This is the perfect book for me. A beautiful skull on the cover, the theme related to gardening, published in 1945 and set in 1943 in Ireland. It is a very cozy mystery and I enjoyed it very much. I like the characters and the village setting, and the story was told with subtle humor.
On the cover of Rue Morgue Press edition that I have, the book is described as "An Irish village gardening mystery set during World War II." A lot of the action in the book centers around a flower show that all the characters are involved with in some way. The setting is a village called Clonmeen, situated on the outskirts of Dublin.
There is, of course, a murder... and the protagonist, Lucy Bex, is instrumental in finding the solution to the crime, but the mystery plot does not have as much prominence as in most mysteries. That did not bother me but it could be considered a negative for some.
The setting in Ireland during the war was very interesting, since Ireland was neutral during World War II. I liked especially that the author was writing the story based on her own experiences at the time. In this book the war is referred to as the Emergency and many items were restricted. Lucy's nephew was an officer in the British military and comes home to stay with Lucy when he is on leave.
I mention that this is the first book in a series. Sheila Pim's four mystery novels are referred to as of the Irish Gardening Mystery series both on Fantastic Fiction and Goodreads, but it appears that each book really works as a standalone and the cast of characters is different in each. They mainly share the Irish setting and the theme of gardening.
I rediscovered this book (and others in the series) when I saw a post at Moira's Clothes in Books blog. I had seen reviews years before but it had slipped my mind. Moira's post sent me immediately to investigate how to get copies of the books. I bought the first three books in the Irish Gardening Mystery series before I even read the first one. (That might have been because of the skulls on the covers.)
Other reviews for this book:
Below is the cover of the first hardcover edition of Common or Garden Crime. It is lovely, and also features a skull.
14 comments:
You're right... the cover is fantastic on this one! It sounds good overall and I might have to see if I can track it down. Did you ever read any of Susan Wittig Albert's herbal mysteries featuring China Bayles? I was devoted to the series for years, but never got around to reading the last one (or maybe two). She wrote some other series I love, too.
I do like that cover. I guess for me I would like the novel to contain more of a mystery. But the Irish setting has me interested.
Fun that it's set in Ireland. :D
sounds great.
Oh, Tracy, this looks great! I do like Golden Age whodunits, and the setting does appeal to me. And as soon as I saw that cover, I knew it would appeal to you!
Kelly, I enjoyed the historical background in this mystery and the emphasis on gardening. The author also wrote some gardening how-to books before she wrote mysteries. These books are not that hard to find online but they can cost a bit. I would like to think some libraries would have her books, but the author is not that well known.
I did read the first book in the China Bayles series but I never read more of them. I would not mind trying them now but the first three are not available in Kindle. And I can definitely check the book sale in September. I will check around and see if I can find out if there is a good place to pick up the series. There are 29 books in the series now!
Kathy, I loved the Irish setting and the time period the book was written in. I knew very little about Ireland being neutral during World War II, and learned a lot.
I really enjoyed the setting in Ireland, Lark. I have read a lot of books set in Ireland but most of them are much darker and grittier. Some are about the Troubles, and that is good to know about, but sometimes depressing.
It was perfect for me, Patti, and especially now when I need diversion plus cheering up.
It is a wonderful cover, Margot. The Rue Morgue Press editions have good information about the authors and their writing, which is a bonus.
It's so funny because every time I see a book with a skull on the cover I think of you. I'd not heard of this author or this series so I went to look them up on Fantastic Fiction. Then saw how expensive they are so I'm guessing I won't be readng these. LOL!
Cath, I did pay more than I usually would for these books. When I first looked for them online I found some extremely high priced copies, but went back online a few days later and found the ones I bought. Regardless, I still don't have a copy of the last one in the series and in September I will be looking for a cheaper used copy. Maybe at the book sale, but probably not. As far as I can tell, they are not available as eBooks, which is a shame.
I agree that an Ireland setting during this period would be very interesting. I guess I didn't realize much about the country's neutrality during WWII but I read another historical novel about the bombing of Belfast in 1941 titled The Elephant of Belfast, so it made me think it was bombed into submission. I did know about Sweden's neutrality b/c that was not looked upon well by Norway. Nice cover.
Susan, the focus in the story is on village life and so what the reader sees of the effects of World War II and Ireland's neutrality is reflected in their daily lives and conversations. No overall view of the politics of the situation. Which you would expect in a mystery written at the time. Lots of conversations about scarcity of various foods and that comes into the solution for the murder. Currently I am reading a mystery by Benjamin Black (aka John Banville) set in the 1950's but published in 2011, and I noticed comments about the war years in that book.
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