As the official organic gardener for the White House Cassandra "Casey" Calhoun, is always up to her elbows in something. She tries to stay out of trouble, but it always seems to find her. In this installment of the White House Gardener Mystery series, Casey puts out one figurative fire after another. One of her most dedicated volunteers, Francesca (also the Chief of Staff's wife), seeks Casey's advice to plan the perfect murder -- but only for a fun charity murder mystery dinner. Unfortunately, a few days later, a member of the White House press corps is murdered after targeting both Francesca's husband and arguing with Casey. And, of course, he's killed the exact way that Casey advised Francesca would be most effective.

While Casey tries to convince the local police that this is all an unfortunate coincidence, she's also trying to prepare for the First Lady's harvest event. Unbeknownst to her, Francesca has arranged for celebrity organic gardener Gillis Farquhar to come to the White House and give advice. At first, Casey is star-struck and happy to hear his advice. But soon, his arrogance wears on her, and she becomes concerned that he is gunning her job, especially after she notices the subtle way in which he tries to dictate policy to the garden staff, although he's a visiting guest.

As if all this isn't enough to contend with, someone starts sabotaging the White House garden. Where sweet bell peppers had been planted and cultivated, red chili peppers appear overnight. Tomatoes that were hanging over a trellis disappear in one night. Vegetables are uprooted, but otherwise undisturbed, which still threatens the harvest activity.

The Secret Service tells Casey to keep out this and not investigate (as she has been wont to do in the past), and she vows to follow their orders. However, she overhears something incriminating within the halls of the White House and doesn't know who to trust. So she decides she has to do some sleuthing on her own. Fortunately, the object of her affection is part of the Service, and she decides to bring him into her circle of trust. But while she's trying to piece everything together, another reporter gets killed. Will she be able to figure it all out before it's too late?

The only flaw with THE SCARLET PEPPER was that the red herring character was played so heavy-handedly that it was obvious that they couldn't have been involved. While that may have been part of the ploy, I think it's more fun to be kept guessing all the way through, instead of immediately eliminating someone. I will say that I was completely surprised by who the culprit was, although all of the evidence was there, in retrospect.

I completely love Casey's character. I adore the fact that there's an entire backstory, and she has more depth than the average cozy sleuth. I am definitely looking forward to more White House Gardener Mysteries.

Book Summary

As the White House's organic gardener, Casey Calhoun is up to her elbows in dirt. But when someone starts tampering with the Presidential vegetable garden, embarrassing the First lady-and a hard-nosed investigative reporter is found dead, Casey realizes that the next thing buried in the dirt might just be her...