Garden Girl by Renny deGroot
Also on the blog tour today, Booklymatters and Rogue Book Reviews
Gordie MacLean, a 53-year-old bachelor detective is content minding his own patch of Cape Breton Island with its rugged coastal landscape and low crime rate. When the remains of a missing person are discovered though, he’s in the right place at the right time to be lead on the case. MacLean battles his sergeant’s scorn and his own demons to prove that he can hunt down the killer; a killer who will stop at nothing to protect their long-buried secrets.
I’ve never been to Canada. All I really know about the Great White North is that they people like ice hockey and they’re notoriously polite. I associate Canadians with that same attitude that the Portuguese have to the Spanish or the New Zealanders to the Australians: the quieter neighbours, all the better for slipping under the radar and given themselves the space to value decency and openness.
Basically, cliches.
I suspect that lack of firsthand knowledge was what drew me to Renny deGroot’s novel, Garden Girl. Well, that and Taz the dog. Gordie is an engaging central protagonist, a man in middle age heading his first murder case with a dubious superior and a new partner to break in.
All of which, when rendered into black and white, sounds a little cliché itself. But deGroot has managed to craft a collection of characters – bi and quadraped alike – with whom it is no hassle to spend time. Gordie may be taciturn but he’s a fundamentally good guy, wants to welcome his new partner and look after his hound, even as a new love interest enters the picture.
In fact, this charming atmosphere and friendly set of characters also accounts for the slightly uneven tone which the novel sometimes has. It feels, sometimes, that there was an earlier draft of this book where Gordie was a worse man or where there was a backstory to why a clearly capable crime fighter like Gordie is so stalled in his career.
As it is, I think if deGroot wants to make this a series, she could channel Martin Walker or Donna Leon and lean into the camaraderie between her cops and her decent, nuanced characters because she can write an engaging plot and people. As a reader I want to spend time with them.
Overall, this is a good, honest detective tale, simply and competently told, sprinkled with (what feel like authentic) location details and narrated with aplomb by artist Nathan Foss. I’m just looking forward to the team’s next outing!
Purchase Links
https://www.amazon.ca/Garden-Girl-Cape-Breton-Mysteries/dp/B0CQPN99XP
https://www.amazon.com/Garden-Girl-Cape-Breton-Mysteries/dp/B0CQPKYL3S
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Garden-Girl-Cape-Breton-Mysteries/dp/B0CQPJM1TH
Author Bio –
Renny deGroot was born in Nova Scotia, Canada, a first-generation Canadian of Dutch parents.
Her novels have been shortlisted for the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize and a Whistler Independent Book Award. They have been awarded several readers’ awards from the U.K., Canada, and the U.S. She has published mystery, historical fiction, short stories and non-fiction
Renny has a BA in English Literature from Trent University and studied creative writing at Ryerson University. She lives in rural Ontario with her Great Pyrenees and Golden Retriever, and vacations at her cottage in Nova Scotia.
Social Media Links –
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rennyvdegroot/
Twitter: Renny deGroot (@renny_degroot) / Twitter
Website: http://rennydegroot.com
Instagram: @renny_degroot)
TikTok: @rennydegroot
Narrator Bio
Nathan Foss is a professionally trained and working theatre, film and voice actor who has appeared in film, television and theatre productions. He was a lead actor in Budai with Xiao Sun, as Romeo in the Montréal Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Romeo and Juliet and as a lead in the film Avant Que Tu Part which was an Official Selection of the 2020 Cinema On The Bayou Film Festival. He acted, directed and produced numerous plays and short films including In Loving Memory and commercials for Bios Medical.
Nathan graduated from the Neptune Theatre School and participated in workshops with Tom Todoroff, Scott Brick, Peter Dickson and Marc Graue. He studied voice and singing with Janice Isabel Jackson of Vocalypse Productions. Nathan trained in jazz, ballet and modern dance with the Leica Hardy School of Dance and the Joseph Wallin School of Dance. He performed in improv and attended numerous workshops for the performing arts.
Originally from Dartmouth Nova Scotia, Nathan is bilingual and is now located in Montréal Québec. Versatile by nature, Nathan is excited about the opportunity to expand his onstage repertoire into the fascinating medium of audiobooks and voice work. This allows him to successfully integrate his three passions of direction, production and acting into one form.
Social Media Links –
Nathan Kyle Foss (@nathankfoss) • Instagram photos and videos
PAJ Newman 