While I’m not a gardener, I am an admirer of those who are, and a recipient of their results be they flowers that brighten my spirit or yummy organic fruits and vegetables that nourish my body. Either way, I wasn’t drawn to this book because of its gardening theme.   I was drawn to The Gardener’s Plot: A Mystery  by Deborah J. Benoit because it was The Minotaur Books / Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award Winner. I’m currently writing my first mystery series an

It was after I finished reading My Friends  by Fredrik Backman , which was recommended by a friend, that I discovered it won the 2025 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Fiction. I can understand why. I found this unusual story about friendship memorable and poignant, and as quick to make me laugh as to cry.   The story toggles between what happened twenty-five years ago to four teenagers who found refuge in their bonds of friendship against difficult home situations, to the curr

World Without End is my third Ken Follett read, and like the other two, The Evening and the Morning,  and its prequel Pillars of the Earth , it is set in the town of Kingsbridge, England. However, this time, we visit the fourteenth-century during the time of the plague or Black Death; a time when new ideas compete with old ways and beliefs.   Typically, my fun reads are mysteries and thrillers, followed by historical fiction. After a stellar recommendation from my avid read