The Gardener's Plot: My Cozy Mystery Favorite for January

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 and am always eager to enhance my skills by learning from and admiring other people’s work, especially those who win awards as debut authors. And from that vantage point, I very much enjoyed this book.

It was a cozy and fun listen during a wintry month and despite not being a gardener, I found its theme quite interesting. Sometimes I’m drawn to listening to a book rather than reading it and so it was with this novel, narrated by Patricia Santomasso. The cadence of dialogue, the interiority of the characters, and the depiction of the setting stay lodged in my writer-thinking a bit longer.

If you’re a cozy mystery reader like I am, you may find the small town, contrasting characters, and gardening elements as interesting and fun as I did.