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Books, Bullets and Blooms is the sixth Sage Gardens cozy mystery from Cindy Bell, with the retirement-community amateur sleuth Eileen Sharp investigating another death among the residents of her Sage Gardens complex. The case in this entry involves the murder of a fellow resident during a book-and-garden community event, and the investigation widens through the community ensemble that Bell has been developing across the series.
Bell's strength in Books, Bullets and Blooms is the relaxed familiarity of the retirement-community cast. Eileen's friends, the community staff, and the regular antagonists carry the book even when the plot machinery is conventional. Fans of Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen mysteries or Diane Mott Davidson's Goldy Bear novels will recognize the comfort-cozy register.
The mystery resolves quickly. The pleasure is the community texture.
Three stars. Reliable late-series cozy. Recommended for readers of the Sage Gardens cozy series and for cozy fans who enjoy retirement-community amateur sleuths. New readers to Cindy Bell should start with the first Sage Gardens entry rather than Books, Bullets and Blooms.
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