The Gardener’s Plot

A young widow discovers a corpse in a community garden in Benoit’s sweet debut. After Maggie Walker’s husband dies in a traffic accident on his way to see a divorce lawyer, she returns, grief-stricken, to her childhood home in Marlowe, Mass. To keep busy, she joins the nascent Marlowe Community Garden, which is overseen by local busybody Violet Bloom. On the day of the garden’s grand opening, Violet is a no-show, forcing Maggie to assign the assembled volunteers their plots. Then, to her horror, Maggie finds a body partially buried in some freshly tilled soil. She calls 911, summoning her old friend, police chief Sam Whitacker, to the scene, alongside handsome state detective Matt Quinn. Quinn’s aggressive questioning leads Maggie to believe Violet has become a person of interest in the case, which inspires her to do a little digging of her own. With the assistance of her neighbor Sally, and Sally’s trusty dog, Dreyfus, Maggie learns of some simmering local land disputes—and then more bodies start piling up. Benoit takes her time setting the scene and introducing the players, but she keeps things lively and charming all the while. There’s not much innovation on offer, but readers will find this executes the cozy formula well. (Nov.)