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Peter Shandy #9
Something in the Water
A poisoned potpie pulls botanist Peter Shandy into a local Maine mystery in the series that “offers a blooming good time” (The Baltimore Sun). Massachusetts horticulturalist Peter Shandy is famous for his rutabagas, but he comes to Maine with a loftier plant in mind. Specifically, he wants to size up the world-renowned lupines of Frances Rondel, a nonagenarian whose legendary flowers are even more beautiful in life than they are in myth. Shandy is bitterly jealous, but finds a major distraction in the dining room of the country inn where he’s staying. He may grow wretched lupines, but no gardener can solve a murder like Peter Shandy. The corpse belongs to the late Jasper Flodge, a local loudmouth with a toupee and a sizeable gut. Shoveling down the last bites of a chicken potpie, Flodge clutches his chest and falls dead. Suddenly with more to do than stopping to smell the lupines, Shandy must ask Which Maine cook has the bad taste to flavor chicken with cyanide?
284 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1994
213 people are currently reading
318 people want to read
About the author
Charlotte MacLeod
92 books257 followersNaturalized US Citizen
Also wrote as Alisa Craig
Charlotte MacLeod, born in New Brunswick, Canada, and a naturalized U.S. citizen, was the multi-award-winning author of over thirty acclaimed novels. Her series featuring detective Professor Peter Shandy, America's homegrown Hercule Poirot, delivers "generous dollops of...warmth, wit, and whimsy" (San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle). But fully a dozen novels star her popular husband-and-wife team of Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn. And her native Canada provides a backdrop for the amusing Grub-and-Stakers cozies written under the pseudonym Alisa Craig and the almost-police procedurals starring Madoc Rhys, RCMP. A cofounder and past president of the American Crime Writers League, she also edited the bestselling anthologies Mistletoe Mysteries and Christmas Stalkings.
Also wrote as Alisa Craig
Charlotte MacLeod, born in New Brunswick, Canada, and a naturalized U.S. citizen, was the multi-award-winning author of over thirty acclaimed novels. Her series featuring detective Professor Peter Shandy, America's homegrown Hercule Poirot, delivers "generous dollops of...warmth, wit, and whimsy" (San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle). But fully a dozen novels star her popular husband-and-wife team of Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn. And her native Canada provides a backdrop for the amusing Grub-and-Stakers cozies written under the pseudonym Alisa Craig and the almost-police procedurals starring Madoc Rhys, RCMP. A cofounder and past president of the American Crime Writers League, she also edited the bestselling anthologies Mistletoe Mysteries and Christmas Stalkings.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
March 23, 2025
This was rather different than the usual Peter Shandy novels, but different in a good way. Peter has been chased out of his home by his wife who is having a girls' weekend with her friends so Peter decides to take advantage of the time by traveling to Maine to visit a famous lupine flower garden where he hopes to beg the gardener for seeds and soil samples. He is more successful than he imagined he would be and heads back to the Inn a happy horticulturist.
At a well-earned dinner than evening, he is enjoying a book and his dinner when in breezes Jasper Flodge. Flodge is a pompous man who bullies the waitress and eats like the proverbial hog, at least until he drops over dead. While Peter, as a witness, is interested he defers from investigating this mystery himself. Instead he helps out the Inn's owner, Mrs. Bright and her granddaughter as they have to deal with police and other issues.
Peter goes on his merry way, learning about the town of Pickwance and it's people, learning more about Miss Fran Rondel (the lupine lady), and discovering some amazing artwork that he knows he and Helen must have. He convinces Helen to come to Maine and join him and help pick which paintings they will purchase. The artist does not want to be known so Miss Fran is the middle-person, trying to negotiate the sale for Peter.
In between all the Shandy's shopping, Peter brings Helen up to date on all the assorted happenings in Pickwance. There are so many little mysteries along the way: who is the anonymous but highly-talented artist; what's going on with the Wye brothers; was Jasper Flodge a con man; why are there no people mourning the dead man; who is Lucivee; why is Claridge Withington so utterly boring and nosy; and what is the secret of Miss Fran's water? On top of that there's the murder.
