When groundskeeper Eddie Martinez is found buried up to his neck in Sunset Manor's compost pile like a particularly unfortunate garden gnome, former principal Violet Hartwell knows their retirement home's award-winning roses are hiding more than prize-winning secrets.

The vandalized garden tells a story of revenge -- every precious bloom replaced with poison ivy, and a cryptic note warning that "some flowers should never bloom." But what could Eddie have discovered that was worth attempted murder with organic fertilizer?

Violet and her team of geriatric investigators dive headfirst into the surprisingly cutthroat world of competitive senior living horticulture. Frank Morrison weaponizes his mobility scooter with a snow plow attachment for "garden bed analysis," while gossip maven Agnes Pemberton starts a plant identification newsletter despite being allergic to everything green. Former Vegas showgirl Dolores Martinez applies her questionable expertise in "suspicious burial techniques."

Going undercover as enthusiastic gardening novices, the team infiltrates the Sunset Manor Garden Club, where they uncover a web of financial fraud, black market fertilizer sales, and what Frank dramatically calls "weaponized vegetation distribution." But when the investigation leads them to a storage shed filled with bloodstained pruning shears and falsified financial records, Violet realizes their horticultural education is about to become deadly.

With garden club president Margaret Stone offering suspiciously helpful assistance and premium fertilizer mysteriously disappearing, the amateur detectives must dig deep to uncover the truth before someone else gets planted permanently.

In this blooming mystery, the only thing more dangerous than the poison ivy is the person wielding the gardening tools -- and they're pruning for keeps.

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• Mystery, Thriller & SuspenseMysteryCozyCrafts & Hobbies

• Publication Date: August 19, 2025
• Text-to-Speech: Disabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 39 Pages
• File Size: 24 KB