Flowerbed of State

A White House Gardener Mystery #1

by Dorothy St. James

Cassandra "Casey" Calhoun's passion for gardening has carried her to President's Park on which sits the White House. But when she finds a dead body in a trash can, Casey has to root out a killer before she ends up planted herself.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Cozy, Fiction, Gardening, Adult, Contemporary

312 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 23, 2011

About the author

Pseudonym for author Dorothy McFalls

Mystery author Dorothy St. James was born in New York but raised in South Carolina. She makes her home on an artsy island community in South Carolina with her husband, tiny little dog and fluffy cat. Though writing has always been a passion for her, she pursued an undergraduate degree in Wildlife Biology and a graduate degree in Public Administration and Urban Planning. She put her educational experience to use, having worked in all branches and all levels of government including local, regional, state, and federal. She even spent time during college working for a non-profit environmental watchdog organization.

Switching from government service and community planning to fiction writing wasn't as big of a change as some might think. Her government work was all about the stories of the people and the places where they live. As an urban planner, Dorothy loved telling the stories of the people she met. And from that, her desire to tell the tales that were so alive in her heart grew until she could not ignore it any longer. In 2001, she took a leap of faith and pursued her dream of writing fiction full-time.

Reviews

[LORI CASWELL · Rating 4 out of 5]

Casey Calhoun is not your typical assistant gardener at the White House. She was brought in by the First Lady to make the gardening at the White House more organic, more earth friendly. Casey is also very organized, observant and detail oriented. While getting the grounds ready for the annual Easter Egg Roll she is also developing a plan to present to the Grounds Committee for implementing her new organic ideas.

Fighting back a case of the nerves about her presentation she ventures out to weed one of the park's gardens. While there she is attacked from behind and ends up face down in the garden. As she comes to and is explaining what happened to a Secret Service Agent, she notices some broken limbs on a tree. When she works her way over to the damage, it leads both her and the agent to make a shocking discovery. A dead woman that has been stuffed into a trash can. Casey can't help herself from digging into case and trying to root out the killer. Doing so she puts herself not only in danger from the assailant but also may lose her job before she even has a chance to bloom.



A wonderful start to a new series!! Casey Calhoun is a gutsy, full of life character, who is not afraid to get her hands dirty. Her character develops perfectly throughout this story. You couldn't have a more perfect setting and the plot is entertaining and fast paced. A friendship that may bloom into love is also planted that I cannot wait to see flower in future editions.

Flowerbed of State is the perfect Springtime read. It also includes information on how to keep our yards and gardens blooming in more earth friendly ways as Casey prepares her presentation and fights for at least gradual change. I can't wait for the next book in this series to see where Casey takes us.





Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Berkley Prime Crime, A Division of Penguin Publishing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

[Jackie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sadly I wasn’t into this book at all. Maybe because I’ve read a another White House cozy mystery series that was 10x better than this...

[Katherine Decker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Casey Calhoun loves gardening and enjoys being able to serve "at the pleasure of the president." Her dedication to the gardens also leads her into some trouble as she finds herself in the crosshairs of a killer. She is curious, wanting answers, and not about to sit on her hands despite warnings from DC Police, FBI and Secret Service. I really like her feistiness and determination despite the danger. The plot is intriguing and the various characters make the pages fly by. I was particularly excited by the way the setting descriptions pulled me into the story and made it very easy to imagine being right there on the grounds of the White House.

[Ellie Oberth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful book set in the White House. I loved the presidential details. The protagonist is determined to solve a murder and her unique backstory pushes her to become involved. I can't wait to read the next in the series.

[Gigi Ann · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book started off as a promising fun cozy mystery...Cassandra "Casey" Calhoun's passion for gardening has carried her to President's Park on which sits the White House. But when she finds a dead body in a trash can, Casey has to root out a killer before she ends up planted herself. Well that's about all the excitement the book held. I really tried to like this book but it just did not draw me into the storyline.

I found it very boring, nothing seem to be happening except that Casey was kept from her important meeting with the First Lady, running from one place to another, running from someone or another. Someone had just tried to kill her, and all the secret service did was drag her from one place to another trying to interview her, they didn't seem to care that she was covered in mud from head to toe. It just seemed unreal...

I read 100 pages and said "ENOUGH' of this, I turned to the last chapter, read it and guess what I had guessed who the killer was in the first 100 pages, so feel I didn't miss much by bypassing the other 165 pages, except maybe a lot more of the same boring reading.

I awarded this book 1 star, because I didn't finish reading it. The book is a part of my Nook library.

[Beth · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is not a good book at all. It's not in the "should be used as a doorstop" realm, but it comes close. First the author doesn't know if she wants to have a mystery or a romance novel. A good cozy will often have a romantic understory. But this book crosses the line. Almost every man the protagonist meets is remarkably handsome. And all the men are attracted to her, and, of course, she doesn't understand why because she thinks she is plain.

