Casey
Calhoun works as an assistant gardener at the White House.
She loves her job and most of her co-workers. Excitement about
President Bradley planting trees to honor his newborn twins
turns to dismay when the president's shovel strikes an irrigation
line, thus soaking himself and those around him.
The incident
only serves to add to the tension amongst the White House
staff. The curator says that important documents have been
stolen from her and she blames Gordon, the chief horticulturist
and Casey's boss. There are grumbles amongst the First Lady's
staff, a mysterious new assistant curator, and an interior
decorator who seems more interested in the gardens than in
the interior he is supposed to be decorating. Add in the older
sister of the First Lady, and how she insinuates herself into
things that aren't her business, including reorganizing Casey's
desk, and you just know the chaos is going to escalate.
Casey
soon finds the curator's body, and the hospitalized Gordon
appears to be the likely culprit. Knowing that Gordon is not
a killer, Casey sets out to find the truth, and to solve a
White House mystery that goes back to the days of Dolley Madison.
I enjoyed
this smart and fast-paced mystery. I love how even the First
Dog has a role in the day-to-day life in the White House gardens.
Casey is a clever character, and I appreciated the pacing
of her romance with Special Agent Jack Turner. As a reader
of the first two books in the series, I enjoyed learning a
bit more about Casey's past. Author St. James also delighted
this reader with the quotations from previous real-life First
Ladies, most of which were new to me.
You can't
go wrong with a cozy mystery that is played out with the backdrop
of the world as a stage, while merging storylines from the
past and the present, and with likable characters and dastardly
villains. Highly recommended to fans of Julie Hyzy's "White
House Chef" mystery series.
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