Set in the Berkshires, a murder and disappearance sets a small town on edge just as they are opening their community garden. Amateur sleuths insisting on helping the authorities round out this this wonderful cozy mystery!

I had a blast reading this cozy mystery! The pacing was slow, and the plot unraveled a little slow, but that’s the beauty of a cozy mystery! I was never bored, and remained curious the entire time.

different from what i would typically choose to read, but not in a bad way. this book was well executed. great plot!

4 🌟 Read

Such a fun murder mystery, it's suspenseful and engaging without being gritty and dark .

The story unfolds slowly but it never gets boring, your given just enough each chapter to keep the pages turning and your suspicions growing.

Maggie Walker has just moved back to the quiet town she grew up after many years away. Getting involved with a local community garden project seems like the perfect operation to do something she loves and get settled back in. That is until she finds a body in one of the garden plots.

Thank you netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC.

I really enjoyed The Gardener's Plot. Being an avid gardener I appreciated the building of a community garden, and also enjoyed the mystery that followed. This was a fun mystery, easy to read. Well done.

I have to say that I finally made it through this book. I don't know what it was about it, but it simply was not holding my attention. I would read some, then put it down to read something else and come back to it. Maybe it was I simply am not into gardening and that put me off. I did like the friendship between the main character and her friend Sally. I also didn't guess who the killer was. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to give this book a try.

I had so much fun with this cozy mystery!
Maggie Walker moved back to Marlowe after her grandmother's death and the subsequent purchase of her grandmother's home. But returning home, even living next to her best friend, isn't turning out to be exactly what Maggie was expecting. She's constantly dealing with the catty Catherine Whitacker, her cousin Simon demanding his fair share, and a pushy real estate developer who won't take no for an answer. The only saving grace is the community garden that Maggie and her friend Violet Bloom have worked tirelessly to get up and running. But what happens when the sanctuary of the community garden is broken when Maggie discovers a body in one of the plots? And why can't anyone find Violet who never even showed up for the opening?
There was so much about the book that I loved. While I am not a gardener (I wish I had a green thumb) I loved the gardening aspect of the book. The story moved a little slowly at times but I still found myself interested in how the plot would develop. I thought the cast of characters was fun and varied. I would be interested in reading more books by Deborah Benoit.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Interesting twists and turns (not to mention plantings). I will be looking for more by Deborah J Benoit.

A cozy mystery. It’s kinda slow for me and I’m not sure if it’s the mood that I was in, but I think it could be better. The plot itself was slow.

I really enjoyed this story! I’m not sure you can call two murders, an abduction, and near death “cozy”, but this who-dunnit was. I loved the gardening angle! I did not see the ending being the way it was. Overall, likable characters and well written. Good story!

3.5/5

In "The Gardener's Plot", Maggie Walker helps set up a community garden in Marlowe, the town where she spent much time as a child with her grandmother. As Maggie had always loved gardening, it was only natural to sign on to help Violet Bloom set it up. However, when opening day arrived, Violet was nowhere to be found. Things went from bad to worse when Maggie found a boot buried in one of the plots… and a body attached to it. Suddenly, the police are looking for a killer and they keep asking questions about Violet, who's still missing. Maggie doesn’t believe her friend could do this, and she’s going to dig up the dirt needed to prove it.

The gardening theme was on point, so this cozy mystery would be a great read for garden lovers.

There were many plot twists that kept me interested, with more than one murder needing solving and many, many suspects. However, I found the pacing very slow at times, which made it difficult for me to stay engaged.

This story has all the makings of a cute cozy murder mystery; small town, nosy neighbors, community garden. Unfortunately, it fell a bit flat. I felt the story ran longer than necessary and other than her friendship with Sally, didn't really get to know the MC very well. If there is a sequel, I would like to get a bit more depth into Maggie's character. I also found myself confused with ages of the MC and her friends. I guess it doesn't really matter but, it was hard to get a good visual in my mind.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley, and the publisher. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review The Gardeners Plot!

