Professional gardener Paula Holliday has returned to her old stomping grounds of Manhattan where she lived and worked before giving up the fast-paced life for what she thought would be a quieter, slower-paced life in Connecticut. Life in Connecticut has been anything but quiet for Paula, but she is still eager to be back in the heart of the city, the Wagner Center, for the Big Apple Flower Show.

Paula is manning the booth for reclusive metal artist Primo Dunstan of whom her friend and diner owner Babe is a big supporter. Paula is all set for a weekend of sales and a chance to check out the garden show to see what new ideas she can bring back to her business in Connecticut . However, her first encounter with no-nonsense security guard Rolanda “Fort” Knox gives Paula an idea what kind of weekend she might be in for: one of the exhibitor’s prize flowers are “murdered” before the show even opens, a show worker falls to his death and the mysterious young man who left his backpack with Paula before the show opened is found floating in the Hudson.

Paula runs into a lot of quirky characters during the show, many of whom make excellent suspects for murder. She is quickly reminded how cut-throat the gardening business can be. Paula and Rolanda team up to try and sort out which incidents can be chalked up to professional jealousies and which ones will lead to murder.

No matter where Paula is, she is never out of her element. She is a well-rounded character with a good sense of humor and has a good sense of self, never taking herself too seriously (she admits to running up the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art ala Rocky when she first arrives in Manhattan). Even without her Connecticut friends involved as much as in earlier mysteries, there are plenty of new characters as off-beat and enjoyable as those in her hometown, to make up for their absence.

Paula’s energy is boundless and she continues to be at home in any setting. The mystery is well-plotted and interesting, leaving readers guessing up until the very end. A notch above the usual gardening mystery, readers do not need a green thumb to enjoy this outstanding series.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry