gardening

Marnie Riches: The Gardener’s Club

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This charming, sweet novel is set in the world of the competitive gardening clubs in the UK.  The main character, Gill Swanley, a widowed single mom, is juggling a burgeoning teen, a horrible job and a difficult and aging mother.  Her job seems especially soul crushing, as she’s in charge of a group of insurance call centers, ordered to cull her workforce by uncovering the slackers.

Riches manages to find humor in this situation, especially in the texts from Gill’s teenaged son (the one where he can’t find the lasagna she left for him to heat up for dinner is a classic).  For respite, she decides to try joining a garden group called the Bromley Botanists. Her first get-together sounds a bit like an AA meeting with everyone sharing their feelings, but the main thrust of the discussion becomes the “Golden Trowel,” a gardening award which the Botanists have never won, something they are determined to change in the coming year. Gill is just beginning to form alliances and friendships with members of the group when she and Marjorie, the Queen Mum of the group, discover a dead body in the community greenhouse and all heck breaks loose. read more

Carlene O’Connor: Murder in an Irish Garden

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Irish Village #11

In Carlene O’Connor’s latest Irish Village mystery, garda heroine Siobhan O’Sullivan is studying for her detective sergeant exam, which is causing her quite a bit of stress. She is looking forward to relaxing with the local gardening competition, as well as the opening of her brother’s restaurant. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that gardeners take their craft very seriously, especially those who feel confident enough in their skills to compete on the quality of their work. Kilbane County Cork, Ireland, has plenty of talented amateur gardeners keen to show off their skills and win. However, this year a former Kilbane resident and professional landscape designer Cassidy Ryan is returning home to try and claim the prize for herself. She’s also been hired by Siobhan’s brother, Eoin, to help spruce things up for the grand opening. read more

Kate Collins: Gone but Not For Garden

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Kate Collins’ fourth addition to her Goddess of Greene Street Mysteries is Gone but Not for Garden. Readers will find themselves drawn in by main character and detective Athena Spencer. She has only recently opened up her own detective agency with her boyfriend Case Donnelly, works for her family gardening store called Spencer’s, and also posts a blog as a way to vent about her family and personal life struggles and triumphs. However, she does remain anonymous in her blog, and it is amusing to see her family discuss it with such interest. Anyone who has a large family can appreciate and relate to how Athena has both love for her family as well as frustrations. While her family means well, they often push Athena’s boundaries and exasperate her. She does her best to be considerate and kind, while also remaining firm with her family. They mean well, and their pushing clearly comes from a place of love. Athena’s awareness of this makes her all the more relatable to those with more complicated families themselves. Athena also has a son and pet raccoon that add both a humorous element to the story, as well as interesting plot twists later on. read more