Mulch: A Novel by Ann Ripley

Gardening Mysteries #1

by Ann Ripley

Louise and Bill Eldridge and their teenage daughter Janie have only recently moved into their lovely suburban Washington home. With her children grown, her husband working, and no close friends in the neighborhood, Louise finds herself somewhat at loose ends until her gardening practices provide a tremendous distraction by way of a dead body.A devoted organic gardener, Louise has been filling in the low spots in her yard with bags of grass clippings and leaves that she has collected from various homes in the area - much to the embarrassment of overly sensitive Janie. However, embarrassment is the least of their problems when body parts turn up in some of the bags.One of their neighbors is a murderer, but which one? And whose body is it anyway? The corpse is lacking hands, feet, and head for identification purposes, and no one is missing in the immediate area; the police don't even know whom to look for. With curiosity and time to spare, Louise can't help poking around for clues - even Janie gets involved, with the help of a newfound friend.But for a high-profile killer with everything left to lose, Louise's activities are no little threat, and may get her into even more trouble than her gardening did.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Gardening

Hardcover

First published June 1, 1994

About the author

A former newspaperwoman, Ann Ripley now spends her time organic-gardening and writing mysteries. She lives with her husband, Tony, in Lyons, Colorado. Her first novel, Mulch, won the Top Hand Award from the Colorado Authors' League. She is now at work on her fifth gardening mystery.

Reviews

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book but the style of writing was different for me.I will try the next in series to see if I get into it better than this time around.

[Donna Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable enough to finish, but nothing special for me.
A few factors which took away from my pleasure:
1. The event on which the entire story is based doesn’t happen until about 100 pages of introduction.
2. Way too much time spent describing plants. And I love gardening and houseplants.
3. The main character felt so namby-pamby, with her pink mules and her husband talking to her like she’s a child.

Anyhow, of course she gets tough and saves the day. That is made obvious by the fact that it’s a series. Once the plot begins, it does move along at an interesting pace. A nice enough light read.

[Janis · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent mystery even though you find out who the murderer is at the beginning. The only thing I found disturbing was the language. Totally unnecessary. I think some of the more modern cozy-murder writers think that that modern mysteries need modern language but this book could have done without it. Will definitely read the next one!

[Katy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good mystery series at first..fun books for gardeners. I wanted to read the entire series but the books all started melting into the same old story.. House mom gardener finds dead body and gets all mixed up in a murder mystery and solves the mystery.

[Saschki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good, but be prepared..this is not a "cozy."

[Luanne Coachman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started in on this series after a friend gave me book 3. I’m hoping the books improve in subsequent installments. This first one is melodramatic and full of stereotypes and tropes. There’s a shallowness to it that suggests it may have been composed from lists of feminist topics and plants to include. My friend and I are avid gardeners, so the promise of murder mysteries for the horticulturally inclined was a powerful hook. As the book progressed, I became increasingly suspicious that the writer was not a gardener, but those descriptions were confirmed when at one point she described marigold as having white petals and black button centers. The book was also awkward structurally, lumbering between the points of view of different key characters. At least it’s a quick read!

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Organic gardener, Louise and her spy/government worker husband, Bill move into their new home near DC. It’s a mix of neighbors that they easily settle in with, until Louise, in her eco-desire to reuse the neighbors bagged leaves as mulch in her yard, happens to find some neatly wrapped body parts in the debris.
Teenage daughter, Janie and neighbor boy, Chris set out to do a bit of sleuthing and notice a few irregularities around the hood. Suave and sinister, the dismemberer raises red flags galore, but how and why?
A quick read with good writing, but little in surprise, I like Louise and look forward to reading about her again.

[Diane Burnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mulch by Ann Ripley The first book in the series and the family is finally moving into their own home. Bill has been stationed in different places all over the world and now they have settled for good. Louise is an avid gardener and has some strange ideas as to saving money on mulching her garden. Unfortunately one of their neighbors had a different plan for his leaves.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I loved Anne Ripley’s garden mysteries. I just reread the first one and though amusing you can tell she wasn’t a finished writer. It was her first, however. If you like gardening and mysteries, you will like these books.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good effort for a first novel. The story was a little shallow for me but held my interest well enough for a vacation read.

[Mir · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know what I expected.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book awhile ago so don’t remember the specifics but I do recall liking the characters and writing style! I plan to finish the series if I haven’t already.

