Pushing Up Daisies by Rosemary Harris (2009, Paperback, Reprint)

What's not to like about a mystery with three -- count 'em, THREE -- eBay references? The heroine buys a ceramic thrift store lamp that's "one of those aggressively ugly lamps from the fifties that optimistic sellers on eBay refer to as Eames era"; the intrepid kid reporter drives a vintage Sunbeam Alpine -- "got it on eBay"; and the villain tries -- and fails -- to sell some of his ill-gotten gains on eBay and receives 197 negative feedbacks.

(Now, you know and I know that since the item didn't sell, he couldn't have received any feedback at all, but it makes a funnier story the way it's written.)

Paula Holliday is a transplanted former media executive turned small-town garden landscaper. When she finds a mummified baby's body while working on the grounds of a local historic landmark, mystery ensues. But her casual snooping turns serious when a fellow landscaper is attacked with a gardening tool and Paula's assistant is arrested for the crime.

Aided by the still-hot rockin' Babe who owns the neighborhood diner, a chic and smart-mouthed friend and former colleague, an almost-hot cop with a donut habit, and a sexy Mexican laborer with a few secrets of his own, Paul digs up some dirty business that the town has kept buried for years.

This is an excellent debut mystery that keeps you turning pages happily from start to finish. You're bound to enjoy the ride on the way to finding out whodunit, and you're likely to pick up some gardening tips too.

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