Book Review: Bleeding Heart

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Bleeding Heart     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Mary Freeman
Class/Genre:   Mystery
Series: Rachel O'Connor # 3
Bantam, Sep 2000, $5.99, 288 pp.

Rachel O’Connor and her family have lived in Blossom for generations. The O’Connor brood owns and harvests an orchard farm with few exceptions. Rachel is one of those family members who chose not to work on the farm. Instead she starts her own company Rain County Landscape. Famed botanist Eloise Jackson has noted Rachel’s quality work. The elderly scientist wants Rachel to restore her gardens, and then the local conservatory will take over the upkeep.

Upon meeting Eloise, Rachel likes the senior citizen and feels much tenderness towards her woebegone assistant April. Eloise demands Rachel sign a contract and closes the agreement with a $180,000 check. That same night April and Rachel find Eloise dead near a raging creek. The local police arrest April, but Rachel believes she is innocent. Aware of the danger she places herself in, Rachel begins sleuthing to identify a killer.

BLEEDING HEART is a crowd pleasing garden mystery that fans of cozies and amateur sleuth tales in general will welcome. The protagonist is a good role model. She brims with independence and confidence, yet she is not always sure she is doing the right thing. Readers are privy to her inner thoughts and feelings about her family, boyfriend, and friends and that provide depth to the story as the secondary cast feel like next door neighbors. Mary Freeman hooks her audience from the beginning and keeps them interested in her story line until the climax in this wonderful entry to an entertaining series.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner