Book Review

Pushing Up Daisies by Rosemary Harris

A new mystery series, this one entitled “Dirty Business” about a female, 30-something master gardener who has gotten out of television documentaries to have her own gardening business in Springfield, Connecticut, a bedroom community of New York City.
Paula has stopped by Babe’s coffee shop one morning when Babe tells her she should apply for the job of resurrecting the old Peacock mansion gardens. The last of the old ladies has died and the Springfield Historical Society has been bequeathed the house and grounds. The gardens were once spectacular and Paula is offering to make them memorable again. That’s before she’s given the job and finds the corpse of a baby in the first flower bed she starts digging into.

Soon the police are there and her work is put off for a bit. The policeman in charge is a little pudgy but he can trade her quip for quip and this gets her attention. Then there is the sexy Hispanic male who comes to help her gardening crew and eventually reveals that he’s really a wealthy man who has come north for other reasons and doesn’t need to work but he likes her so he works for her.

Paula is stalked and nearly killed but triumphs in the end and will be back for another thrill next year. (I’ve seen the list from the publisher)

Mystery 2008
Sharon 9/09/08