This is such fun to read. I enjoyed seeing Peter in his horticultural element and the characters in the town (and their stories) were more than interesting. What a lovely book.
At a well-earned dinner than evening, he is enjoying a book and his dinner when in breezes Jasper Flodge. Flodge is a pompous man who bullies the waitress and eats like the proverbial hog, at least until he drops over dead. While Peter, as a witness, is interested he defers from investigating this mystery himself. Instead he helps out the Inn's owner, Mrs. Bright and her granddaughter as they have to deal with police and other issues.
Peter goes on his merry way, learning about the town of Pickwance and it's people, learning more about Miss Fran Rondel (the lupine lady), and discovering some amazing artwork that he knows he and Helen must have. He convinces Helen to come to Maine and join him and help pick which paintings they will purchase. The artist does not want to be known so Miss Fran is the middle-person, trying to negotiate the sale for Peter.
In between all the Shandy's shopping, Peter brings Helen up to date on all the assorted happenings in Pickwance. There are so many little mysteries along the way: who is the anonymous but highly-talented artist; what's going on with the Wye brothers; was Jasper Flodge a con man; why are there no people mourning the dead man; who is Lucivee; why is Claridge Withington so utterly boring and nosy; and what is the secret of Miss Fran's water? On top of that there's the murder.
This is such fun to read. I enjoyed seeing Peter in his horticultural element and the characters in the town (and their stories) were more than interesting. What a lovely book.
didnt-finish-didnt-start
April 28, 2019Was reading this series years ago and kind of forgot about it. Tried to pick it back up and just could not roust up enough interest to keep reading.
Read
February 10, 2017Balaclava Junction’s smart-aleck sleuth and college professor, Peter Shandy, gets another opportunity to solve a crime in Maine, just as he and his wife Helen did in the earlier Vane Pursuit. This time agrologist Shandy’s checking out some extraordinary lupines in coastal Maine and staying at an excellent family-owned inn; while dining at the inn, the irredeemably crooked Jasper Flodge literally drops dead while devouring a chicken pot pie. Needless to say, there’s no shortage of folks in Pickwance, Maine, who’d love to see Flodge dead, but Shandy’s persistence and perspicacity pays off in the end.
I didn’t have any idea who Flodge’s murderer was until the very last few pages. That’s not usually the case with a Charlotte MacLeod mystery, but they’re so charming and clever and just folksy-funny that I don’t care. But the surprise ending was a nice extra to a wonderful novel.
I didn’t have any idea who Flodge’s murderer was until the very last few pages. That’s not usually the case with a Charlotte MacLeod mystery, but they’re so charming and clever and just folksy-funny that I don’t care. But the surprise ending was a nice extra to a wonderful novel.
January 19, 2024
Review to follow
May 9, 2023
This was a relief after struggling through one of the Grub-and-Stakers books. Peter has been kicked out of his home since his wife Helen is having a ladies-only party. He is staying in Pickwance Maine, hoping to collect seeds from some fantastic lupine plants he has heard of. One night at the inn, a fellow diner suddenly keels over dead into his chicken pie. The inn owner fears that her business will be affected because people think she poisoned him. Along with the murder plot is another side plot of the amazing lupines, which are growing in soil where they shouldn't grow at all - Peter begins to think it must be the water from Miss Rondel's 'secret spring', which seems to give extra life to those who drink of it. The murdered man is hated by most people including his supposed wife, who shows up to celebrate his death and to try to collect all she can get from his estate. While visiting Miss Rondel, Peter sees a group of paintings that he loves and offers to buy some, although both Miss Rondel and the mystery artist are amazed at the high price he offers. A former resident of Balaclava Junction also shows up and turns out to be married to one of the local men. After Helen arrives, her party over, another murder occurs and everyone is now suspect. All these tangled skeins are eventually wound up in a satisfactory manner. Very enjoyable read.
May 2023 Rereading.
May 2023 Rereading.
