DEVIL'S GARDEN (2025)
by Joelle Steele
While working as a greenhouse manager for the Hotel Del Monte in Monterey, California, her book, “Devil’s Garden: An Encyclopaedia of Toxic Plants,” was published in 1918. So, in addition to her day job, Mariah became a consultant on poisoning deaths. And now, in 1920, she finds herself involved in the investigation of three murders in the Bay Area – and in a romance, with her best friend. And all of this, while passing for white and worried that someone will find out.
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REVIEWS
This book has it all. It has great characters: Mariah, Jules, Doc, Gil -- and everyone else. I especially liked the fact that real people were incorporated into the plot along the way. That just made it so much more believable. Makes me wish I could have been there. - Larry R. McCarthy, Seaside, California.
Wow! What a great story! - William Lange, Olympia, Washington.
Thanks, Joelle. I loved this one especially. I really liked the relationship between Mariah and Jules and the murder mystery that goes with it. -- Julia Roberts (no relation!), Los Angeles, California.
I loved this book. It is such an interesting story with such interesting characters. I was surprised to find out who killed who - a revelation at the end of the story. -- Diane Longue, Long Beach, California.
This was a very complex story about a woman who had a great job because all the men were off to war. She was consulted by a local doctor who was trying to figure out how three people died and who killed them. She was helped by her boyfriend and a police detective. It was very interesting to me, especially about the woman passing for white, because I could pass too, but don't need to in 2025. -- Denise Robertson, Newark, New Jersey.
I love this book, Joelle. I loved everything in it, including the characters. Especially Mariah King and her boyfriend Jules de Bergeron, but also Doc Catania and Gil Olivera. Great characters. -- Luanne Rimes, Seattle, Washington.
I was given this ebook to review. It is the story of Mariah Arden, a mulatto widow passing for white in 1920 in Old Monterey, California, at a time when it was illegal in the United States for a white person to marry a non-white person. She is college educated, has written a book about poisonous plants, and works as a botanist at the Hotel Del Monte. She’s in love with her best friend, a cannery-owner’s son, Jules Bergeron, and together they have become involved in serial poisoning murders that Mariah is investigating, along with a local cop, Gilberto Oliveira. This book has a complex plot, interesting characters, is well-written, brilliantly researched, and set against a background of historic events and accounts of life in Old Monterey. In other words, Devil’s Garden has a lot going for it and I highly recommend it. - Donald Braydon, San Francisco, California
I love a good mystery, especially this one since it takes place where I used to live, in Monterey, California. I loved Mariah and Jules and all the historic background that surrounds them. And, best of all, I couldn’t figure out who the murderer might be until it was finally revealed. - MJK, Palo Alto, California
Devil's Garden takes us on a historic tour of Monterey in 1920, as murderous events are unfolding. Mariah Arden is a mulatto botanist, passing for white, and is a consultant on poisonous plants. She and her friend Jules puzzle over local murders by poison while she consults with the authorities to uncover the killer. Loved this book. Great mystery and very interesting time and place. - M. Peyton, Pacific Grove, California