Death in a Desert Garden, published October 5, 2021 by Artemesia Publishing. Winner of the 2022 Arizona/New Mexico book award for cozy mystery, the Firebird award for western fiction, the Firebird silver award for cozy mystery, and the CIPA/EVVY bronze award for cozy mystery.
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Bea Rivers’ euphoria over her new job at Shandley Gardens is shattered by the death of the Gardens’ founder, Liz Shandley. When the police determine that she was murdered, Bea is drawn into the investigation, while trying desperately to maintain the life of a committed single parent dating a struggling writer. Every one of the members of the small staff and board are murder suspects. Through the sizzling and beautiful days of a Sonoran Desert summer, someone keeps dropping odd botanical clues. As Bea’s family’s safety is threatened, she discovers just how tangled the relationships at the Gardens really are.
Praise for Death in a Desert Garden
“Take a peaceful desert botanical garden, add a small, dedicated staff, and a quirky board of directors with decades of hidden simmering resentments. When a partially severed tree limb kills the widow of the founder of the garden, everyone is a suspect. The lush descriptions of the plants and the ecological considerations involved in running a desert garden are the canvas on which the investigation unfolds. You’ll keep turning the pages until the totally unexpected conclusion.”
Carolyn Niethammer, award-winning author of eleven books on the food and people of the Southwest.
“Combining a determined sleuth who skillfully navigates all levels of Tucson society, with such a vivid sense of the Southwest you feel the blistering summer heat from the page and see the unexpected beauty of the desert, with a mystery that will keep you guessing until the final pages — makes Marty Eberhardt’s Death in a Desert Garden a first-rate addition to the ranks of debut mystery novels. Brava!”
Kris Neri, NM-AZ Book Award-winning author of Hopscotch Life
“Marty Eberhardt expertly draws the reader into the beauty and danger of the desert, weaving elements of the traditional mystery into the story along the way. The result is a great read!”
Marty Wingate, author of the First Edition Library mysteries and the Potting Shed mysteries
“Marty Eberhardt creates a tale full of endearing characters, alluring landscapes, and local flavor. Just when former teacher, single mom, nature-loving Bea Rivers finds her niche in a job she loves at Shandley Botanical Garden, a murder on the grounds threatens not only her job but the future of the garden. Bea isn’t going to let this Tucson gem close, nor let a self-important jerk take over, much less let her co-workers take the fall for the baffling crime. Seeded with native plant lore, Death in a Desert Garden had me guessing right to the end. If you can’t get enough of good mysteries with southwest settings, make Death in a Desert Garden the very next book on your reading list.”
Vicky Ramakka, Author, The Cactus Plot – Murder in The High Desert, Artemesia Publishing