There is also the standard "don't involve yourself in the investigation" device. Which we all know will be ignored. It's hard to bring anything new to this, but the author doesn't even try.

The mystery itself isn't bad, I did stay around to see how it would play out so that is a positive.

If you are interested in a mystery that takes place in the White House try Julie Hyzy's White House Chef mysteries. They are much better written and plotted. They are really fun reads.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Welcome to President's Park locate at the White House.
Casey Calhoun works as an assistant White House
Gardener. Casey is preparing to present a organic
gardening system to the First Lady. To calm her nerves,
Casey goes outside to dig up some roots she noticed
that were choking the tulips. Big Mistake.....
Someone hits her on the head. she wakes up face down
the garden. When she wakes up...she has to face a Secret
service agent plus they find a dead body in a nearby
trash can. Does Casey hold the key to the murderer?
The book describes the gardens, trees and shrubs growing
on the White House grounds. You will learn about organic
gardening with tips at the end of the book on how to keep
your home garden growing productively.
You will meet Milo, the young White House puppy as he digs
up the roses and leads the staff on a good chase.
A diverse array of characters keep the reader entertained.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars. Pretty good first book in the series. I liked how Casey is an armchair sleuth like the rest of us and gets to put her Miss Marple skills to the test here. It was fun reading a book that takes place at the White House even though I have no interest in gardening, I always enjoy getting a glimpse at something I know nothing about. While there were parts of the mystery that I didn't figure out I wasn't that surprised at who was involved in the end. Would definitely read another in the series.

[Trish · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, this grabbed my interest at the beginning, but as it went on, it began to annoy me. While some of the supporting characters are okay (and I liked poor Turner), Casey seemed pig-headed to the point of stupidity, and from about halfway through the book I started hoping that her theory on the murder being related to the banking hearings was wrong, so she'd look stupid, and maybe get fired.

Julie Hyzy does a much better job of a White House cozy.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a really bumpy start, so bumpy that I almost stopped reading this book not once but twice, I am glad to say I stuck with it. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the characters in it. The book finally gained momentum that instead of the three stars I was going to give it I am now giving it four. Looking forward to the next book.

[Shruthika]

was mildly crashing out looking for an acceptable book to read for the spl summer bingo category "flower on the cover or in the title" and after scrolling through 5 different goodreads lists i realized it was simply not that deep and the whole point of summer book bingo is to diversify one's literary consumption.

anyway i didn't enjoy this. like it wasn't even bad in an enjoyable way, i just never got to the point where i felt like picking it up. but also i have no point of reference for cozy mystery type books. i think what mostly annoyed me was 1) the protagonist 2) the twists/intrigue didn't feel particularly natural 3) there was this weird protesting the government subplot that bugged me. it was obviously written to not alienate any particular political inclination which ended up in laughably lukewarm takes like "banking regulations are good, but like sometimes!" also the existence of protesters entirely for comic relief and a nebulous air of surrounding aggression, and justified civil disobedience was presented with little respect.

but also. like women deserve fun books about women who are good at their hobbies and their jobs and are trying to make positive change and are successfully inquisitive. so i can't hate too hard on this book that was already not a genre i am drawn to and had two things that massively annoyed me

was also incredibly jarring opening this book and seeing senator lindsay grahams name in the acknowledgements

[Kellene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've had this series recommended several times so thought I would give it a shot for this Bingo round. Unfortunately, it came on the heels of several LOL books and just didn't have the moments of humor those did. And it suffered due to the timing. The book was good, and I liked most of the characters. Of course, Milo is my favorite. The mystery moved nicely with lots of red herrings, but I had the solution pretty much figured out about half-way through. Still enjoyed the story and will definitely read the next one. Just missed the laughs.

[Jennifer Oberth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book.
I enjoyed the different characters, the lives of the people in the book (especially the protag), and I want to know so much more about Agent Jack Turner.
I loved walking the halls of the White House and seeing the behind-the-scenes workers and their offices.
This book might be the first time I actually rooted for a relationship. (Usually they're so obvious or so overdone, but this one worked well.)
I thought the mystery was quite interesting.
I can't wait to read the next book in the series!

Note: There is one part that is backstory that is quite harsh. I would consider this book a cozy except for that one part but it's not that bad. But it is quite harsh.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Casey Calhoun is the assistant gardener at the White House. The book starts with Casey lying in the garden and a dead body not that far from her. It appears that she interrupted the killer and that person hit her over the head. Casey is determined to find out what happened and how it connects to her.

