Pushing Up Daisies: A Dirty Business Mystery

I really enjoyed the characters the author is developing. Especially interesting is the funny relationship between the Paula and the police Sergeant O'Malley. I hope that the author will bring develop this relationship in future books. Also, the big-city friend Lucy is extremely funny. I was impressed by the author's gardening know-how and the way she utilized the information to keep the plot moving forward. Less impressive was her one-sided portrayal of the poor and abused Mexican day-laborers.

For some reason I've never been much of a mystery reader, but that may change after reading Rosemary Harris' debut book. "Pushing Up Daisies" was a fun book to read for many reasons, not the least of which is the wonderful writing style of the author. The pace of both the writing and the story move along at a brisk clip, making for an intriguing story that builds to what I thought to be an entirely unpredictable yet credible climax. The book's main character is a delightful and energetic person whose persistent inquisitiveness drives the story line by bringing life to the personal interactions that are such a vital component of the book. In short, I enjoyed every page of "Pushing Up Daisies" and I'm eagerly looking forward to the next installment in this promising series.

Cool yellow cover that lets you feel how the story will go on, then a drawing of Halcyon's Garden - well, after all a good OLD mystery - not! After a few adjusting chapters, when I was still wondering, it hit me: it's like a tv series! fast, colorful, quirky characters - so visual, with the advantage that I was peeping (when she let me) inside the no-nonsense narrator's picky nut. All right, she plays Miss Marple - but an up-to-date MM. I liked the secondary characters, which hopefully will appear on other installments, and information about plants, scattered around the place.

After the buyout of the production company she worked for, Paula Holliday moved from the Big Apple to Springfield, Connecticut where she opened up a landscaping business, PH Factors, Garden Solutions. When Dorothy Peacock died, she left her estate Helepin to the Historical Society, but the grounds desperately need a good landscaper. Paula applies and gets the contract. Her euphoria turns to horror when she digs up a box containing a mummified baby inside. Unable to forget or ignore her grisly find, Paula asks questions of those locals who lived in the area for decades in an attempt to identify either parent of the unfortunate child. She upsets someone who sends her a threatening email to back off or else, and someone knocks her out when she was in a deserted area. Paula learns that a young female Mexican who worked nearby decades ago mysteriously vanished although most people assumed she went home. The newbie ponders whether the interred baby and this woman are related like a mother and child. When another landscaper is murdered, Paula knows she has to stay involved even though she risks her life by still snooping. This "Dirt-y Business" mystery by first time writer Rosemary Harris is an exciting well plotted (pun intended) amateur sleuth due to a quirky heroine and an eccentric Connecticut support cast. There are two mysteries that Paula feels must connect and has her theory how, but struggles to affirm her supposition. The novel also contains gardening tips and flora lore that enhance the appeal especially for fans of China Bayles. Harriet Klausner

Rosemary Harris's debut mystery novel in the Dirty Business Mystery series is a delight. I read this book while snowed in and it made me impatient to get into the garden and dig. Rosemary, a Master Gardener in her own right, includes interesting garden lore as she brings together a cast and crew consisting of the former New York City media exec and transplanted-to-Connecticut Paula, her big-city friend Lucy, her diner-owner friend Babe, Mexican gardeners Hugo and Felix, and slightly tubby policeman MOM (Mike O'Malley). Paula has decided to start a garden/landscape business in Connecticut and for her first big job gets a contract to restore gardens at a large estate that has been willed to a local historical society. Her first day in the job she finds a body in the garden that has been there for about 40 years, and helps the local police solve the crime. I look forward to the next books in the series, as there is a burgeoning romance and more garden lore coming our way.