Seeds of Murder is the first book in a new semi-cozy gardener mystery series by Rosie Sandler. Released 31st Aug 2023 by Bonnier on their Embla Books imprint, it's 259 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.
This is a well written, eminently readable, action driven cozy murder mystery. It's got a sympathetic amateur sleuth who's a gardener to the rich and privileged in the main role, a varied selection of quirky-to-downright-dislikable suspects, murder, blackmail, and lots of fun facts about gardening and plants. It's abundantly clear that the author is a keen horticulturalist or employs a stable of fact checkers/researchers.
It's not flawless, the setup of Steph as amateur sleuth will test readers' suspension of disbelief to the breaking point (she's accused of sending blackmail notes to the residents of her gated community and is given a week to clear her name and find the real culprit or she's out on her ear, courtesy of the Homeowners' association from hades). The police aren't to be called in because... the blackmail hits too close to home. Despite the sometimes less-than-subtle plot machinations, the dialogue flows well and the denouement and resolution are well constructed, if a bit over the top.
I liked the nuts and bolts setup of the series; it appears each new book will be set in a new place with the same lead character in new gardening situations and with new mysteries to figure out.
Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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