A new cozy mystery series from USA Today best-selling author Dale Mayer. Follow gardener and amateur sleuth Doreen Montgomery—and her amusing and mostly lovable cat, dog, and parrot—as they catch murderers and solve crimes in lovely Kelowna, British Columbia.Riches to rags. … Controlling to chaos. … But murder … seriously?After her ex-husband leaves her high and dry, former socialite Doreen … and dry, former socialite Doreen Montgomery’s chance at a new life comes in the form of her grandmother, Nan’s, dilapidated old house in picturesque Kelowna … and the added job of caring for the animals Nan couldn’t take into assisted living with her: Thaddeus, the loquacious African gray parrot with a ripe vocabulary, and his buddy, Goliath, a monster-size cat with an equally monstrous attitude.
It’s the new start Doreen and her beloved basset hound, Mugs, desperately need. But, just as things start to look up for Doreen, Goliath the cat and Mugs the dog find a human finger in Nan’s overrun garden.
And not just a finger. Once the police start digging, the rest of the body turns up and turns out to be connected to an old unsolved crime.
With her grandmother as the prime suspect, Doreen soon finds herself stumbling over clues and getting on Corporal Mack Moreau’s last nerve, as she does her best to prove her beloved Nan innocent of murder.
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When Doreen’s ex-husband cheats on her with the divorce lawyer and leaves her with nothing, Doreen is forced to accept her grandmother’s charity.
Nan has moved into a senior’s complex and gifts Doreen a ramshackle cottage, a talkative parrot, an oversized cat, and a dead body.
Doreen’s first day is adventurous, to say the least, and only gets more interesting when the handsome, irritating Corporal Mack Moreau arrives on scene.
More clues lead to an unsolved murder and another body and Doreen thought she was moving to a boring little town!
Doreen and her parade of pets made this a fun read. Nan is a person of interest in the investigation and though Mack has warned Doreen to stay out of it, she can’t resist trying to solve the murders which leads to some interesting hijinx.
The list of suspects grows by the moment, and kept me guessing to the very end. This is a fun start to the Lovely Lethal Gardens series!
I loved the first in this new cozy mystery series from Dale Mayer. Doreen is a fun, albeit somewhat ditzy, character to whom I found myself often relating. The mystery was well-paced and kept me guessing right up until the very end. What really stole the show though was the cast of animal companions. With a dog, a cat and a parrot, there’s something for everyone. “Thaddeus is here! Thaddeus is here!”
Doreen Montgomery, recently divorced, arrives in a quaint Canadian village to care for her grandmother’s home and pets, only to find a human finger bone in the garden. The police discover the corresponding body and Doreen’s grandmother, now in a local assisted living facility, is the prime suspect in the murder.
Mayer gives us a fully-fleshed out, relatable main character and surrounds her with quirky secondary characters and three charming pets. There are plenty of twists and turns in this whimsical, fast-paced story.
Doreen goes back to live at her grandmother’s house for a chance at a new life. Doreen has always called her grandmother Nan who lives in an assisted living facility and Doreen moves into Nan’s dilapidated old house in picturesque Kelowna and the added job of caring for the animals because Nan couldn’t take them into assisted living with her. Doreen brings her own dog, Mugs a basset hound and now has to take car of Thaddeus, the loquacious African gray parrot with a ripe vocabulary, and his buddy, Goliath, a monster-size cat with an equally monstrous attitude.
Things start working out for Doreen, Goliath the cat and Mugs the dog find a human finger in Nan’s overrun garden. And not just a finger. Once the police start digging, the rest of the body turns up and turns out to be connected to an old unsolved crime.
It gets more involved every day and the animals are very amusing.
Arsenic in the Azaleas has tons of potential and I look forward to reading the next couple of books soon to see there things go. Her investigation was well developed and some of the minor characters feel like they will become a strong part of the series but the resolution was rather sudden and a bit much. I had other mixed feelings about this one because Doreen has come out of an emotionally abusive relationship but she unexpectedly sure of herself and aggressive. I get her lack of experience through her marriage, but she lived with her grandmother at times so making a sandwich really should not have been an great accomplishment. When Doreen talked about Nan, I expected to love her, but so far I don’t have much feeling about her. Time and more books will give me a chance to connect so I am hoping for the best. There was enough to make me want to know more, and that make any book a winner for me.