We follow Maggie Walker as she moves back to the town she grew up in after her grandmother passed and left her a home and garden to take care of. Maggie has volunteered her time to help tend and run the community garden with her friend Violet. When Violet is missing the day the garden is set to open, Maggie takes charge only to find a body in one of the garden plots. Everything quickly spirals as more bodies start to appear and things are pointing toward Maggie and her neighbor as the prime suspects.

The twists and turns of this book were astronomical and the writing was swoon worthy. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time for this one, and it is well worth the read. I can’t recommend it enough!

If there was an award for most boring book of the century, this would be it! It was so painfully slow that it was torture finishing it. It was a cute idea with the gardening and setting for the novel but this book just dragged and you'd think might be because of great character development but it was not. I could care less about anyone in this book and the final outcome. There was no real mystery, if at all. And by the time you got to the actual investigation, you were practically half-way thru. It was like the characters were stuck in this novel and so was I.

This was the perfect book club read! I highly recommend to all. The cover is also beautiful which is always a bonus!

I honestly struggled to make it through this book. It has cute setting and plot idea but the execution is really slow and boring. I found it hard to get into the book and care by the time that the sleuthing picked up.

4 stars!

First off, what a beautiful cover!

I really enjoyed this one and read through it quickly. I'm not a gardener myself (apartment life) but I found all the gardening talk very interesting and had fun googling all the flowers and plants they were discussing.

I enjoyed the characters and the author did a good job at making you hate the insufferable cousin Simon. i loved that I wasn't able to guess the killer until it was revealed to me.

I will definitely be on the look out for more books by Deborah J. Benoit.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

The Gardener's Plot is set in Marlowe, Massachusetts - a tiny town in the Berkshires. Recently divorced Maggie Walker has purchased her grandmother's house from her estate and is settling in, tending to her grandmother's prized gardens and reconnecting with townspeople she knew as a child.

Maggie is excited to be working alongside Violet Bloom on the new Marlowe Community Garden. Everything was all set for the grand opening until Violet didn't show up and nobody could find her. On top of that, there's a body buried in one of the newly tilled plots.

Maggie sets out alongside friend and neighbor Sally Kendall to dig up a killer despite being warned off by Police Chief Sam Whitacker. With plenty of suspects to question, their snooping lands Maggie and Sally in the sights of the killer. Sally's beautiful golden retriever Dreyfus just might end up being the real hero!

A fun afternoon read with plenty of twists and turns, just the right amount of darkness in what could be considered a cozy mystery, a delightful furry canine, a disgruntled relative and a splash of unexpected romance. I hope that there might be more adventures for Maggie and Sally on the horizon.

I received an advanced copy of The Gardener's Plot from NetGalley via Minotaur Books, an imprint of St. Martin's Publishing. While not required to write a review I am happy to offer my honest opinion.

Maggie Walker is back in her Grandmother’s home in the Berkshires. Maggie has had some less than fun times lately and is ready to settle in and do a lot of gardening.

The mean girls from school are still being mean, but the friends out weigh them.

After joining the community garden club, started by Violet, she is getting into a routine. Until the day the garden opens and there is already a body planted there!

Of course, Maggie is going to stick her nose in. And when her best friend goes missing, Maggie may have bitten off more than she can chew!

What a cute new cozy mystery! I adored the garden talk and hope we see more Maggie!

NetGalley/ St. Martin’s Press November 05, 2024

The last thing you want to dig up in a community garden (after weeds), is a dead body. Maggie has moved back to Marlowe, Massachusetts, buying her deceased grandmother’s house.
Her expertise in all things gardening leads her to assist Violet who is starting a community garden. But the dead body kind of ruined the grand opening. Oh, and Violet is nowhere to be found. Is she the killer?
Maggie and her childhood best friend Sally get busy trying to figure out what is going on. I had an inkling regarding the identity of the killer, but dismissed it when I couldn’t figure out the motive. And interesting start to a potential new cozy mystery series. I definitely would like to learn more about Maggie.