Flowerbed of State

Flowerbed of State
Dorothy St. James
312 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Source: Tall Tales Book Shop
★★★★☆

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

I checked out a new (to me) bookshop last night and picked up a copy of Flowerbed of State, which has been on my wishlist for about a week.  It's Dorothy St. James' first cozy mystery and I found the setting to be pretty unique for a cozy... no bookstore or bakery here, it takes place at the White House!  Casey is enjoying her job as the new assistant gardener to the White House when one day she wakes up in a flower bed after an attempted strangling.  The discovery of a strangled dead body nearby puts the Secret Service and FBI on high alert to solve these crimes... and Casey, too.  Having read enough mysteries to "know better" she decided to launch a little investigation of her own.

The reason this book gets four instead of five stars from me is that I felt there were a few too many characters.  It was difficult in the beginning to keep them straight, but I caught on enough as I went.  I found the plot to be just as intriguing as the setting and I really enjoyed how the author included the POTUS and FLOTUS into the novel.  I would definitely recommend this novel for anyone looking for a new cozy to read.

An added bonus: there are instructions at the end of the novel for how to plant a pineapple top.  I might have to give that a try someday...