From the lime green blouse the woman is wearing, Biscuit identifies the woman as Diane Marie Ames, a beautiful but arrogant and obnoxious socialite who has lately been making the local merchants' lives miserable. The scene then switches back to several weeks before the fall, during the time Diane Marie is visiting her daughter and terrorizing everyone. Two more Diane Maries are introduced, both of whom are having trouble with their husbands, one of whom is Rob's sister-in-law, both of whom seek counseling, on the same day, from Father Ames, the older Diane Marie's son.

During this time, Biscuit and Rob are nearing their house closing and get a nice surprise about the land and two other houses nearby. This information adds a nice touch of local history to the plot. Biscuit is also attempting to gather enough women to form a tap dancing class and is reorganizing and restocking the library in a less than traditional way, putting all the gardening books in the green room, for instance.

Once the stage is set for any one of the three women to be murdered, the scene shifts back to the present when the victim is identified and Biscuit sets out to find a killer.

Green as a Garden Hose relies on many coincidences surrounding the three Diane Maries, but somehow it seems to work if it can be believed that there are three Diane Maries in the same town, that two grew up together, that they both go see the third Diane Marie's son for advice when neither of them is Catholic and that someone would want each of them dead. The characters are typical of this type of setting.

With the flashback Biscuit's son Scott is present in the beginning and not again until the end which is a little awkward until remembering that the story has gone back in time. Biscuit is a pleasant character that often ends her days with a gratitude list, which is a nice addition.

Biscuit's cat Marmalade is not as vocal in this book as he has been in others, adding a little humor and lightheartedness to the story, especially when he takes the new cat Tank to the vet's office to "go to work." The mystery becomes not just who killed Diane Marie, but which Diane Marie was killed and the working out is a little awkward, but overall, this Biscuit mystery is enjoyable.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry