Murder Crops Up

Liz Sullivan #5

by Lora Roberts

A GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL

In the cheerful community garden where struggling freelance writer Liz Sullivan grows her veggies, someone is raking up old, hurtful scandals. So when a dead body turns up in nosy Lois Humphries's meticulously maintained plot, Liz is labeled a murderer!

With her reliable friend Detective Paul Drake out of town, Liz has a hard row to hoe--until she digs up dirt on some fellow gardeners who seem more than capable of giving the grim reaper a hand. But it'll take a deadly encounter among the cornstalks to catch a green-thumbed killer red-handed. . . .

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction

230 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 29, 1998

About the author

Aka Lora Roberts Smith, Lora R. Smith.

Lora Roberts was born and raised in Missouri, She's lived for twenty years in Palo Alto, California, where her two mystery series featuring homemaker/writer Bridget Montrose and vagabond Liz Sullivan take place. After doing newspaper work, public relations work, technical editing, and romances, She really enjoys writing mysteries.

Reviews

[Shah Si Pencinta Buku · Rating 3 out of 5]

Penemuan beberapa mayat di plot pekebun di sebuah daerah kecil menggemparkan semua orang. Liz Sullivan seorang penulis freelance yang juga antara pemilik plot kebun di situ dituduh menjadi pembunuh.

Buku ni adalah buku yang kelima dalam sirinya tapi buku pertama untuk SH bagi siri ini dan penulis ini. Membaca buku ini menimbulkan rasa ingin tahu untuk buku-buku sebelumnya. Buku ini memberi bayangan untuk hidul Liz yang penuh dengan tragedi. Sentiasa di kelilingi kematian.

Disebabkan oleh tragedi yang menimpanya, Liz seoalah-olah ingin menjauhkan dirinya dengan dunia. Namun ada beberapa orang yang berusaha tanpa lelah akhirnya berjaya masuk ke dunia Liz.

SH suka bagaimana penulis memaparkan pentingnya orang lain dalam kehidupan kita. Luka yang disebabkan oleh manusia biasanya mampu disembuhkan oleh manusia lain yang penuh dengan kasih sayang dan keikhlasan. Rasa ini mampu menyentuh insan yang tersakiti.

Walaupun buku ini adalah buku pembunuhan tapi latar belakang penempatan mampu memberikan SH satu rasa ketenangan. SH memang suka tempat yang tenang dan jauh dari kesibukan kota. Maklumlah hidup di bandar yang penuh dengan kesesakan traffic.

[Dennis Fischman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve grown to like Liz, Barker, Biddy, Claudia, Amy, and the Montrose kids so well, I can forgive the author for not being able to write male characters worth a damn. The mystery made sense, and I was grateful not to have to believe that people would murder each other over a community garden: if that’s true, I don’t want to know!

I appreciated having a realistic look at a teenager’s process of deciding whether or not to abort her pregnancy. The solution felt like a cop out, however. Just once, I would like a sympathetic character to go through with her abortion and have no regrets.

[Marty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 5th in a series with the setting Palo Alto CA. The “crops” here refers to the Palo Alto Community Garden where the characters in this novel have plots where they can garden. Liz Sullivan, depends on the produce she grows to provide her daily food and thus allow her to survive on her minimal income. Although working in their garden plots is good for their physical health, jealousies and personal rivalries happen….. but no one expected two deaths to also happen. Unfortunately, Liz Sullivan becomes a prime suspect.

[Margaret Barnard · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought I was going to finally discover a favorite author again. I enjoyed her style, Earl is character in The Garden ambience. But then she had to start the culture War, preaching in support Planned Parenthood and there she lost me. I don't read Mysteries to get into that again.

[Cathi95 · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Cozy mystery 1998) Liz is working in a community garden. A body turns up and Liz is again on the suspect list. I didn't read the books in between (but would if they turn up), so I don't know all the plot developments, but she has learned to accept the help of friends and is dating a detective, all of which doesn't help much when she is targeted by the murderer. (Liz Sullivan #5)