Beaumatin's Blonde — Susan Alexander

It is high summer in the Cotswolds and Maggie Eliot would be enjoying the season more if only she were less stressed out. There is the book she is writing whose deadline is approaching. There is the project of creating a database of the plants in the gardens of her husband Thomas' estate she needs to finish in time for his birthday. There is the imminent descent of two of Thomas' children for a holiday in the country. And finally there is her nagging feeling that Thomas really ought to meet her family back in her native Boston and vice versa. Then a tragedy occurs which makes her other concerns seem trivial. Soon after, some valuable snowdrop bulbs go missing from Rochford Manor, home of Lord and Lady Ainswick, along with six bulbs of Beaumatin's Blonde, a new yellow snowdrop Thomas has bred. When she discovers a brutal murder, Maggie decides it is linked to the missing snowdrops and that she knows who is behind both the killing and the thefts. But the police have a different suspect and Maggie admits she has no evidence to back up her beliefs. Thomas is also impatient with her “crackpot” theory and Maggie must choose between alienating her husband and biding her time until she has the proof she needs to bring the perpetrator to justice. There is the book she is writing whose deadline is approaching. There is the project of creating a database of the plantings in the gardens of her husband Thomas' estate she is trying to finish in time for his birthday. There is the imminent descent of two of Thomas' children from his first marriage for a summer holiday in the country. And finally there is her nagging feeling that Thomas really ought to meet her family back in her native Boston and vice versa. Then a tragedy occurs which makes her other concerns seem trivial. Soon after, quite a few valuable snowdrop bulbs go missing from Rochford Manor, home of Lord and Lady Ainswick, along with six bulbs of Beaumatin's Blonde, a new yellow snowdrop Thomas has bred. When she discovers a brutal murder, Maggie becomes convinced it is linked to the missing snowdrops and that she knows who is behind both the killing and the thefts. But the police have a different prime suspect and Maggie admits she has no evidence to back up her beliefs. Thomas is also impatient with her “crackpot” theory and Maggie must choose between alienating her husband and biding her time until she has the proof she needs to bring the perpetrator to justice.