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The Gardener's Plot by Deborah J. Benoit

The Gardener's Plot

A Mystery

Deborah J. Benoit

Minotaur · Print & ebook · September 30, 2025

A woman helps set up a community garden in the Berkshires, only to find a body in one of the plots on opening day.

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Who it’s for
A community garden in the Berkshires becomes the center of Maggie's investigation.
Themes
Community gardening, Friendship and loyalty, A fresh start
Genres
Amateur Sleuths, Women Detectives, Cozy Mysteries

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About this book

A woman helps set up a community garden in the Berkshires, only to find a body in one of the plots on opening day. After life threw Maggie Walker a few curveballs, she’s happy to be back in the small, Berkshires town where she spent so much time as a child. Marlowe holds many memories for her, and now it also offers a fresh start. Maggie has always loved gardening, so it’s only natural to sign on to help Violet Bloom set up a community garden.

Continue reading

When opening day arrives, Violet is nowhere to be found, and the gardeners are restless. Things go from bad to worse when Maggie finds a boot buried in one of the plots… and there’s a body attached to it. Suddenly, the police are looking for a killer and they keep asking questions about Violet. Maggie doesn’t believe her friend could do this, and she’s going to dig up the dirt needed to prove it. The Gardener’s Plot takes readers to the heart of the Berkshires and introduces amateur sleuth Maggie Walker in Deborah J. Benoit’s Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award-winning debut.

Berkshires Garden Mystery

A community garden in the Berkshires becomes the center of Maggie's investigation.

Come here for

  • The community garden's opening-day discovery
  • Maggie Walker's effort to clear her friend's name

Expect

  • A body found in one of the garden plots
  • Police questions about Violet

Where it sits

Amateur Sleuths53%
Cozy Mysteries49%
Women Detectives39%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Women Detectives
  • Cozy Crafts Mysteries
Authors
Deborah J. Benoit
Publisher
Minotaur
Published
September 30, 2025
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
Community gardening · Friendship and loyalty · A fresh start
Reading lane
Women Detectives