Death at the Spring Plant Sale: A Gardening Mystery

When her husband and daughter go out of town, PBS journalist Louise Eldridge decides to do a television show on her friend's gardening club sale and then spend a few days visiting. When the gardening club president is killed--in the car with her husband, the country's top economist, Eldridge decides to go into full-time detective mode. If the killer was a hit-man who botched an assassination of the economist, Eldridge knows she can't do much, but if, as she suspects, the gardening club was involved, then she better than the police, has a chance to solve the murder. Eldridge is assisted in her investigations by her friend, housewife Emily Holiday. Holiday's overcontrolling husband tries to oppose their investigation, but he spends his time at work and Holiday and Eldridge have all day to chase after gardeners, discover the economist's affairs, and learn the dirt on who would benefit from the club president's death. Sure enough, there are a number of candidates and in the Republican suburb of Bethesda, Maryland, all of them are armed and trained. Author Ann Ripley writes an approachable mystery that incorporates a female-supportive message as well. The women in the story, whether housewives or professional women, may be underestimated by the men in their lives, but it is they who keep things going. Protagonist Eldridge is generally likable although she seems to have a bit of an inflated view of her own importance and is hurt when the police don't drop everything to consider her theories of the case. DEATH AT THE SPRING PLANT SALE is a pleasant diversion. It is a perfect book to take along on that next airline flight.

Always on the lookout for a good idea for her PBS television show Gardening with Nature, Louise Eldridge agrees to tape the spring plant and flowers sale of the Bethesda Garden Club. When she arrives to set up taping, two women of the club complain about the club chairman Catherine Freeman, who always wins first place and hurts their business. Catherine is an arrogant overpowering juggernaut and Walter Freeman, head of the President's Special Task Force on Monetary Reform is her long-suffering husband.After the taping, Louise plans to spend a few days with the club's vice-president Emily. While the two women are walking the dog at night, shots ring out and the women rush to the Freeman residence. Walter is in his car covered in brain matter after Catherine was shot in the head. The police believe that the killer was after the radical economist but Louise thinks Catherine was the intended victim and sets out to prove it.The protagonist of DEATH AT THE SPRING PLANT SALE is a levelheaded intelligent woman except that she always seems to find herself in the middle of a murder investigation. This one is especially nasty because Catherine had many enemies who had the means, motive and opportunity to kill her if she was indeed the intended victim. The heroine once again almost gets herself killed in her quest for justice and readers will hope she makes it through this dangerous time. This light-hearted and entertaining amateur sleuth mystery is one fans of the sub-genre will enjoy.Harriet Klausner