Slugfest
A Dirty Business Mystery
By Rosemary Harris
$24.99, hardcover, 256 pages

I’d like to hire Paula Holliday to help me with this year’s garden, but I guess I’ll just have to settle for reading about her investigative and horticulture skills in the pages of 'Slugfest', the fourth dirty business mystery by Rosemary Harris.

I’d also like to believe that the product Slugfest would rid my hosta gardens of these horrible pests, but read on and you'll find that this is about as likely as finding a truly squirrel-proof bird feeder.

Holliday's adventures as the owner of “Dirty Business Garden Solutions,” of Springfield, Conn. are a breath of spring and when she’s not attending flower shows or finding murder suspects, she’s offering people real-life gardening advice while not being afraid to get a little dirt under what’s left of her fingernails.

The latest in this page-turning series takes place at the Big Apple Flower Show in Manhattan, which is put on by a consortium of local garden clubs, comprised of New York bluebloods.

There's nothing quite like a snooty murder.

At the flower show, readers meet Rolanda Knox, a heavy-duty security guard, who wants to rise above being a rent-a-cop. Then there's an eclectic cast of flower show vendors, such as Connie Anzalone, who has a husband with questionable Mafia credentials, with equally as questionable clothing choices.

Holliday's best friend, Lucy Cavanaugh, lives in an apartment building in New York City, a place where “You could have 8,000 Facebook friends but not know the name of the person living right on top of you.”

But instead of enjoying a weekend in the big city selling art pieces for a friend at the flower show, Holliday winds up trying to solve flower funny business and a few murders, too.

I love this series; I've read them all and can't wait for the next installment.

Did I mention Harris’ book titles are equally as clever as her story telling? 'Pushing Up Daisies', 'The Big Dirt Nap' and 'Dead Head' — the first three in this series —  are not to be missed by garden-loving cozy readers.

So check out her website, read all four titles quickly and then meet Harris in person at Aunt Agatha’s in downtown Ann Arbor on May 25 at 7 p.m.

She will be at the bookstore with Casey Daniels, who has a new book out as well —  “A Hard Day’s Fright,” a ghost novel.

Lisa Allmendinger is a regional reporter for AnnArbor.com. Her weekly Cozy Corner book review column appears each Wednesday. She can be reached at lisaallmendinger@annarbor.com.