Book Review: Miss Dirt Turtle’s Garden Club by Daniel Boyd @HeadlineBooks

Miss Dirt Turtle’s Garden Club
Daniel Boyd
Illustrated by Hector Mexia
Headline Books, November 2021
ISBN 978-1-951556723
Trade Paperback

The last day of elementary school was certainly celebratory for five best buds who had gone through every single grade together. The summer stretched out before them, packed with possibilities. Admittedly, growing a garden with the elderly Black lady the neighborhood kids dubbed “Dirt Turtle” hadn’t made the quintet’s to-do list.

When the motley crew of mean kids spotted the students standing outside of Dirt Turtle’s yard, the friends scattered. Except for Chatter. Fixated on the woman working the soil, he slipped through the gate in the chain-link-fence.

Silently, he watched. Mum, she worked on. Chatter soon joined in, mimicking her movements.

His pals returned, stunned at the sight. They immediately began teasing him. Unflappable, Chatter continued until each of his friends, excepting Marty, had joined him in the yard. For the four friends, there was something soothing and satisfying in the work and they asked if they could come back.

The jubilant mood dampened, though, when report cards were received. One of them would not be making the move to Middle School without passing English over the summer. The first hurdle Marty would need to clear this summer was definitely dismal. Particularly since he didn’t read well. Having a police officer and a social services worker show up to take his mom to rehab was downright discouraging.

Turns out, tending the plot, alongside Miss Dirt Turtle, brought out the best in everyone. Like the seeds they planted and nurtured, the children grew and blossomed, individually as well as a united, take-on-the-town, team.

I wish I could add Miss Dirt Turtle’s Garden Club to every Elementary School Library. The authentically diverse cast of characters captured my heart as they morphed from wise-cracking kids to a caring and inspired group of go-getters. The illustrations accompanying the narrative are absolutely awesome and aptly convey the kids’ emotions, in a slightly exaggerated, comical kind of way, making this treasured tome the total package.

This review was written by jv poore for Buried Under Books,
with huge thanks to the author for providing copy to donate to
my favorite Elementary school classroom library.

Reviewed by jv poore, August 2021.

Book Review: Two Many Sleuths by M K Scott @morgankwyatt @SDSXXTours

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Title: Two Many Sleuths
Series: The Painted Lady Inn Mysteries Book 12
Author: M K Scott
Publication Date: October 1, 2021

Goodreads // Indiebound // Amazon

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Two Many Sleuths
The Painted Lady Inn Mysteries, Book 12
M K Scott
Sleeping Dragon Press, October 2021
ISBN 978-1944712747
Trade Paperback

From the author—

Can the Brits and Yanks team up to solve a murder?

What should have been an easy week for small town detective Mark Taber and his amateur sleuth and innkeeper wife, Donna Tolllhouse Taber goes awry when a local garden club member is shot. One of the inn guests, a Scotland Yard detective’s insistence on helping could actually make things worse. Can ruffled feathers be smoothed before the killer strikes again?

Plenty of red herrings and potential suspects, not to mention appealing characters including the visiting Howard and Elizabeth, plus a humorous tone, made Two Many Sleuths a fun introduction to this very cozy series. Innkeeper Donna, unlike her police detective husband, Mark, is sure her Scotland Yard detective guest is going to be a treasure trove of crime-solving tips but things don’t quite go that way when a local garden club member is murdered. Will the two real detectives solve the case or will their wives prove they have their own investigating skills?

In a review of another book by M K Scott, I mentioned that I thought the writing was a little stilted and I had the same reaction to Two Many Sleuths. Now, I’ve come to believe that’s just Scott’s style and it certainly didn’t keep me from enjoying the story.

I might also have encountered some difficulty because I haven’t read any of the eleven previous books in the series but the authors presented enough backstory to make me quite comfortable with the characters and setting. Also, readers who are not very familiar with “Brit-speak” will appreciate the included glossary of British lingo.

All said, this was a fun read and I think cozy fans will enjoy it.

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, November 2021.

