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Gardening Can Be Murder
How Poisonous Poppies, Sinister Shovels, and Grim Gardens Have Inspired Mystery Writers
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Check link for latest rating. ( 593 ratings, 161 reviews)
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Format: Hardback
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Gardening Can Be Murder
$6000
Unit price
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Unavailable
Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
This title is ideal for readers fascinated by mysteries with unique settings, gardening enthusiasts intrigued by horticulture's role in literature, and fans of classic and contemporary crime fiction seeking fresh insights.
This fun, engrossing book takes a look at the surprising influence that gardens and gardening have had on mystery novels and their authors.
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
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Description
With their deadly plants, razor-sharp shears, shady corners, and ready-made burial sites, gardens make an ideal scene for the perfect murder. But the outsize influence that gardens and gardening have had on the mystery genre has been underappreciated. Now, Marta McDowell, a writer and gardener with a near-encyclopaedic knowledge of the genre, illuminates the many ways in which our greatest mystery writers, from Edgar Allen Poe to authors on today's bestseller lists, have found inspiration in the sinister side of gardens.
From the cozy to the hardboiled, the literary to the pulp, and the classic to the contemporary, Gardening Can Be Murder is the first book to explore the mystery genre's many surprising horticultural connections. Meet plant-obsessed detectives and spooky groundskeeper suspects, witness toxic teas served in foul play, and tour the gardens—both real and imagined—that have been the settings for fiction's ghastliest misdeeds.
A New York Times bestselling author herself, McDowell also introduces us to some of today's top writers who consider gardening integral to their craft, assuring that horticultural themes will remain a staple of the genre for countless twisting plots to come.
"This book is dangerous. A veritable cornucopia of crime fiction and gardening lore, it faces the reader with multiple temptations—books to seek out, plants to obtain, garden tours to book." - Vicki Lane, author of the Elizabeth Goodweather Appalachian Mysteries
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Critics praise the book for its engaging and stylish writing. Plant Cuttings calls it "charming" and highly readable despite the macabre subject, while The Washington Gardener finds it "spell-binding" in detailing garden clues across mystery novels. The Wall Street Journal highlights its coverage of iconic plant-obsessed detectives and the deadly use of gardens as crime scenes. Overall, it is described as fun, engrossing, and revealing a darker side to gardens and human nature.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781643261126
Publisher: Workman Publishing
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 07 September 2023
Country: United States
Imprint: Timber Press
Illustration: 9 photos and 69 illos
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 24.0mm
Width: 174.0mm
Height: 206.0mm
Weight: 460g
Pages: 216
About the Author
Marta McDowell lives, gardens, and writes in Chatham, New Jersey. She consults for public gardens and private clients, writes and lectures on gardening topics, and teaches landscape history and horticulture at the New York Botanical Garden, where she studied landscape design. Her particular interest is in authors and their gardens, the connection between the pen and the trowel.
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