I am so delighted today to provide a review for you at my blog stop for The Garden Club Murder by Amy Patricia Meade on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour. Scroll down to enter your chance to win the Giveaway!
The Garden Club Murder (A Tish Tarragon Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Severn House Publishers (September 1, 2019)
Hardcover: 208 pages
ISBN-10: 0727889443
ISBN-13: 978-0727889447
Digital ASIN: B07TXLVLPP
Literary caterer Letitia ‘Tish’ Tarragon is preparing her English Secret Garden-themed luncheon for Coleton Creek’s annual garden club awards, but when she is taken on a tour of some of the top contenders with the garden club’s president, Jim Ainsley, Tish is surprised at how seriously the residents take the awards – and how desperate they are to win.
Wealthy, retired businessman Sloane Shackleford has won the coveted best garden category five years in a row, but he and his Bichon Frise, Biscuit, are universally despised. When Sloane’s bludgeoned body is discovered in his pristine garden, Tish soon learns that he was disliked for reasons that go beyond his green fingers. Have the hotly contested awards brought out a competitive and murderous streak in one of the residents?
My Review:
Another new author and series for me, this one a “literary” caterer Tish Tarragon, owner of Cookin’ the Books Café and Catering. The author may be having a little fun with us, naming his protagonist tarragon, but we get it, and it’s not the first of the humorous little zingers you’ll encounter. Tish has a helper who performs the bakery type chores, while her good buddy and old friend, the local weatherman, Julian (Jules) Jefferson Davis loves to help with bartending type duties.
Tish has been hired by a local senior community to cater their luncheon for the annual garden club awards. She is met by the club’s president, Jim Ainsley, and on a tour of the facilities and the gardens discovers the body of Sloane Shackleford bludgeoned to death in his award-winning garden. Shackleford owns a Bichon Frise named Biscuit, which is, of course, the reason I was attracted to the cover.
In southern style cozy fashion, we are introduced to the many residents and their support roles and it doesn’t take long before they are clamoring for her to investigate. It seems she’s in the position to do so–receiving gossip and real information with little prodding from the residents. Most are empathetic and all have their stories, some eighty years worth, while Tish is wrestling with her English Secret Garden theme menu, decorating the center patio, coordinating with Sheriff Clemson Reade, fostering the Bichon, taking in her devastated best friend Mary Jo and her two children after her husband divulges he’s in love with his twenty-something assistant and balancing her relationship with lawyer Schuyler Thompson.
With a few turn of phrases, I wondered several times if I was reading an English author (and I guess now that’s true), although the story takes place in Virginia. There were some humorous observations, comments, and the dialogue is generally on the lighter side as the venue could have gotten a bit heavy given the community and the murder. Included were a number of punny analogies, “Doesn’t he realize he’s about as welcome as a porcupine in a nudist colony?”
I couldn’t really get into the character of Tish, who was oblivious to a second romantic interest or her investigative style, but did enjoy the mystery, admitting I couldn’t figure out the perp, then got gob-smacked with the confession and the big reveal. While there was virtually no one who liked the man and many who might have done the deed, I definitely could not pick out the one who did, although I was a little sad at the turn it presented.
I was given this digital download by the publisher through NetGalley for this blog tour and appreciated the opportunity to read and review. Recommended for those who enjoy a cozy in which you can’t guess whodunnit. If you could, and did, write me–okay?
Sign up for your chance to win (1) Print Copy – The Garden Club Murder (A Tish Tarragon Mystery) by Amy Patricia Meade (U.S. Only) in this Rafflecopter giveaway
Author of the critically acclaimed Marjorie McClelland Mysteries, Amy Patricia Meade is a native of Long Island, NY where she cut her teeth on classic films and books featuring Nancy Drew and Encyclopedia Brown.
After stints as an Operations Manager for a document imaging company and a freelance technical writer, Amy left the bright lights of New York City and headed north to pursue her creative writing career amidst the idyllic beauty of Vermont’s Green Mountains.
Now residing in Bristol, England, Amy spends her time writing mysteries with a humorous or historical bent. When not writing, Amy enjoys traveling, testing out new recipes, classic films, and exploring her new home.
Author Links:
Webpage: https://amypatriciameade.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amy.patriciameade/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amypatriciameade/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/amypmeade
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/174006.Amy_Patricia_Meade
Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – AbeBooks
Thank you for visiting my stop on the tour and please visit the other stops listed below!
Tour Participants:
September 16 – Readeropolis – SPOTLIGHT WITH RECIPE
September 17 – I’m All About Books – CHARACTER GUEST POST
September 17 – LibriAmoriMiei – REVIEW
September 18 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT
September 18 – Island Confidential – SPOTLIGHT
September 19 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW
September 20 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
September 20 – The Book’s the Thing – REVIEW
September 21 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW
September 22 – I Read What You Write – SPOTLIGHT
September 23 – Reading Is My SuperPower – GUEST POST
September 24 – Mysteries with Character – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
September 24 – Rosepoint Publishing – REVIEW
September 25 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW
September 26 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW
September 26 – Cozy Up With Kathy – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
September 27 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT
September 27 – A Blue Million Books – GUEST POST
September 28 – Literary Gold – CHARACTER GUEST POST
September 28 – Diane Reviews Books – REVIEW
September 29 –Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
September 29 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW 
Thanks to Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this cozy mystery!
©2019 V Williams 
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