The Gardener’s Plot
By Deborah J. Benoit
Narrated by Patricia Santomasso
4 ⭐️

This light small town mystery was a good listen. It was well paced, full of small town drama, and held my attention without a lot of effort. I enjoyed the garden theme of the story. I also liked that most of the characters were older - maybe their mid 30s/early 40s? I thought the audiobook was equally as good as the story. The narrator was great. I’d recommend this story to any cozy mystery reader.

Thank you to NetGalley, Deborah J. Benoit, Dreamscape media and St. Martin’s press for this audio and eARC.

I’m a cozy mystery girl and The Gardner’s Plot hit all the spots for me. It’s got the typical sleuth putting herself in danger and going out of her way to investigate when she probably should have left it alone, but it was so well-done overall and super stinking cute. I liked the small town and the cast of characters. I liked Maggie’s backstory with her grandmother and ex-husband. I liked the neighbor friendship and, though Benoit didn’t dive super into the unrequited-long-lost-love storyline, but there’s definitely something there and if this became a series I’d definitely read on for all these aspects. I felt the mystery wrap-up was believable. Overall, just an excellent cozy mystery I’d definitely recommend. The audio narration is really excellently done, as well. It was a fun listen, for sure.

Maggie has returned to her hometown to help her friend, Violet set up a community garden. But Violet seems to have disappeared, and even worse, Maggie find a body planted in the proposed garden. With Violet as the prime suspect, Maggie knows she has to find the real killer

"The Gardener's Plot" by Deborah J. Benoit, narrated by Patricia Santomasso, is a captivating cozy mystery that draws you into the vibrant community of Marlowe. Maggie Walker’s return and her efforts to launch a community garden are heartwarming, but the plot takes a thrilling turn with the discovery of a dead body and the mysterious disappearance of organizer Violet Bloom. The story is enriched by an engaging cast of characters, including local "mean girls" and Maggie’s supportive best friend, Sally, who lives next door. Benoit’s clever writing, combined with Santomasso’s lively narration, creates an immersive experience filled with suspense and charm. (I received an advance listener copy and all opinions are my own.) A delightful read for anyone who loves a good mystery!

Well written cozy mystery that wraps up nicely, but those looking for a darker or deeper mystery may end up disappointed. I also went into this book expecting it to be more garden-based than it ended up being in the book. There were a number of red herring style clues that were never followed up on in the narrative as well. Overall, this was a well written cozy mystery, but left this thriller lover a little underwhelmed.

A well written cosy crime mystery with great characters and some really fun moments, aside from the murder, of course!

Maggie arrives at the opening of the new community garden she has created with her friend, Violet, to find a body in the vegetable beds and no sign of Violet.

Maggie is determined to find Violet, and the killer, despite the local police being very clear about their resentment of her interference.

Patricia Santomasso’s narration was excellent and brought this cast of wonderful personalities to life.

4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Deborah J. Benoit and Dreamscape for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This cozy mystery book I listened to as an audiobook, I couldn't stop listening to it ! Let me start by saying the book held my interest and intrigued me from beginning to end! Maggie our main character has purchased her grandmothers home after her death and has moved back to the neighbourhood — she encounters friends, nemesis’s , rumours , cops hassling her and of course a murderer ! The narrator of the was audiobook was amazing ! She was able to do such distinctive voices for all the characters and even when the character was chewing on a piece of toast she change her voice to indicate that as well ! Excellent! Our main character Maggie was great and every person I suspected of being the murderer was wrong! I have to give kudos to a book that keep be guessing. If you love a good cozy mystery and some gardening then this is the book for you !


Thanks to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for this LRC . This is my honest review .

After life has taken a few wrong turns, Maggie Walker has returned to her hometown in the small Berkshire village, and is looking forward to a quiet life among the plants. However, when she discovers a body in the newly established community garden, it seems like her life is going to be anything but quiet, as she tries to find out who the body is and who placed it there.

I absolutely fell into this book, like in a curl up in the sun on a beautiful spring day with a good cozy mystery, kind of way. I instantly felt a kindred spirit to Maggie, who after a few knocks is ready to lead a quiet life, with her best friend, Sally, living next door. However, not everyone is happy that Maggie has returned - including Queen Bee "Catherine", and when things start to go from bad to worse for Maggie it seems quite a few town folk are ready to the point the finger. Thankfully Maggie has a ride-or-die friend in Sally and together they are hunting down clues and trying to find a killer!

I enjoyed the mystery immensely. It runs at a thrilling pace, and with red herrings every which way, it makes for a difficult mystery to solve before Maggie and Sally.

The Gardener's Plot is the perfect cozy mystery for the gardener in all of us. With the delightful descriptions of Maggie's own garden, and ideas for the community garden, I instantly wanted to go delve into my own garden to see if I could make it better... even in the Fall! Whether you're a gardener or not, I think readers will be absolutely charmed by Deborah J Benoit's first cozy mystery, and will be coming back for more!

I listened to The Gardener's Plot on audiobook and the narrator, Patricia Santomasso, does a terrific job of the narration. I'm very much a seasoned audiobook listener. I love putting one on and going for long dog walks, and a good narrator will make a cozy mystery even better. Patricia Santomasso does exactly this. She brings the characters to life, and made me feel like I was right there, solving the mystery alongside Maggie and Sally. I will definitely be looking for more of her titles to listen to.

I had a great time listening to this audiobook!

It felt like a cozy murder mystery in a small town.
I always find it interesting when regular people start investigating crimes and I always wonder how believable this can be.

The book could’ve been shorter, sometimes you don’t register straight away that there’s a dialogue instead of inner thoughts or simple narration. The narration was good and it was a nice palette cleanse for me.