[Karry · Rating 1 out of 5]

A small read that isn't written well or expertly plotted. I guess I should have known it wasn't the best mystery of all time. I suppose if it is described as "cosy mystery" I should just skip it. I'm not recommending it nor am I keeping it on my selves.

[Sandra Hernandez · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to say I am torn between two or three stars. The thing I dislike is knowing who the killer is and the storyline going back-and-forth from killer to heroine just lost interest. I love the Gardening aspect of the book but to be honest it's hard to write a review when I got lost as some points and the storyline just did not catch me. I found myself rereading some pages. Louise is a likable character but idk maybe reading it on kindle is different than a hard copy.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#1 in the Louise Eldridge series. Very good series debut with an appealing main character and organic gardening as the series hook. This first entry does an excellent job of using the organic gardening in a logical way to uncover the crime.

Louise Eldridge is settling her family into their new northern Virginia home, in the neighborhood where Peter Hoffman, a candidate for undersecretary of defense, lives. Louise, an organic gardener, collects bags of leaves from her neighbors' curbsides to fill in a low spot. Concurrently, Peter realizes he must jettison his mistress in order to stay in the running for the government post. Louise and her family are shocked to discover parts of a severed body in some of the lawn bags. The Eldridges throw a dinner party, at which a tipsy Louise leads the smarmy Peter to suspect she connects him to the murder.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn't as cozy as I expected, and Latin botanical names are used confusing this truly amateur gardener! Plenty of people / neighbors are introduced as the Eldridges settle into their new neighborhood, providing ample opportunities for future mysteries. And, Bill's undercover job for the State Department is another tangent for storylines. A teenage daughter at home and another at college further the possibilities. But about this murder...Lesson #1, don't collect other homeowners' bags of leaves. You might get more than you bargained for--body parts--not as quickly biodegradable as leaves. In essence, this first in the series was setting up many subsequent possibilities and the immediate storyline was a bit short-shrifted.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're up for a light read this late spring and summer, Ann Ripley's Gardening Mysteries are the cozies for you. In Mulch, she introduces us to Louise Eldridge and her family. They moved to a ritzy Washington D.C. neighborhood from Bethesda, Maryland. They make waves and new friends, while Bill works for the government and Louise is an organic gardener and freelance writer. When they discover body parts in mulched garden bags, her family's under suspicion. But one of their neighbors has in it for them to keep it quiet. Louise's daughter Janie has a crush on a local neighbor's kid. This is a quick and easy read with a delightful gardening mystery.

[Anastasia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mulch by Ann Ripley is the first book in the gardening mystery series. Organic gardener, Louise Eldrick has collected several bags of oak leaves to fill in a low area on their new property and when she starts to spread the mulch, she finds body parts in amongst the leaves. This is not your typical mystery as we are told from the start who the murderer is. It is more an introduction to Louise and her family and how they get caught up in the murder. It was still an interesting and quick, light read which didn't involve any brain work to solve the crime.

[Pooch · Rating 3 out of 5]

First in series of gardening/mystery books. Like the cozy read setting in Leafy VA suburbs of DC. Establishment family of Louise & Bill with daughters Jane & Martha. Escapist reading into a world of characters up & down the socio-economic scale, yet there is a simplicity in the main characters & their way of life.

The murder in this book was too grisly and awfully described for my reading pleasure.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great start to a series.[return][return]Good characters. Quick read. A couple spots seemed to jump a bit, but the book was still enjoyable.[return][return]Family moves to Washington area. Mother is an organic gardner, and gathers leaf bags from around the neighborhood for mulching purposes. Unfortunately, someone disposed of body parts in the bags.

[Camille · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ummm...had hopes this would be an diverting cozy style mystery to listen to while I catalog dreary education administration books.

I could hear paper moving while the reader narrated. Not a terrific listen or story.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

I kept this book in my luggage so every time I was stuck on an airplane I would have something to read during take offs and landings. Can't say I liked the heroine, but that didn't keep me from enjoying the story.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mulch was an easy read mystery set in VA. I enjoyed her style and its gardening tips and plant names woven into it. I gave it a 3 because it was predictable ... I would read more of these in the future though ... great for gardeners that love mysteries.

[Helen Fleischer · Rating 1 out of 5]

sucked too much to finish

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 - Good