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Paula Holliday has given up her high powered media job in New York City and moved to the bedroom community of Springfield, Connecticut where she is trying to establish herself as a landscaper. At the Paradise Diner, owner ex-Rocker/Biker widow Wanda 'Babe' Chinnery, shows Paula the local newspaper which tells of the death of the last member of the Peacock family, leaving the Peacock mansion, Halcyon, and its once grand gardens, to the local historical society. Paula is a regular at the thrift shop run by the Springfield Historical Society. She finds many treasures at a good price there that she can use to decorate period homes and gardens, and has become something of a favorite of the women who run the shop. Richard Stapley, the president of the SHS, and a newcomer to the town from Boston ( he's only lived in Springfield for 30 years) gives Paula the job. Dorothy Peacock has just died. Her sister, Renata, died a few years earlier. There is rumor of a brother, William, but he left town many decades earlier and no one has been able to find him since. Some time just before William left, Dorothy and her sister, then called Rose, went to Europe for an extended stay. When they returned, Rose had changed her name to Renata, and William, inexplicably, left town. The gardens were completely renovated at that time, with the rose garden torn up and the walled section made into a white garden. Working alone, Paula starts to take soil samples. At the very first spot she chooses, she digs down and only a few inches below the surface, uncovers a small wooden box. When she opens it, she finds the mummified body of an infant. PUSHING UP DAISIES was a pleasant surprise. A good mystery, with integrated gardening information and realistic characters. So many occupational mysteries are written by people with no knowledge of the subject that it is gratifying to read one in which the author actually knows what she is talking about. I hope this series has a long and fruitful life.
Reviewed by Barbara Franchi, February 2008
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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