From Library Journal
A free garden club trip to Europe for series sleuth Sarah Deane ends up testing the sleuthing abilities of both her and her husband, Alex. Murder, attempted murder, and suspicious behavior: another cozy work in an established series.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Kirkus Reviews
Teacher/sleuth Sarah Deane (Dolly Is Dead, 1995, etc.) and her rugged Aunt Julia, a horsebreeder--State of Mainers, both--have joined a group tour of European gardens, led by horticultural expert Ellen Trevino and Whirlaway Tours director Barbara Baxter. Things go wrong from day one, when Ellen misses the plane's departure from Boston and turns up, wrapped in plastic and stabbed to death, on a Maine highway exit road, her car nowhere in sight. The group has arrived in England, meanwhile, and, after absorbing the shock of Ellen's death, goes about its sightseeing business. Sarah is kept up to date on the murder investigation by telephone reports from her doctor-husband Alex, a confidant of Deputy Sheriff Mike Laaka's, and before long she has plenty to report from her end: her ransacked room; the sudden depression of the elderly Hopper sisters; strange behavior involving underutilized cameras; the arrival of substitute garden-guru Henry Ruggles, who's shortly rescued from a drowning ``accident''; and a visit from Barbara's brother Gregory, a dealer in exotic arts and crafts. All the bits and pieces, and a lot more, coalesce--sort of--as the group arrives in Bellagio, Italy, and a final absurd incident brings a merciful end to the tour and to this totally unconvincing scenario. There are one or two characters who might catch the reader's interest here--mainly Amy, a teenaged would-be writer of mysteries- -and some places half-heartedly evoked, but Sarah and Julia's busy- bodying becomes repellent halfway through, and the plotting is from never-never land. The author has done much better on her home territory. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Review
"This is perfect fireside reading." --The New York Times Book Review on Dolly is Dead

"Brimming with quirky New England characters, offbeat charm, and a murder-solving husband-and-wife team whom readers have come to adore, here is the delightful eighth mystery in J.S. Borthwick's Sarah Deane series, brilliantly rendered with a 'keen eye and sharp pen.'" --The New York Times Book Review

"If you can't get away for European garden tour of your own this summer, then sit yourself down by your own and open this fun and surprising novel." --Maine Sunday Telegram



Book Description
Sarah Deane dirties her hands in a transatlantic murder investigation, as a European garden tour turns deadly...

Much to her dismay, Sarah has been roped into accompanying her abrasive Aunt Julia on a tour of Europe's most famous gardens. The trip takes a bad turn when the tour's leader, garden expert Ellen Trevino, fails to meet the group for their departure. That and the strange behavior of her fellow tour members plant seeds of suspicion in Sarah's mind. but her bi-continental investigating-with the help of husband Alex at home in Maine-could have Sarah herself pushing up the daisies...



From the Back Cover
Brimming with quirky New England characters, off-beat charm, and a murder-solving husband and wife team whom readers have come to adore, here is the delightful eighth mystery in J.S. Borthwick's Sarah Deane series, brilliantly rendered with a "keen eye and sharp pen" (THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW). Much to her dismay, Sarah has been roped into accompanying her abrasive aunt Julia on a tour of Europe's most famous gardens. Already the trip takes a bad turn when the tour's leader, garden expert Ellen Trevino, fails to meet the group for their departure at Boston's Logan Airport. That and the strange behavior of her fellow tour members plant the seeds of suspicion in Sarah's mind, but her bi-continental investigating--with the help of husband Alex at home in Maine--could have Sarah herself pushing up the daisies.


About the Author
J.S Borthwick lives with her family on the Maine coast, where many of her mysteries are set.

ANNOTATION

J.S. Borthwick's latest Maine adventure, featuring the married, amateur sleuths Sarah Deane and Alex McKenzie, proves once again that she is "more than a barrel of clams at high tide" (Rockland Courier-Gazette). 352 pp.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

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....

FROM THE CRITICS

Maine Sunday Telegram

If you can't get away for a European gardentour of your own this summer, then sit yourself down by your own and open this fun and surprising novel.

Kirkus Reviews

Teacher/sleuth Sarah Deane (Dolly Is Dead, 1995, etc.) and her rugged Aunt Julia, a horsebreeder—State of Mainers, both—have joined a group tour of European gardens, led by horticultural expert Ellen Trevino and Whirlaway Tours director Barbara Baxter. Things go wrong from day one, when Ellen misses the plane's departure from Boston and turns up, wrapped in plastic and stabbed to death, on a Maine highway exit road, her car nowhere in sight. The group has arrived in England, meanwhile, and, after absorbing the shock of Ellen's death, goes about its sightseeing business. Sarah is kept up to date on the murder investigation by telephone reports from her doctor-husband Alex, a confidant of Deputy Sheriff Mike Laaka's, and before long she has plenty to report from her end: her ransacked room; the sudden depression of the elderly Hopper sisters; strange behavior involving underutilized cameras; the arrival of substitute garden-guru Henry Ruggles, who's shortly rescued from a drowning "accident"; and a visit from Barbara's brother Gregory, a dealer in exotic arts and crafts. All the bits and pieces, and a lot more, coalesce—sort of—as the group arrives in Bellagio, Italy, and a final absurd incident brings a merciful end to the tour and to this totally unconvincing scenario.

There are one or two characters who might catch the reader's interest here—mainly Amy, a teenaged would-be writer of mysteries—and some places half-heartedly evoked, but Sarah and Julia's busy- bodying becomes repellent halfway through, and the plotting is from never-never land. The author has done much better on her home territory.