"A neat amateur sleuth novel"
Due to the success of her PBS gardening show and the
demands of her husband and two daughters, Louise Eldridge
finds little time for herself. That is why she looks
forward to walking her dog with former Jefferson University
ethnobotanist Dr. Peter Whiting when he walks his dog.
Peter regales Louise with fascinating stories about life in
the Amazon. He claims a rain forest tribe has invented a
fountain of youth through a plant they convert into tea. However, her walks end when someone murders Peter in
Ravine Park. Mt. Vernon District detective Mike Geraghy
learns that Louise walked her dog with Peter every night
near the crime site. He interviews her while warning her
not to get involved as she has previously done in homicide
investigations. However, Peter's wife asks Louise to help
complete her husband's research. Though she agrees because
her show is on hiatus, Louise would have said no if she
understood the danger she is in from several assailants. Though billed as a gardening mystery, HARVEST OF MURDER
reads more like an amateur sleuth medical cozy though it
never goes deeply into the science. The story line is
shrewdly arranged so that the audience can comprehend the
motivations of the key players, especially on the part of
the scientists to include the victim. The heroine is a
nurturing person whose family make her feel more like a
neighbor to the reader who care what happens to Louise.
Ann Ripley provides amateur sleuth fans and those who
derive joy from a not so scientific medical thriller an
affable reading experience. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted September 12, 2001
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