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About the Author

M. K. Scott is the husband and wife writing team behind The Painted Lady Inn Mysteries. Morgan K Wyatt is the general wordsmith, while her husband, Scott, is the grammar hammer and physics specialist. He uses his engineering skills to explain how fast a body falls when pushed over a cliff and various other felonious activities. The Internet and experts in the field provide forensic information, while the recipes and B and B details require a more hands on approach. Morgan’s daughter, who manages a hotel, provides guest horror stories to fuel the plot lines. The couple’s dog, Chance, is the inspiration behind Jasper, Donna’s dog.

Website // Blog // Facebook // Twitter
Instagram // Bookbub // Amazon // Goodreads

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Giveaway

$50 Amazon Gift Card

Enter here.

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Book Reviews: The Darling Dahlias and the Silver Dollar Bush by Susan Wittig Albert and One by Sarah Crossan

The Darling Dahlias and the Silver Dollar Bush
The Darling Dahlias #5
Susan Wittig Albert
Berkley Prime Crime, September 2014
ISBN 978-0-425-26060-9
Hardcover

It’s 1933, and the little town of Darling, Alabama is running out of money. Its only bank has closed, and depositors are out of luck. Businesses can’t meet payroll commitments. People can’t buy necessities, let alone luxuries. Shops, even if they could extend credit, can’t restock their shelves without funds. Only Mickey LeDoux, supplier of moonshine while folks await the end of prohibition, seems to be doing okay—for the time being, anyway.

Who is to blame for the bank’s closing and the town’s woes? Is it the former bank president, who sold the failing financial institution to a big corporation and quickly retired? Perhaps it’s the new president, Alvin Duffy, the person who proposes saving the town by issuing scrip, which seems like counterfeit money to some mistrusting townspeople. And what about Charlie Dickens, the drunken newspaper man, the one who agrees to print the scrip and then somehow “loses” it? Verna Tidwell, acting county treasurer and an officer of the Darling Dahlias Garden Club, resolves to find out who can or cannot be trusted.

If you haven’t read any of the four previous Darling Dahlias mysteries, you’ll delight in the personalities and foibles of the various Dahlia Club members and their fellow townspeople. There’s a guide at the beginning of the book in case you become confused by the plethora of characters. But not to worry—by the time Verna Tidwell gets busy checking out clues, you’ll know the main character, the town of Darling, quite well. During the Great Depression, the welfare of the town depends on the fortunes of the country and the deeds of the townsfolk. The Dahlias are committed to the preservation of Darling and stand ready to deal with its challenges.

Enjoy this book on its own, as I did, or start with the first book in the series and learn to know all the Dahlias well, as I want to do now I’ve been introduced. These gals seem to have grit enough to cope with the times and the crimes to take care of their town.

Reviewed by Joyce Ann Brown, December 2015.
http://www.joyceannbrown.com
Author of cozy mysteries: Catastrophic Connections and Furtive Investigation, the first two Psycho Cat and the Landlady Mysteries.

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One
Sarah Crossan
Greenwillow Books, September 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-211875-2
Hardcover

Tippi & Grace weren’t expected to live past their second birthday, but now they’re sixteen and for financial reasons, must go to school instead of being homeschooled. They’re conjoined from the waist down, sharing two legs and a blended lower digestive system as well as a single set of reproductive organs. Despite physical and emotional hardships, not to mention their younger sister, a promising ballerina, having her own health/emotional issues, the girls are happy and cannot imagine being surgically separated.

When something serious begins to affect both of them, the choices facing them force the girls to look at something they never expected to deal with. Further complicating things are their parents’ financial and emotional problems as well as their first real friends at school, Yasmeen who has her own health issue that allows her to understand the sisters in ways nobody else can, and Jon, a boy who thinks they’re beautiful and isn’t scared off by their physical differences. In fact these two friends give them the courage and motivation to feel alive and free for the first time in their lives.

Told in short verse chapters with the more quiet and shy Grace as the narrator, this is an immensely powerful book, one that is a fast read, but will stay long after readers close the cover because of its sadness and beauty. It’s an excellent book on a very poorly understood condition and deserves to be in any school and public library where good and thought provoking young adult fiction is valued.

Reviewed by John R. Clark, MLIS, October 2015.