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Oak And Dagger (2013)

by Dorothy St. James(Favorite Author)

3.99 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0425252035 (ISBN13: 9780425252031)

languge

English

genre

Horror

publisher

Berkley

series

A White House Gardener Mystery

review 1: Oak And Dagger is the third book in the A White House Gardener Mystery series by Dorothy St. James.Another wonderful story from Dorothy St. James, but I also want to draw the readers attention to the chapter headings. They are quotes from various First Ladies and are quite entertaining.Things are hectic for the White House garden staff. First the First Dog has been digging holes in the yard, the President in the middle of planting two trees for the press hits an underground water line and the head gardener, Gordon, has been accused by the White House curator of stealing some files from here office. But in addition to the files that the curator say are missing, there is also a schematic for the sprinkler system missing from Casey's office, too. These files pertained to ... morean item of President Jefferson's, that Dolley Madison gave to a member of the staff to save before the British set fire to the White House and he reportedly buried somewhere in the White House lawn.Casey soon hears that the curator was going to meet Gordon in the Children's Garden to confront him once again. She soon finds Gordon face down in a small koi pond, alive, but barely breathing. After Gordon has been transported to the hospital sets to clear her mind and to see if she can find any clues as to what might have happened. She finds where Gordon had been working and also finds his pruning saw with blood on it and nearby the lifeless body of the curator. Now it is Casey against the D.C. Police. Casey is sure that he had nothing to do with her death and the police say all the evidence points directly at him.So Casey, along with some help from her “sidekick” Special Agent Jack Turner, she if off scouring the office and the White House lawn looking for clues. Casey needs to learn more about Nadeem who is the assistant curator and seems following Casey most of time. There is also Marcel, who is working on some design work for the First Lady. Marcel seems to turn up everywhere and with out an escort. The one Casey is most concerned with and not sure how to go about asking questions in the First Lady's sister, Lettie. Lettie seems to want to be involved in everything to do with the gardeners, but creates more of a mess than helping. Add to all this Casey is also getting death threats.It appears that Casey's romance with Jack is moving ahead, she also learns more about her father's past.Looking forward to the next book and the inside working of the gardening staff at the White House.
review 2: Excellent read! Fast paced, interesting and with very little 'filler' in the form of internal dialogue or constant review of suspects - this was handled really gracefully with a paragraph here and there throughout the story. I absolutely loved the ending of this book and the plot wrap-up. Ms. James did an excellent job of letting you think you knew the killer only to keep throwing things topsy turvy. And the climax of the "hidden treasure" part of the plot - well, I just thought it was to coolest ending!With the exception of Lorenzo who is the "jackass" character in this series that's becoming a bit of a cliche in cozies lately, I love these characters, they are likeable, engaging and I find myself wanting to know what comes next for each of them. What could be a cheesy and emotionally manipulative storyline concerning Casey's past is beautifully written - she's got baggage, but she's not a whiny victim. The revelation of secrets kept for ages was sort of predictable, but interesting nevertheless. I love the dynamic between Casey and Jack - lots of potential there and lots of sparks. The addition of his brothers to the cast of characters made for a very light moment in the book - I hope to see a bit more of their comedy relief in future books.Overall, I can see this being a book I'll pick up again and again - I just genuinely enjoyed 99% of this book cover-to-cover. If you like gardening and cozies, I recommend you give this series a spin. less

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