Better Gnomes & Gardens by Casey Cardel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book as it was the first work by Casey Cardel that I have read but I was not disappointed. We meet Bob McLarney unfortunately being fired from his first journalist job in the small town of Mysty Haven in northeastern Wisconsin. He graduated from college with his master’s degree in journalism and had a stroke of luck finding a so soon.

With the second stroke of luck Bob is given a front-page story after only one week at the Mysty Haven Weekender. After the other two reporters suddenly become ill, he is being sent to Las Vegas with everything paid for by his boss Tony to meet with an Elvis impersonator named Lennie. Only when Bob gets there Lennie refuses to tell him about being an impersonator and instead is determined to tell him about his recent siting of Bigfoot. Getting evidence in way of a footprint Bob writes the story and sends it to the printers for the Sunday paper, fired Monday morning. In a new town for only two weeks Bob now finds himself in need of a new job when he meets a local man at Maddie B’s coffee shop. Offering Bob $1,000 to find his missing gnome Charlie. Thinking it to be an easy case Bob accepts, thinking back to the gnomes his mother had as a child, a dramatized cartoon character with red pants and a white shirt, the novelty image of a gnome. Meeting with Mr. Weaver at his home seeing the location Charlie was taken from he asks if he has a photo, Bob is stunned to see a gnome in blue pants and shirt posing like Tom Selleck from the famous cosmopolitan cover with a pink corncob pipe in his hand and a mysterious smirk on his face. The only suspect Mr. Weaver points to is the Dhay sisters, Lilly, and Aubri, who have been trying to beat him in the garden competitions for years. Meeting with Lilly Dhay only one time she states that they don’t use gnomes to protect their garden but that faeries are great protectors of gardens. Later calling the local police on Bob for his wrongful investigation. After his run in with the local sheriff and deputy Bob decides to visit Mr. Weaver and tell him what he has told so far. His luck having ran out Bob is on the main road at speed when a squirrel that was eating a sandwich decides to run into the middle of the road, suddenly Bob realizes his brakes aren’t working when his steering goes out. Staring at a big red semi something that he first thought was Bigfoot, later swearing it was a werewolf hits his car off the road saving his life but totaling his first car Emma Jean, a red ’67 Ford Mustang. Waking up he is unnerved by the local doctor, Dr. Stein when he comments that he has a beautiful brain and that he will return later to perform more tests.

Will Bob be able to uncover the truth of Mysty Haven? He must decide if he believes in bigfoot then the possibility that gnomes and faeries could be real also. The world built, the characters depths, and the overall mystery make Better Gnomes and Gardens an adventurous quick read that will have you turning the pages in curiosity of what will happen next. This was an amazing start to a new series, and I can’t wait to see what happens next in the Mysty Haven Mystery Series.

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