Bleeding Heart (Gardening Mystery) [Paperback]

Mary Freeman (Author)

Book Description

Series: Gardening Mystery | Publication Date: September 12, 2000

A botanist hires Rachel O'Connor to landscape her exquisite estate. But when the woman is murdered, Rachel must rake through clues to find the culprit.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (September 12, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 042517669X
• ISBN-13: 978-0425176696
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,602,254 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cute cosy, September 28, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bleeding Heart (Gardening Mystery) (Paperback)

Rachel O'Connor and her family have lived in Blossom for generations. The O'Connor brood owns and harvests an orchard farm with few exceptions. Rachel is one of those family members who chose not to work on the farm. Instead she starts her own company Rain County Landscape. Famed botanist Eloise Jackson has noted Rachel's quality work. The elderly scientist wants Rachel to restore her gardens, and then the local conservatory will take over the upkeep.

Upon meeting Eloise, Rachel likes the senior citizen and feels much tenderness towards her woebegone assistant April. Eloise demands Rachel sign a contract and closes the agreement with a $180,000 check. That same night April and Rachel find Eloise dead near a raging creek. The local police arrest April, but Rachel believes she is innocent. Aware of the danger she places herself in, Rachel begins sleuthing to identify a killer.

BLEEDING HEART is a crowd pleasing garden mystery that fans of cozies and amateur sleuth tales in general will welcome. The protagonist is a good role model. She brims with independence and confidence, yet she is not always sure she is doing the right thing. Readers are privy to her inner thoughts and feelings about her family, boyfriend, and friends and that provide depth to the story as the secondary cast feel like next door neighbors. Mary Freeman hooks her audience from the beginning and keeps them interested in her story line until the climax in this wonderful entry to an entertaining series.

Harriet Klausner

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rachel is greener than ever!, December 15, 2000

By 

Karina A. Suarez "Karina A. Fogliani-Ahmed" (Walt Disney World, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bleeding Heart (Gardening Mystery) (Paperback)

In the third book of the "Gardening mysteries" series, Rachel O'Connor gets the biggest contract of her literary life yet. A rich widow offers her a contract to restore the gardens of her family home to their old glory before she donates the property to a nature conservancy group. Her sons greatly oppose it but, when the woman is found dead floating in the creek that runs through the gardens surrounding the estate, Rachel is more determined than ever to make the old widow's dream come true. She won't run short of quite a number of inconveniences, including having to face a serious problem related to her own mother's health, an unscrupulus cop and a deadly stalker.

I found this book to be the one in the series that will appeal most to gardening fans. The descriptions of lush gardens, greens and rare species of plants is quite detailed. One can actually imagine being right there, in front of an idyllic creek, contemplating exotic plants and... having the feeling of being watched all the time by some macabre mind!

This mystery deals with crimes both in the past and in the present, and there are all sorts of crimes, not only actual killings; but deception and mistrust as well. A necessary book in a series that promises to amuse us for quite some time.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absorbing!, August 9, 2001

By 

The Painter "mk3" (Omaha, AR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bleeding Heart (Gardening Mystery) (Paperback)

If you like gardening, this book is a must have! It kept me engrossed from cover to cover, as if I was one of Rachel's close gardening friends, working on her projects, sharing a romantic secret over tea, or holding my breath as she gets into very dangerous situations. Rachel is maturing, as are her business and personal relationships. I can't wait until the next book. Give it a try, I think you'll enjoy her friendship.