December 13, 2018
Early Bird Book Deal | Errors that should have been caught over the past few decades, weirdly paced. | MacLeod seems to have gotten confused, and her editors/publishers should have helped set some point in the publication history. Peter goes upstairs and gets a book, and immediately afterward refers to the things he did before going upstairs as having happened a full day before. A funeral is mentioned repeatedly as happening at ten the following morning, the sole reason a character has arrived in town, then that character packs up his funeral suit and leaves at 8:30 am as if he's attended the funeral that hasn't yet happened. There's a reference to a forged marriage license, as if it's been part of a previous conversation, but it had not been mentioned before and is never mentioned again. The "something in the water" is pointless and barely involved. The solution seems like an afterthought. It's just really not a good one. I felt similarly about one of the later entries in the Sarah/Max series, it's possible this was written around the same time and reflects the start of her later health issues.
August 6, 2022
One of my favorite Peter Shandy mysteries, this takes place in Maine and shows an understanding of northern Maine folks that I found delightful, including the description of Maine shore rocks being so friendly to one's buttocks. Ms. MacLeod has a way with words and quotes that is wonderful. The characters, both new and old, are fun and interesting. Although I figured out both mysteries before the end, it was still a great read. I particularly enjoyed trying to visualize the paintings through Peter and Helen's eyes. I was not totally successful, but their reactions were enough.
September 30, 2016
There are some minor inconsistencies in this one. That happens pretty often in her books but I like them anyway. You can count on zany characters and a hefty dose of humor to make reading this series enjoyable.
September 1, 2011
The Peter Shandy mysteries are very well done. They entertain with wit and do not insult ones intelligence. They are quite refreshing.
April 28, 2025
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Every writer dreams of creating a popular series that attracts fans eager to buy each new book to read more about their favorite characters. But the writer must guard against the series becoming tired and predictable, rehashing the same plots. One way to break out of the rut is to put the show on the road and that's what Miss MacLeod does in this book.
A long-time Boston inhabitant, she retired to Maine. She clearly loved the coast of Maine and wanted to use it as a setting for a Peter Shandy mystery. Shandy is the professor of horticulture at Balaclava Agricultural College in rural New England and an amateur detective. He's also a fond husband, so when his wife decides to host a girls' weekend at their house, he makes himself scarce.
He heads to a small town on the Maine coast where a reclusive woman grows lupines of great size and a wide range of colors. Naturally, a professional horticulturist is interested and Miss Rondel is reasonably friendly and agrees for him to come back the next day to collect seeds.
Shandy is staying at Bright's Inn, a traditional family-run business. The restaurant is popular, but there's only one other guest, an elderly invalid who's a crashing bore. Still, the food is excellent and Peter is well satisfied until an unpleasant regular customer drops dead while eating his chicken pot pie. Everyone else has eaten the tasty pie with no harmful effects, so food poisoning is out.
Investigation shows that Mr Flodge died of cyanide poisoning, but how did the cyanide get in his food? No one believes Flodge would commit suicide. "We should be so lucky" is the concensus. Then his flamboyant GF shows up, claiming to be his widow. She votes for the suicide theory and has an explanation for it, too.
Shandy can never resist a mystery, but this one is the classic locked door crime. Everyone wanted Flodge dead, but how did someone pull it off?
Sadly, I don't like this book as well as others in the series. For one thing, I miss all the wonderful characters at Balaclava County. There's some interesting people in Pickwance, Maine, but they lack the charm of the folks in Balaclava County.
And there's not a lot of action. The other books don't have car chases or shoot-outs, but people get kidnapped and strange "accidents" turn out to be murder. Bodies are carted around in Christmas sleighs ("Tis the Season to be Jolly!") and there are unplanned boat rides down flooded rivers. This one has a lot of talk, but the zany antics that are a staple in the Peter Shandy mysteries are missing.
In short, I like it but I don't love it. Not sorry I read it, but I'm hoping the last book goes back to Balaclava College. I guess I'll find out when I read it.
Every writer dreams of creating a popular series that attracts fans eager to buy each new book to read more about their favorite characters. But the writer must guard against the series becoming tired and predictable, rehashing the same plots. One way to break out of the rut is to put the show on the road and that's what Miss MacLeod does in this book.