I really enjoyed Casey's character. I liked the banter with Secret Service Agent Turner. I hope he sticks around in later books. It was a little slowed paced for me but overall it was an ok book. I would continue with this series just to see what happens with Casey and Agent Turner.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a number of issues with Flowerbed of State that prevented me from rating it any higher than 3 stars, but despite this I still found it enjoyable because of the likeable main character and her relationship with the potential love interest.

Casey Calhoun has the typical qualities of an amateur detective; she's spunky, obsessed with justice and incredibly nosey. I am generally turned off by heroines who do stupid things in an effort to "discover the truth" despite being repeatedly warned by (perfectly capable) law enforcement people, and Casey definitely stepped right over the line into being TSTL. What saved her character for me was that she was at least aware of how irritating she was being and made a conscious effort to tone her "sleuthing" down. Thank God for self-awareness! I also appreciated her sense of humour and relatively calm reactions to danger; here's a girl who'll fight her way out instead of descending into hysterics.

Her potential love interest/Secret Service agent who saves her butt, Jack Turner, needs some major character development, but I liked what little we know about him beyond the fact that he's a hunk and is a gruff man-of-few-words - he definitely has a sense of humour (I LOLed at his reaction to Casey's announcement that he's the sidekick to her Miss Marple) and he's a surprisingly good listener. I love that Turner actually listens to Casey and seriously considers her theories. So often these "policeman boyfriend" characters spend more time lecturing their girlfriends about not jumping into danger than they do listening to what insights they have to offer.

The downsides that I mentioned earlier: the writing, particularly in the middle third of the novel, can really use some tightening up. I found myself skimming quite often because there are so many wordy, unnecessary sections. Why do we need to know about Ambrose's stress over organizing or Seth Donahue's crazy micromanaging? Who are they anyway? The author was perhaps attempting to flesh out the setting of the White House by developing various staff, but if the character(s) have no actual role to play (like Ambrose), then they should have been removed altogether. Inserting all these random people who make useless cameo appearances only makes the story more confusing and messy.

Confusing and messy also applies to the plotting of the mystery, which felt like a huge jumble of unrelated events and characters. Right up to the end, I still had only the vaguest idea how the villain, victim and red herrings were connected. It doesn't help that Casey's "sleuthing" involved crashing headlong into things, not-so-subtly grilling suspects for information... and then promptly getting herself almost killed. I think she was also hauled off by the Secret Service and lectured/questioned at least 3 times. At one point, I thought I was reading a novel about Hurricane Casey rather than a cozy mystery set in the White House.

Thankfully, the pacing picked up in the last stretch, the conclusion was reasonably satisfying even though I had guessed the murderer right at the beginning, and Casey's relationship with Jack Turner shows promising development. There are definite sparks, but I love that they're becoming friends first. I'm looking forward to the next book!

[Nora-adrienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flowerbed of State
By Dorothy St. James
Copyright May 2011
Publisher Berkeley Prime Crime

Casey’s passion for organic gardening and eye for detail have carried her into the most important patch of land in America-President’s Park, on which site the most important home in America: the White House.
But while she’s readying the final touches on an innovative cultivation program for the First Lady to inspect, she’s attacked from behind by an unknown assailant who then disappears. When she comes to, she notices some damaged foliage that leads her and the Secret Service to a dead woman in a trash can.
With the biggest opportunity of her life ready to bloom, and all the President’s men plowing up her perfect plans, Casey has to dig in and root out a killer before she ends up planted herself…
Casey’s job as an assistant White House Gardener is everything she could wish for. She’s even working with the First Lady to design a new garden area that will utilize the new no chemical fertilizer techniques. Coming to work the day of her presentation she dressed in a suit to show a more professional appearance. Wouldn’t you know that she spots some damaged foliage that “calls” to her for immediate attention.
And that is where she should have left well enough alone and just sent one of the workers to handle it. While out there pulling at the offending plants she is attacked from behind and knocked out briefly. When she wakes up she finds herself being watched by a Secret Service member and then a dead body in a trash can.
This is the first book in Dorothy St. James’ new White House Gardener Mysteries and I’m thrilled with her main character Casey and the crew of associates that were designed as her co-workers and foils for each of her new ideas. I’m looking forward to book two and beyond and think this is going to be a long running and very popular series.

Ms. St.James can be found at http://www.dorothystjames.com/

FTC Full Disclosure: This ARC was sent to me by the author in the hope that I would consider reviewing it.

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

After meeting Dorothy St. James at a writer's retreat last year, I had the good fortune to get an advanced reading copy of the first book in her new series, Flowerbed of State, scheduled for release in May 2011.

This book is well-written and charming--a bright blossom in the garden of cozy mysteries. Casey Calhoun, an assistant gardener at the White House wakes up to find herself lying in the mud surrounded by ruffled pink tulips. How she got there is a mystery quickly compounded by the discovery of a dead body nearby.

