The Garden Plot

Sarah Deane Mystery #8

by J.S. Borthwick

Sarah, nosy-but-nice English teaching fellow, and her husband, Alex, are at it again. Due to an unfortunate accident that incapacitates a friend, Sarah's abrasive aunt Julia is offered two free tickets with Whirlaway Tours. After much arguing and little listening, Sarah finds herself serving as Julia's companion for the trip. Eyebrows are raised, however, when the group meets in Boston's Logan Airport and Ellen Trevino, the tour's garden expert, doesn't show. Sarah begins to worry that Ellen's problem may be worse than a delayed connecting flight. As strange clues begin to pile up, Sarah calls home to ask Alex to follow up on Ellen's disappearance. Sarah and Alex manage to scrutinize facts and motives from two separate coasts, but Sarah's penchant for snooping may finally have gotten her in too deep....

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Cozy

322 pages, Hardcover

First published April 15, 1997

About the author

J. S. Borthwick is the pseudonym of Jean Scott Creighton. She lives on the Maine coast. She is the creator of 'Sarah Deane', a professor of English and amateur sleuth.

Series:
* Sarah Deane Mystery

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

English teacher Sarah Deane and her Aunt Julia join a garden tour of England, France and Italy. For Sarah, one of the attractions is the opportunity to connect with her old friend Ellen Trevino, who is to lead the tour. But Ellen doesn't make the plane, and Sarah's husband Alex learns that Ellen's been murdered. When mysterious events occur around here, Sarah is sure that they are connected to Ellen's death. But who is behind what's happening, and why is there a mysterious woman who resembles Sarah's mother-in-law haunting the group?

[Eugene · Rating 2 out of 5]

Series getting a bit long in the tooth. The plot is pretty inane, the characters are quite shallow, and the finish falls flat. Two stars because it has been a good series at times…altho’ I suspect the publishers egged the writer on as the books were still selling, because the author didn’t seem all that interested in writing the stories any longer.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Diverting enough for a plane read!

[Vjera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun to be in a very different environment. Not fond of the chap who talked in all caps. It was clever at first but got old quickly.

[Janelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

a good, fun mystery writer

[Homerun2 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This series is fun, not too demanding and enjoyable. I would probably go with 4 stars if the plotting was a little more logical and the main characters' actions didn't totally defy common sense so often. But, that being said, I do like this series and will keep on reading.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sarah Deane #8

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trip to England and Italy to visit gardens.
Pretty good story.
Who killed the garden guide?
Sarah from Maine and Aunt Julia.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tour group mystery and famous gardens. Fun read

[Helen Fleischer · Rating 3 out of 5]

a bit too confabulated