Gardenblogger’s Book Club
Carol @ May Dreams Gardens has a gardenblogger’s book club which I think is a brilliant idea. I have always wanted to be in a book club but always worried that I would turn up to the meeting and be the only one who had not finished the book. Anyway Carol’s club is great because you get two months to read the book and if you don’t finish the book it doesn’t matter as you can post about a garden related issue instead.
The choice of book for August and September caught my eye as it was a fictional garden mystery story. It couldn’t be better. I love mystery and who-dunnit stories, I love gardening and I love reading. A win, win, win situation and let me tell you it was.
The chosen book was A Hoe Lot Of Trouble By Heather Webber. I thought this was a light and entertaining read. The story was easy to follow and the main character Nina Quinn was a likeable person who I was able to warm to immediately as she was such a down to earth character. Even though Nina is a successful business woman she does have a vulnerable side and this made her easy to relate to and I could imagine myself in her shoes investigating the crime.
Although this was a mystery novel the gory elements were not described in detail which kept the story light and easy to read. With every new character the author hooked me into the mystery even more as I wanted to know if this character was capable of committing the heinous crime. But if you want to know who dunnit then read the book.
If you wanted to learn about gardening and garden design then this book is not for you. Nina Quinn, the main character, owns a garden makeover business called Taken By Surprise but information relating to this is secondary to other aspects of her life like her marriage. Nina’s sleuthing and marital difficulties meant that there wasn’t much time for her to work on the garden makeovers although there is an epilogue from Nina Quinn which looks at poison ivy and how to manage this unwanted plant, but if I really wanted to know how to manage poison ivy I would be looking at a gardening manual and not a garden mystery novel. Despite this, I found this novel difficult to put down purely because it was an easy to read mystery.
This novel is the first in a series of Nina Quinn mysteries and I will certainly be reading the others, not for their gardening information but for their entertaining whodunnit plots and the chance to get to know Nina Quinn a little more and see how her life turns out.
Thanks Carol for introducing me to this entertaining series of mystery books and the opportunity to take part in a book club.
Click on the image below to visit Amazon.co.uk to find out more about this book or visit one of the Farming Friends Bookshops.
Books Gardenbloggers Book Club
Sara, thanks for joining in for the Garden Bloggers’ Book Club. What a great review, and you are right if you aren’t hoping for a lot of “garden”, it’s a good mystery. Watch for the club post to come out later today.
Carol at May Dreams Gardens
Comment by Carol — September 30, 2007 @ 3:21 pm
Hi Carol,
I love the idea of the garden blogger’s book club and will certainly be joining in again. Thanks for visiting and commenting.
Sara @ farmingfriends
Comment by Sara @ Farming Friends — September 30, 2007 @ 3:36 pm
Love this post! Glad to know I’m not the only one jabbering to those that can’t talk back?
Comment by Michelle — September 30, 2007 @ 4:21 pm
Hi Michelle,
I am so glad that you liked the post. Thanks for visiting and commenting.
Sara @ farmingfriends
Comment by Sara @ Farming Friends — September 30, 2007 @ 4:50 pm
Hello Sara,
Thank you for commenting on my book club post - I’ve enjoyed poking around your blog! My lot is a little 1/4 acre with the only livestock a herd of squirrels, but reading about your farm animals is putting me in the mood to read one of those Cottage Tales mysteries starring Beatrix Potter.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Comment by Annie in Austin — October 1, 2007 @ 12:47 pm
Hi Annie,
Thanks for dropping by and checking out my site. I am glad that you like it. I would be interested to learn more about your place and the resident squirrels.
Thanks again. Sara @ farmingfriends
Comment by Sara @ Farming Friends — October 3, 2007 @ 2:22 pm