Casey is an intriguing protagonist. She's both spunky enough to be interesting and vulnerable enough to be believable. The rest of the cast of is interesting and varied, the setting captivating. The author skillfully draws the reader into the world of the White House staff and the beautiful city that is our nation's capital. I'll definitely be reading more in this series.

[Jeannie and Louis Rigod · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the debut book in a new series of cozy murders set on the grounds of the White House. We are introduced to the newest gardener, Cassandra (Casey) Calhoun. Casey comes to work with a deep mystery in her past.

Anxious about a meeting with the First Lady, she runs out to pull weeds in Lafayette Square. Next she awakens a victim in her flowerbed. Why? As the Secret Service tries to aid her, they find a body. Casey, has a driven curiosity to solve the case.

You find yourself involved in the annual Easter Egg Roll and meeting various members of the staff, Senate, Banking World, and protestors...not to mention a hunky Secret Serviceman. And, who can resist Milo?

The book was a bit slow for me at the beginning but as I got past page 43 it picked up pace and my interest was captured. This tells me that I am sure to enjoy the future episodes of Ms. Calhoun.

[Grey853 · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had a terrible case of deja vu while reading this book. Since I'd already read Julie Hyzy's White House chef series, I really didn't need to read this one. I swear, the characters are way too similar in their behaviors. She even falls for the secret service agent the same as Ollie did.

I mean, really? Just plug in a different name and profession and you've got a different book? I don't think so.

If I had read this one first, I might have given it more stars, but because it's so much like the Hyzy series, I just couldn't.

[Em · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this treat of a book up while browsing the mystery section of one of my favorite bookstores. What a delight! :) I absolutely adore mysteries of all types, and this cozy book was charming and fun! I am so excited for more books in the series. Perfect for fans of: Joan Hess, Carolyn Hart, Kate Carlisle, Julie Hyzy, Lillian Jackson Braun, etc.

[T Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun read that kept you guessing until pretty close to the end who was truly guilty. Of course, it was a more complicated situation than just a simple motive and only the murderer being guilty. I liked the backdrop of the White House, and the entanglement of the politics, personal relationships, as well as the glimpses into the jobs of those who work both publicly and behind the scenes at the White House.

I did find the heroine a bit obnoxious in the sense that she just keeps refusing to listen to those who are trying to protect her and keeps talking to or chasing down suspects, and tries to solve things on her own because she believes that those investigating the murder aren't listening to her, or are looking into the wrong people. Things turned out o.k. for her in that regard, but in general, I think she acted foolishly in several situations (and I guess that is fairly typical of amateur detectives in novels). Despite that I am interested in reading other books in this series, especially as there is more to be told about the heroine's background, as well as her developing relationship with one of the men who features throughout the story.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the background of an organic gardener at the White House but as with novels of this genre i get annoyed with the intrepid girl/woman deciding they know better than anyone else to solve the murder. I'm not saying her instincts were wrong but she seemed reckless and almost obnoxious about her intrusiveness. At least there is a little back story to explain some of her desire to find justice. and of course there has to be a big strong male figure to save the damsel. Albeit he got the brunt of it in her attempts to save herself several times.
If you like this genre this is an excellent option but you have to be in the mood for several cliches.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first time reading Dorothy St. James. I'm usually a mystery/thriller reader in the order of John Grisham and David Baldacci. I overdosed on those authors and really wanted to read something less stressful, so I went looking for 'cozy mysteries' and this author was on the list.

I also looked for books according to topic and this author writes as a gardener. I especially loved the theme of changing the lawn at the White House to an organic garden. This book fit the bill for me. Kept my attention, but was low stress and not making my adrenal trigger up and down.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

First in series about Casey Calhoun a new assistant in the White House Grounds Department. She was hired by the First Lady to introduce organic gardening practices in the White House gardens. With Mystery in the series name, you know there must be a dead body that will show up sometime. Light reading, but makes me want to learn a little more about places in Washington DC.

[Linda Lugar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this. I like that she is such a strong character with a lot of doubt and weakness too. I like she has a darker back story... and that her sidekick is strong but caring.

I will read this series.

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a "fun" murder. It was that because of how Casey reacted to Turner and the others. I also enjoyed it because I figured out who was guilty. Nope, no telling. Read it yourself and enjoy. I'm looking forward to the next one.

[Crissy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rereading this series again! Absolutely love A White House Gardener Mystery!!!

[Johnna · Rating 5 out of 5]

good read. enjoyed seeing the inside workings at the White House

[Jane · Rating 1 out of 5]

snoozy and cutesy and too much like the hyzy series.

[Susan T. Walter · Rating 4 out of 5]

New series

An interesting profession for our new heroine Gardener at the White House. of course a murder happens. she figure it out.