Garden of Evil: A Britt Montero Novel (Britt Montero Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Edna Buchanan (Author) "THE GARBLED POLICE RADIO TRANSMISSIONS HAD been confusing: reports of gunfire, a fleeing car, a traffic accident, and a corpse..." (more)
Key Phrases: comp time, kinda weird, city desk, Kiss-Me Killer, South Beach, Orange Bowl (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Miami crime reporter Britt Montero (Margin of Error, etc.) endures a heat wave and much worse when some apparently unrelated stories converge. When a woman claims to Britt that she's a hit man's target, she's perceived at first as lonely, then as paranoid; a headless man smashes up a car during a shootout when his lifeless foot jams on the accelerator. That's all in a day's work for Britt, but then a female serial killer roars onto the scene. Keppie's M.O.: two shots delivered to near naked, post-coitus males, lipstick traces on exploding shells, stolen cars and purloined credit cards. Britt is on the story, and the pretty killer, enamored of her press clippings, takes an interest in the reporterAwho, not being one to turn down a chance at good copy, consents when the cops hatch a plan to catch Keppie by using Britt as bait. Of course, the plan goes awry and Britt finds herself in a car with the murderer and a frightened young boy, driving across the Sunshine State. In addition to winding up on the wrong end of a pistol-whipping from the slinky Keppie, Britt helplessly witnesses the killer practice her craft and gets caught up in a televised, O.J. Simpson-like car chase. Throughout, Buchanan sustains a feverish pace with hyper-fast cuts between major and minor plot lines. Although the resolution is relegated to an emotionless kind of narrative postscript, Keppie, a long-legged mankiller with a family secret and guile to spare, will easily command the attention of Buchanan's fans. Meanwhile, Britt herself, tough yet tender, remains a solid enough character to retain readers' interest despite the hyperbolic escapades Buchanan subjects her to in this over-the-top tale. (Nov.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
After taking a break with Pulse, Miami crime reporter Britt Montero is back and she's hotter than ever! As usual, Britt is in the thick of things, sweltering during a Miami heatwave and chasing the usual suspects. But her most interesting assignment is about a mysterious woman who kills a sheriff in north Florida and then weaves a southerly track downstate toward Miami, leaving a trail of corpses in her wake. Each is found with his pants downAhis genitals mutilated, shot with Black Talon bullets, and graced with traces of lipstick. She becomes the "Kiss-Me Killer." Britt's coverage of the murders attracts the attention of the killer, who contacts Britt and draws her into a dangerous cat-and-mouse game that could cost Britt her life. The usual cast of interesting side-kicks add to the fun. Britt's many fans will welcome this fresh installment in the series. Recommended for public libraries.
-ARebecca House Stankowski, Purdue Univ. Calumet Lib., Hammond, IN
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Avon; Reprint edition (October 3, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380798417
• ISBN-13: 978-0380798414
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #544,561 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fast paced mystery/thriller, April 27, 2000

By	Doug Vaughn (Washington, Dc USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Garden of Evil (Hardcover)

I thoroughly enjoyed Garden of Evil, the first Edna Buchanan crime novel that I have read. The protagonist, Britt Montero, a reporter for a Miami newspaper who covers the police beat, obviously owes a great deal to Buchanan's own experience as an award winning crime reporter. The story is fast, the characters are interesting and the dialogue is crisp. This is the kind of entertaining read that many readers long for.

On the negative side, the plot is advanced by a series of coincidences that would make Dickens blush. And the fact that the book deals with a serial killer, at a time when the public at large is probably getting sick of that very overused topic, would have been more of a limitation except that this killer is female and her M.O. - leaving her male victims with their pants down and their genitals shot off - will strike an emotional chord, though not the same one, with male and female readers. The ending was something of an anti-climax after the very long and exciting buildup, but I had so much fun in the reading of the book that I didn't even think of that until later.

My wife insists that this is far from the best of Buchanan. If that is true, then her best must be very good indeed. For anyone who likes their crime fiction fast and on the gritty side, this is very entertaining fiction.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dark departure for Britt Montero, January 22, 2000

By	Sherrie Martin "sherchez" (Roanoke, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Garden of Evil (Hardcover)

Edna Buchanan's latest Britt Montero novel is very different sans the usual suspects; e.g., Cuban patriots and expatriates. This time out, newspaperwoman Britt goes one on one with a female serial killer as she cuts a bloody swath across Florida. Killer Keppie Lee Hutton is about as warped a character as ever penned by the inimitable Ms. Buchanan. Her main criterion for killing is the mere existence of men who, responding to her sexy mannerisms and seductive come-ons, make love to her. Once the deed is done, this gruesome Southern black widow dispatches them painfully and messily. Her progress across the state into Miami, Britt's bailiwick, is charted by the missing vehicle of each new victim, since the previous victims' wheels are always found near the latest crime scene. Sound familiar? Keppie Lee has a dark and deadly past and a shocking family secret which Britt discovers only after she and a small child are taken as hostages on a joy ride from hell. Britt not only has the little boy to protect from Keppie's murderous mood swings, but is forced to fend off Keppie's amorous advances while helplessly watching this sick puppy scope out her new victims. Quick thinking and a 1-time window of opportunity provides Britt exactly 1 chance to save herself and the boy.

Keppie is finally captured in Barbados and, in a jailhouse confrontation back in Miami, reveals to Britt her final secret and ace in the hole, providing for a shocking but ambiguous ending. We may see Keppie Lee Hutton again.

This book is well plotted, quick paced, distressingly plausible and, while perhaps not one of Buchanan's best, is nonetheless highly entertaining and recommended.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Garden of Evil, January 27, 2000

By	Charlotte Caffrey (Hollywood, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Garden of Evil (Hardcover)

A great, galumping read that romps playfully--and scarily--through Florida like a hurricane (author Edna Buchanan did that in another Britt Montera book.) It's all in her funny details, like when she washes ashore in Miami Beach and the Beach police, acccustomed to Cuban or Haitian refugees, asks where she's from as they pluck her from the surf, and she answers, "The Miami News." Buchanan keeps you riveted with twists and turns but never strays too far from the rdiculous ironies of contemporary life, especially as she knows it in Miami and Miami Beach. Who knows as many excruciatingly funny details about crime as the great Edna Buchanan?