Arsenic in the Azaleas

Dale Mayer

Jan 2019 · Lovely Lethal Gardens (eBook Series) Book 1 · Valley Publishing Ltd.

About this eBook

Riches to rags. … Controlling to chaos. … But murder … seriously?

After her ex-husband leaves her high and dry, former socialite Doreen Montgomery's chance at a new life comes in the form of her grandmother, Nan's, dilapidated old house in picturesque Kelowna … and the added job of caring for the animals Nan couldn’t take into assisted living with her: Thaddeus, the loquacious African gray parrot with a ripe vocabulary, and his buddy, Goliath, a monster-size cat with an equally monstrous attitude.

It’s the new start Doreen and her beloved basset hound, Mugs, desperately need. But, just as things start to look up for Doreen, Goliath the cat and Mugs the dog find a human finger in Nan’s overrun garden.

And not just a finger. Once the police start digging, the rest of the body turns up and turns out to be connected to an old unsolved crime.

With her grandmother as the prime suspect, Doreen soon finds herself stumbling over clues and getting on Corporal Mack Moreau’s last nerve, as she does her best to prove her beloved Nan innocent of murder.

cozy mystery; riches to rags; clean romance; animal mystery; cat and dog; mystery; Female sleuth; back yard mystery; Mystery; Animals; Parrots; Birds; Fun; amateur sleuths; mysteries with dogs; mysteries with Cats; Clean and wholesome;

Ratings and reviews

This is book one in the Lethal Gardens series and it features Mack, Doreen and Nan. This quirky story is a witty, wacky murder mystery with crazy characters and their pets. In this first book there is NO romance even slightly happening. As a reviewer this genre with its lack of romance is not the normal for me but I decided to give it a chance anyways. As I started reading it became more and more interesting and before I knew it I was HOOKED! The murder mystery was brilliantly written. The outcome was surprising! Nan is fantastic! These quirky characters have just the right amount of crazy and seriousness in them. Mack is totally serious, more than sexy and I want more of him. I’m looking forward to the next book.

Nice read..although at times did made me jumpy with it's little suspense full moments. Love the animals. Even like the character Mack. Its good that the book did not hv the romance undertone between the two main characters as so often happens with mystery or detective novels.

Long winded. Parrots learn through repetition so ridiculous that it can make up sentences by itself without being taught the words. I only got through three quarters of the book & that was a struggle!