This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite
Keith Landry’s The Garden Detectives is set at Riverview condominium, where the annual rush for garden plots coincides with the arrival of Cletus Hughes, whose confident manner quickly secures him a place among the residents. Bridge nights, committee meetings, and seasonal gatherings knit the community together, yet private financial pressures simmer behind several penthouse doors. When an unexpected discovery links one neighbor’s name to unexplained sums of money, retired social worker Barb Myers begins paying closer attention to patterns that others dismiss as coincidences. With widower Mel Axford and the outspoken Bob Gorshinski, she follows a trail that moves from condominium hallways to storage lockers and casino floors, raising questions about who benefits from Riverview’s steady property turnover. As friendships feel the strain and loyalties change, ordinary routines give way to a quiet investigation unfolding within the walls of an upscale residence.
Keith Landry’s The Garden Detectives is an intelligent and witty story of a suspected crime in the unlikeliest of places, and among a group that few would consider to be party to a large-scale money laundering scheme. For all the mucking about in allotments, Landry injects plenty of little conundrums beyond the overriding mystery. At a late May drumming, Svetlana and Cletus play music and smoke in open defiance of the condominium rules, and Warren later stands rigidly along the central garden path while issuing a formal citation over unauthorized horseradish cultivation. I love Mel, a former academic who hosts the weekly bridge game and applies his analytical skills to help figure out what the heck is going on. Barb is another favorite, and Landry gives her a 1979 Ford truck to keep up her good deeds even when suspicion requires action. The settings are positively visual. Overall, this is an immersive story for readers who enjoy a cozy mystery connected to community life that offers loads of entertainment. Very highly recommended.
