room for a follow up with Maggie and the sheriff. I received this as an arc with no pressure for a positive review.

This was a charming cozy mystery that was full of garden 🪴 puns that wasn’t rushed with it’s character development, but came with time.

Interesting read. A woman returns to her hometown to live after her soon to be divorced husband is killed in a hit and run accident and her grandmother passes away so she buys the family home and begins her life as a newly widowed woman. She meets a kindred spirit who enjoys gardening and they plan a community garden but on the day the garden is supposed to get underway, the woman is nowhere to be found and a body is found in one of the gardening plots. What happened in the garden?

This book was such a charming escape! It’s got the perfect mix of heart, humor, and a little mystery woven into a beautifully described setting. The characters felt so real—quirky, lovable, and full of personality—and I found myself completely invested in their journey. The writing is warm and engaging, making it such a cozy and enjoyable read. If you love stories with a little bit of intrigue and a whole lot of heart, this one’s definitely worth picking up!

A cozy mystery about gardening , missing person and murder.
Maggie helps with a community garden and on opening day doesn't go as plan.
An easy read.
Voluntarily reviewed

“𝐁𝐚𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭: 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡.”

I adored this cozy mystery debut from Deborah J. Benoit!

Sometimes cozy mysteries are just like Hallmark movies. There are tropes to expect, of which this has in spades: someone coming home to their small town after many years away, receiving the family home after the death of a loved one, small-town enemies, an old flame/friendship reunion, and a hot detective investigating the murder that the main character discovered. I really appreciated the way Benoit uses these tropes to give a total comfort read. Maggie is a fun protagonist, and Benoit infusing her real-life master gardener knowledge into the story made this stand out. Maggie’s discovery of the body at the opening of the local community garden was an interesting way to prolong the reveal of who the victim is, with them buried in the dirt, alongside the second mystery of her missing friend Violet missing. Maggie’s levelheaded sense of curiousity is balanced well with her best friend Sally’s adventerous spirit - I am so glad Benoit concentrated on their friendship in teaming up to find Violet and find information about the murder, rather than a romance between Maggie and the detective (although it is cleverly hinted at). I got sucked into this mystery: I wanted to know why Maggie was targeted (does the land of family home have something to do with it?!), where Violet went, and why the victim was killed, all of which had satisfactory resolutions.

The Gardener’s Plot is a whimsical and fun cozy mystery; I really hope it is the beginning of a series as I’d love to see more of these characters. Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

Fun quick read. Thanks for the advanced reader copy Netgalley! If you like to garden and like murder, check this out!

I have yet to be disappointed when I have picked up one of the First Crime Novel winners from the MWA and Minotaur. Maggie, the only grandchild who decides to purchase their grandmother's house as detailed in her will, has settled into life in a small Berkshires town. Maggie is passionate about gardening and assists Violet in the opening of the community garden. I'm sure you know where this is going, where there's dirt there's usually a body in these books and I loved every page while learning about the people around town and the crime.

Thank you for allowing me to read this book as an ARC.
This author was new to me and I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this cozy mystery novel. I enjoyed the characters and also the principal protagonist. The other characters in the book fit in perfectly. The story flows well and allows the reader to feel like he/she is a part of the story. That is always important to me to feel like I am a part of it.
While I had several ideas who the "bad" person is, I enjoyed the twist and actually had it all wrong 😅 Even though the story closes out with no lose ends, I am hoping for another installment or continuation!