The Perennial Killer: A Gardening Mystery

On location in Colorado for her syndicated television show, Gardening with Nature, filming alpine butterflies and avalanche lilies, Louise Eldridge can see why this beautiful terrain is as precious as gold. Then the pure Rocky Mountain air is fouled by the discovery of elderly rancher Jimmy Porter's body, shot to death and draped like a coyote carcass over his own backyard fence. Louise soon discovers a staggering list of suspects, since Jimmy's plan to sell his 13,000-acre ranch to a government preservation program left a lot of family, friends, and competitors with much to lose. Throw in a second death, a closed nuclear plant, a CIA investigation involving Louise's husband, and a bullet hole in her cowboy hat, and Louise suddenly realizes she's onto a killer as hardy as the native skeleton weed-and seemingly as indestructible.From Publishers WeeklyThis time around, Louise Eldridge, Ripley's amateur snoop from four previous mysteries, quickly discovers that land is gold in Colorado and that people will stop at nothing to control it. Almost as soon as she arrives in the state to shoot her syndicated TV show, Gardening with Nature, she finds herself embroiled in a dangerous struggle over a 13,000-acre ranch: environmentalists want it designated as an "open space"; developers want it for themselves. When Louise and her cameraman discover the murdered body of the ranch's elderly owner, Porter, she begins her own investigation. Her diverse list of suspects includes the sheriff, a good old boy who, along with countless others, has profited handsomely from land deals in the past. The stakes turn deadly when Porter's daughter dies in a suspicious accident, someone shoots at Louise and a sophisticated Austrian millionaire attempts to run her off a treacherous mountain road. Ripley's plots have become increasingly complicated with each book--this one has as many side issues as bindweed has seeds--and her one-dimensional heroine may fail to engage the reader. Nonetheless, the author projects a strong sense of place and is firmly grounded in her issues: her trademark essays, interspersed as tension-breakers throughout the book, reveal her understanding of Western horticulture. (May) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. Review"Certain to appeal to mystery readers with green thumbs!"—Denver Post"The next time your yard calls out for a good weeding, nurture the gardener first. Plop down on the lawn chair, ignore the June bugs, and enjoy the read."—USA Today"A wonderful way to pass those gray days when you can't get into your garden."—Chicago Sun-Times