Not sure what happened – this book had such a good premise but I couldn’t really get into it.
You can check out my booktube video review at https://youtu.be/V9X2DfpvDaI
or read my review on my blog at https://lisasiefert.com/book-review-arsenic-in-the-azaleas-by-dale-mayer-lovely-lethal-gardens-book-1/
I listened to the audio version of this book. The narrator was really good. Cute cozy mystery. Loved all the little twists
Love her books. Can’t wait for the next one.
Look at what the cat dragged in!
When her soon-to-be ex-husband left her destitute, Doreen Montgomery is thankful to have a place to stay with her Bassett hound Mugs. Her grandmother’s house is much different than she remembers from her childhood, more run-down and overgrown. Obviously, Nan had neither the money nor the strength for the upkeep before she moved into the assisted living apartment. Nan neglected to tell her that not only is she inheriting the house but it includes Nan’s Maine Coon cat and a large African Blue parrot with an amazing vocabulary named Thaddeus.
Doreen has never been on her own and trading the wealthy existence of her previous life, with servants who did everything, to live in her grandmother’s home in Kelowna, British Columbia will be a challenge. She doesn’t even know how to turn the stove on. As if things weren’t bad enough, the cat left something on the floor for Mugs to chew on and closer inspection revealed it to be a man’s thumb and soon officers are digging up a body in her garden.
This is the first book I have read by this author and it kept me entertained from the beginning. Doreen is likable and although she may be inept at life skills, she is definitely intelligent. Her grandmother and the trio of pets add humor and warmth to the story. There is also a hint of a possible future romance with the investigating officer from the RCMP Serious Crime Unit, Mack Moreau. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
Never underestimate the animals in your life (or in a novel). Our heroine takes discovering bodies to a new art form. Great fun!
A women who has escaped from an abusive husband has been offered of home by her beloved grandmother. Her grandmother has moved into a retirement home. Her grandmother was a pack rat and while cleaning the house, she starts solving mysteries. Loved the characters in this series.
Love the basset hound Mugs and the character development of the humans, too!
I’ve been trying to figure out how I would write this review. I’m just going to list what I liked.
First off I enjoyed the relationship between Doreen and Mack. There were obvious signs of mutual attraction without the story stifling sex stuff.
Secondly, the animals were adorable and still maintained their pain in the a— realism.
Thirdly, I didn’t guess the killer way too soon in the story.
Last but not least, Nan was a ditsy but lovable old lady who also enjoyed some slightly questionable side activities. Just about the same as most of us ditsy but lovable old ladies.
I enjoyed this book and would definitely read the rest of the series.
Doreen Montgomery, socialite who was recently dumped by her ex husband for a younger piece of arm candy (and just wait till you learn who that is!) takes her dog and heads for the only place she can. Her grandmother had recently moved into a retirement home and Doreen was going to move into her home. She ultimately found out that along with the house came a very large coon cat and a green African parrot who had exemplary speaking skills!
She noticed her dog had something in his mouth–when she finally managed to take it from him she was a bit shocked–it was a human finger! She had no idea who had dug this up, the cat or the dog–but called the local police department.
The finger had been found in her grandmother’s overgrown garden–and Doreen was just afraid that they would blame her grandmother. The police uncovered the entire body! She ends up getting involved looking for clues much to the concern of Corporal Mack Moreau who keeps trying to tell her to keep her nose out of police business.
This book had me laughing out loud at all that was going on–you are going to love all 3 of the animals!
I enjoyed this quite a bit. The characters were interesting (though finding body after body was a little far-fetched), the premise was good and the personalities of the animals were great.
Arsenic in the Azaleas was a wonderful, witty read with a cast of entertaining characters–people as well as animals. Add to that an action-packed romantic mystery as well. I loved the novel and will recommend it to anyone who want a light-hearted murder mystery.
Oh my gosh – really enjoyed this book. When the menagerie was first mentioned I was “skeptical” – however it fits and is just a bit of fun thrown in!!
I will read the whole series because of the menagerie!!!
Thank you Dale Mayer for sharing your gift of writing.
Ok you got me – I just bought the set! 🙂
This is about a woman who returns to her hometown after a divorce and discovers a dead body in her garden.
fun to read, great story.
The characters in this book were easy to fall in love with. The dog, cat, and bird added a bit of whimsy to the story. I enjoyed the emphasis on nature and small town living.