Poor Ben is poisoned to death in her greenhouse with cyanide. Abby discovers his body, and is naturally shaken up. Who would want to kill her gardener and what exactly was the important issue he wanted to discuss with her and Kate? Even with the police arriving on the scene, and a good looking homicide cop assigned to the case, Abby feels the need to investigate Ben’s death for herself. Not only to satisfy her curiosity, but also to assuage her guilt for not really knowing the man that was in her employ. But the more she uncovers about Ben the man, the more she realizes that his death is the key to unlocking her own family’s past.

There’s a lot of to like in Sweeney’s debut – most notably her setting and characters. The entire story revolves around Houston and Galveston, giving this story a strong Texas flavor. The characters are naturally eccentric and the turns of phrases are often rather amusing. Abby herself is tenacious and stubborn – ideal qualities in an amateur sleuth that is literally warned off by everybody to drop her snooping.

What doesn’t work so well is the mystery, as this reviewer knew exactly where it was headed before it got there. Ben’s death is so intricately wrapped up in Abby’s past, that it’s a fairly easy jump for the reader to figure out what happened and why. Also, there are only so many characters to pin it on – three to be precise. While the author does try to rope in some others, they never really get off the ground – leaving the reader with few red herrings and suspects to choose from.

And that’s ultimately the sticking point – a little too much is given away early on. For instance, it is disclosed by page 20 that Abby and Kate are adopted. Then Abby starts digging into Ben’s past and the facts she uncovers lead straight back to her family. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out exactly what the issue is that ties Abby, Kate, Daddy Rose, and Ben all together in a nice neat package.

However, despite all of this, Pick Your Poison is quite readable. Sweeney has created interesting characters and dropped them in one of the most eccentric settings on Earth – Texas. And by the end of it all, Abby has come to terms with herself. She is done with her days of lolling by the pool, and actually comes up with a plan to do something with her life. Plus, she’s got a burgeoning romance to nourish as well – giving debut author Sweeney plenty of ideas to cultivate for the second book in this series, which is due out early next year.

--Wendy Crutcher