A long-time Boston inhabitant, she retired to Maine. She clearly loved the coast of Maine and wanted to use it as a setting for a Peter Shandy mystery. Shandy is the professor of horticulture at Balaclava Agricultural College in rural New England and an amateur detective. He's also a fond husband, so when his wife decides to host a girls' weekend at their house, he makes himself scarce.
He heads to a small town on the Maine coast where a reclusive woman grows lupines of great size and a wide range of colors. Naturally, a professional horticulturist is interested and Miss Rondel is reasonably friendly and agrees for him to come back the next day to collect seeds.
Shandy is staying at Bright's Inn, a traditional family-run business. The restaurant is popular, but there's only one other guest, an elderly invalid who's a crashing bore. Still, the food is excellent and Peter is well satisfied until an unpleasant regular customer drops dead while eating his chicken pot pie. Everyone else has eaten the tasty pie with no harmful effects, so food poisoning is out.
Investigation shows that Mr Flodge died of cyanide poisoning, but how did the cyanide get in his food? No one believes Flodge would commit suicide. "We should be so lucky" is the concensus. Then his flamboyant GF shows up, claiming to be his widow. She votes for the suicide theory and has an explanation for it, too.
Shandy can never resist a mystery, but this one is the classic locked door crime. Everyone wanted Flodge dead, but how did someone pull it off?
Sadly, I don't like this book as well as others in the series. For one thing, I miss all the wonderful characters at Balaclava County. There's some interesting people in Pickwance, Maine, but they lack the charm of the folks in Balaclava County.
And there's not a lot of action. The other books don't have car chases or shoot-outs, but people get kidnapped and strange "accidents" turn out to be murder. Bodies are carted around in Christmas sleighs ("Tis the Season to be Jolly!") and there are unplanned boat rides down flooded rivers. This one has a lot of talk, but the zany antics that are a staple in the Peter Shandy mysteries are missing.
In short, I like it but I don't love it. Not sorry I read it, but I'm hoping the last book goes back to Balaclava College. I guess I'll find out when I read it.
April 23, 2020
Peter Shandy heads to Maine to see the incredible lupin field maintained by one old woman. But while having dinner at the local inn, a local man collapses into his chicken pot pie. It turns out to be death by cyanide. Shandy tries to avoid getting involved, but of course can't. Meanwhile, he also gathers his lupin seeds, finds out the old woman also has a large collection of art from an unknown local artist (that Peter decides he must buy), and perhaps puzzle out the secret of the old woman herself (who must be approaching 100 but appears 30 years younger -- is her spring the fountain of youth?).
We don't get our usual collection of Balaclava College characters, but instead a group of Maine locals, some pleasant, some not so, and a few eccentric. The mystery itself is well constructed, though the solution happens a bit quickly, as a result of a local woman mentioning something in passing the makes it all clear to Peter three pages from the end. But still it's enjoyable and comfortable watching Peter and wife Helen putter about town dealing with the locals.
We don't get our usual collection of Balaclava College characters, but instead a group of Maine locals, some pleasant, some not so, and a few eccentric. The mystery itself is well constructed, though the solution happens a bit quickly, as a result of a local woman mentioning something in passing the makes it all clear to Peter three pages from the end. But still it's enjoyable and comfortable watching Peter and wife Helen putter about town dealing with the locals.
May 1, 2021
Peter Shandy gets out of the house while his wife has a hen party and goes to Maine to collect lupine seeds from an absolutely stupendous garden. But at dinner on the first night, one of the diners dies of cyanide poisoning. A real whodunit, because it doesn't seem that anyone could have. Several characters you love to hate, but when two of them die, does that leave only one...or two? Or will the murderer turn out to be someone you really like?
Peter doesn't know much about art, but he knows what he likes, and is eager to own what he likes. Helen shows up, too, and agrees. Plus she does a lot of Christmas shopping, but that is not a part of the mystery, though these events make nice window dressing.
Another mystery is who is the artist whose work Peter so admires? I really didn't have that one figured out, so it just added to the charm. And is there really something in the water? I didn't figure that out, either.
Peter doesn't know much about art, but he knows what he likes, and is eager to own what he likes. Helen shows up, too, and agrees. Plus she does a lot of Christmas shopping, but that is not a part of the mystery, though these events make nice window dressing.
Another mystery is who is the artist whose work Peter so admires? I really didn't have that one figured out, so it just added to the charm. And is there really something in the water? I didn't figure that out, either.
March 6, 2025
Funny, quippy, quirky, intelligent and well written...just like all of her books...
Loved this one. Great scenery in Maine...Lupines...however you pronounce that...In places they cannot flourish...flourishing. A well run with superb meals Small Family Run 'Hotel'...A bit of Family and sundry Feuding...Two mysterious deaths...an unexpected and Wiley murderer... An anonymous and very talented artist...A Peter Sandy dilemma... Much exquisite weaving...A Nonagenerian...Healing Waters...Generations of Folks living near to one another...
What more could a Mystery Buff ask for?
Not much.
Wonderful story. Fast read. Satisfying Read. Great Main and Sundry Characters.
I so enjoy her books...wish she were around to write more!
Highly recommended.
My favorite part of all her books is the snappy, witty, vernacular dialogue and historical and relevant references...an education in themselves.
This woman could write!!!
Loved this one. Great scenery in Maine...Lupines...however you pronounce that...In places they cannot flourish...flourishing. A well run with superb meals Small Family Run 'Hotel'...A bit of Family and sundry Feuding...Two mysterious deaths...an unexpected and Wiley murderer... An anonymous and very talented artist...A Peter Sandy dilemma... Much exquisite weaving...A Nonagenerian...Healing Waters...Generations of Folks living near to one another...
What more could a Mystery Buff ask for?
Not much.
Wonderful story. Fast read. Satisfying Read. Great Main and Sundry Characters.
I so enjoy her books...wish she were around to write more!
Highly recommended.
My favorite part of all her books is the snappy, witty, vernacular dialogue and historical and relevant references...an education in themselves.
This woman could write!!!
June 18, 2019
My first time reading a book penned by Charlotte MacLeod, and...WOW...now I know what I’ve been missing! Can’t wait to get my hands on the remaining books in the Peter Shandy series and read them in sequence to the end! Wonderful book...left me wishing I could go wandering through Miss Rondel’s lupines with the Professor and his lovely wife! I did figure out who the budding artist was before he/she was revealed at the very end, but I *didn’t* guess the murderer’s identity, which is a rare occurrence. Loved it!
October 6, 2019
#9 in the Peter Shandy professor at Balacava College in a rural small Massachusetts farming community mystery series. More mystery on the light side with a lot of tongue in cheek story line and characters.
Peter is in Maine visiting a woman’s highly developed lupine plant garden to collect seeds and soil samples in order to evaluate what makes these lupines so exceptional. Staying at a quaint inn run by an interesting family matriarch, he soon encounters a puzzling murder of an extremely unpopular local figure.
Peter is in Maine visiting a woman’s highly developed lupine plant garden to collect seeds and soil samples in order to evaluate what makes these lupines so exceptional. Staying at a quaint inn run by an interesting family matriarch, he soon encounters a puzzling murder of an extremely unpopular local figure.
March 19, 2021
At first, I put this aside it just didn't click. When I started to read this again I found it a comfortable read. Interesting characters some of which were from previous novels of this series. It was still fine as a read alone. I liked the storyline except at times it was repetitive. A guess you could say this is a cozy mystery but not too cutesy. Let's just say this starts with a man's face in his pie dead and continues on with mysteries and fun.
June 21, 2018
An enjoyable trip t Maine with Shandy. Of course there is murder most foul involving a chicken pot pie. Throw in some lupines, mysterious paintings, a fountain of youth (?), and some quirky characters, and you’ll be in for a treat. I love the banter between Shandy and his wife.
This fulfills the popsugar reading challenge for a book recommended by another popsugar reading contestant.
This fulfills the popsugar reading challenge for a book recommended by another popsugar reading contestant.
May 8, 2019
Series Keeps Getting Better
This time Professor Shandy goes off to Maine to view the iPhones while Helen entertains her lady friends and, of course stumbled onto a murder, a con game and a master criminal with an unusual talent. Along the way, he meets a wonderful cast of characters including a pair of star crossed lovers, a talented painter , and an amazing, ageless woman.
This time Professor Shandy goes off to Maine to view the iPhones while Helen entertains her lady friends and, of course stumbled onto a murder, a con game and a master criminal with an unusual talent. Along the way, he meets a wonderful cast of characters including a pair of star crossed lovers, a talented painter , and an amazing, ageless woman.
February 23, 2025
If you like the series, this is another one that is enjoyable. I felt a little disappointed that
June 11, 2018
This one reads more like an actual mystery than a mysterious farce, but it's quite good. I thought I'd figured it out, and it took me by surprise - always a nice twist.
Loved the bits about the spring, and also the paintings. Definitely a good one.
Loved the bits about the spring, and also the paintings. Definitely a good one.
June 25, 2018
Roger, Village patron, June 2018, 4 stars:
Professor Peter Shandy, a horticulturalist, finds more than mysteriously beautiful lupines that grow to enormous height in a small New England village. Along with this discovery is a murder.
Professor Peter Shandy, a horticulturalist, finds more than mysteriously beautiful lupines that grow to enormous height in a small New England village. Along with this discovery is a murder.
August 13, 2020
I'm not sure if the murder in this murder mystery was incidental, or vital to the story. Oddly enough, this does not detract from the enjoyment. MacLeod is always a joy to read, and her characters are as quirky and enthralling as ever.
June 14, 2023
Great characters
One of my favorites in the Peter Shandy series. Her characters are very realistic. The settings appear simple and all the facts are there, but the endings are still a fun surprise. This story takes place at an Inn and virtually the entire town is drawn in.
One of my favorites in the Peter Shandy series. Her characters are very realistic. The settings appear simple and all the facts are there, but the endings are still a fun surprise. This story takes place at an Inn and virtually the entire town is drawn in.
August 3, 2023
A favorite
This is Charlotte MacLeod at her best. Full of unforgettable characters with humorous situations and enough chicanery and skulduggery to keep things interesting. One of my favorites.
This is Charlotte MacLeod at her best. Full of unforgettable characters with humorous situations and enough chicanery and skulduggery to keep things interesting. One of my favorites.
May 14, 2024
Somewhat slow to develop but that could be because I wasn’t familiar with the series. Turned into an ok read with quirky and original characters. Not much of a mystery exactly. More of a description of the people in this little fictional corner of Maine.
May 20, 2024
This was a delightful book. I enjoyed the way this story was told and the vocabulary that was used, which necessiated me to reach for the dictionary. The characters were quirky. I enjoyed how the author intertwined the storylines of the characters, the red herrings, and the subtle clues, and just maybe, they found a hint of what Ponce de Leon searched for.
July 2, 2024
This book isn't for me. It's very slow to get going. From the reviews I've read, this is more about the people and the town than about the murder mystery, and I'm not that interested in the people and town.
April 10, 2025
I was really enjoying this 9th book in the series until the end. It was wrapped up so abruptly that it felt like someone else stepped in and wrote the last few pages. odd...and disappointing. It made me wonder if there was an error in the Kindle version.
May 30, 2025
Wonderful book
This addition to the series had a lot human relationships damaged but not destroyed by the killer. The story has many layers but Peter figures it out with a little help from his friends. Very good story.
This addition to the series had a lot human relationships damaged but not destroyed by the killer. The story has many layers but Peter figures it out with a little help from his friends. Very good story.
August 31, 2025
This Shandy Conclusion
May be my favorite! Fantastic eccentric characters with plenty of Action! Really enjoying this series - stories are so Original, great settings & fabulously entertaining!
May be my favorite! Fantastic eccentric characters with plenty of Action! Really enjoying this series - stories are so Original, great settings & fabulously entertaining!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews