feliciar33ds's review
5.0
I'm a sucker for a book set in the South, and I've read one or two of Ms. Wittig Albert's other mystery series (with herbs in the name I think), so I was pretty sure I'd like this. And I did! I loved the setting - 1930's in Darling, Alabama (does it get any cuter?); I loved the characters; I loved their garden club, even though I'm not interested in gardening - the author is so descriptive that I enjoyed hearing about the different flowers and plants. The description of the comrade of the various groups of women, the garden club, the women at the boarding house, was great. I love that this wasn't "just" a mystery, it was a meandering (in a good way) study of the different characters and different little sub-plot mysteries that built the tension. I listened to the audio book and the "reader" did an excellent job. Pretty much loved everything about this book, so have already downloaded the 2nd book in the series!
judyward's review
3.0
Read as part of the Read the USA Challenge in Goodreads.com's Cozy Mysteries group. During the early days of the Great Depression, the Darling, Alabama Garden Club inherits a house and grounds from one of its deceased members. The Depression has Alabama in its grip and money is scarce. Rumors abound that the only bank in town is about to fail. There's also an escaped convict rumored to be in the area causing residents to break tradition and begin to lock their doors, a missing woman of questionable virtue, sightings of the town ghost, and stories about a long-forgotten buried treasure. A pleasant way to spend a few hours hours.
meredith_gayle's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
rosemariew's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
mazza57's review
2.0
This was readable and engaging but not the full on mystery I expected. The book was almost half over before anything of the nature to create a mystery happened. There was too much emphasis on the characters and the "club" they were all members of. Mabe future books in the series will concentrate more on the mystery aspect identified in its MPG.
alissabar's review
3.0
I found this book to have a very slow start. There were a lot of characters and I had a hard time keeping track of who was who. In fact, if I hadn't won this on goodreads, I probably would have put it down. However, the story picked up and I really enjoyed getting to know the town of Darling and it's inhabitants. Some of them are quite funny (i.e. Bessie with her shotgun in her garden in the middle of the night), and I loved how all the little mysteries, as well as the murder, get solved in the end.
mbedrosian's review
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5