The Corpse by the Creek

Succulent Sleuth Cozy Mystery, #3

by

Iris March

Volunteers on a stream monitoring outing find a dead body.

The Corpse by the Creek is the third book in author Iris March's fun and comfortable Succulent Sleuth Cozy Mystery series, featuring two twin sisters and their cousin who own and operate a small-town plant nursery they inherited jointly from their grandmother, who started the business. With the nursery's parking lot adjoining that for a trailhead of the Buckeye Trail, the women are often the first to know if there's trouble on the trail, even more so when one of them discovers the body of a murder victim while out learning to monitor the local waterways. 

When Molly and her husband, Scott, are walking the route on part of the Buckeye Trail to their next stream monitoring site with their trainer, Heath Reed, they come across the body of a man in a suit lying face down and deceased. Soon, the victim is identified as a much-disliked property developer who has been riding roughshod over tenants' feelings in the commercial buildings he has been acquiring in the area, including those next door to Patty's Plant Place. Feeling somewhat invested in what happened to the man, Molly, May, and the rest of the gang at the nursery begin snooping around. But things become critical when they discover that cousin Shannon was the man's real estate agent for many of his recent acquisitions, and the police detective on the case is looking hard in her direction. 

Molly is an interesting and earnest young woman, and though she runs her own business, she still finds the time and dedication to participate in worthwhile, altruistic endeavors, such as volunteering for water monitoring with Scott. They are both inspired and renewed by spending time in the great outdoors and want to make a difference. Her twin sister, May, is the busy mother of two school-age children and manages the administrative side of their business, as well as the deep dives into internet research they need to solve this crime. Although close to her sister, as one imagines, May tended to be critical of Molly's every move in this story, while Molly and Shannon, who is normally the sisters' joint antagonist, finally had a genuine moment to air their thoughts and feelings. Hopefully, this is a turning point in the cousins' relationships, and May is not stepping in as a replacement source of tension. 

The story moves along at a brisk pace, with the murder victim's discovery occurring early on and the sisters deciding right away to investigate. Since May's husband, Detective Joe Sato, is not assigned to the case, they have lost their special connection to what is officially happening. They are warned off, but did a pretty good job of lifting information and clues from legitimately available sources and targeted chats with people they know who had deals with the dead man. They also were pretty good about taking another person with them whenever they went off on one of their investigatory fishing expeditions. With the victim's terrible reputation, there was no shortage of suspects to rule out, and the big reveal, while in a public place, was still a doozy. 

Although this is the third book, it works well as a standalone, so readers new to the series can read and enjoy it on its own. I recommend THE CORPSE BY THE CREEK to cozy mystery fans, especially those who enjoy gardening, plants, or advocating for water quality. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from the author through Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours.