McDowell, Marta. Gardening Can Be Murder: How Poisonous Poppies, Sinister Shovels, and Grim
Gardens Have Inspired Mystery Writers. Portland, OR: Timber Press, 2023
ISBN: 9781643261126
Do you read mysteries? Do you garden? If your answer to either is yes, then Marta McDowell has a book for you! She has taken time out from her gardening to indulge in her other passion - murder mysteries! In Gardening Can Be Murder, she combines both by looking at how these two passions intersect.
McDowell opens with a chapter on detectives known for their gardening starting with Willkie Collins' Sergeant Cuff, meanders to Agatha Christie's Miss Jane Marple, darts back in time to Ellis Peters's Brother Cadfael, Heads into the present with Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe and his orchids, and finishes with Susan Wittig Albert's China Bayles,
Besides individuals, McDowell provides a look at various mysteries that are set in a garden; use garden tools or objects for the murder; plants as means of the murder, gardens/plants as clues in the murder and an interesting look at mystery writers who garden. Another nice feature is the list of all the authors and titles she mention through the book along with various source material used.
So if you are interested in mysteries and or gardens, do check out Gardening Can Be Murder for your enjoyment and enlightenment!
