I bought this book because it had a cool cover, I like amateur sleuth mysteries, and I'd never read any in Ann Ripley's "gardening" series before. Though Ms. Ripley writes well enough, and she can follow a mystery plot formula, I was surprised at the sheer boredom of it all. Unless you like plants. Really like plants. The characters were one-dimensional, the dialogue stilted, and any attempts at humor fell flat. Outside of a good climactic scene, the rest of the story had me sitting there wondering when something interesting was going to happen. I think the author missed her chances at using the characters to make the book sparkle. I couldn't wait to finish this one, but not because it was a page turner.