Peggy Lee Garden Mysteries Books in Order

The Recommended Reading Order for the Peggy Lee Garden Mysteries

For the best reading experience, we highly recommend following the publication order of the Peggy Lee Garden Mysteries. This allows you to experience Peggy's personal growth, follow the slow-burn evolution of her relationships, and trace the long-running mystery surrounding her late husband's death. The series flows sequentially, with the standalone novella, Buried by Buttercups, fitting perfectly between the fifth and sixth full-length novels.

Here is the recommended reading path for the series:

1. Pretty Poison (2005)
2. Fruit of the Poisoned Tree (2006)
3. Poisoned Petals (2007)
4. Perfect Poison (2008)
5. A Corpse for Yew (2009)
6. Buried by Buttercups (2012) — Novella
7. A Thyme to Die (2013)
8. Lethal Lily (2014)
9. Killing Weeds (2015)

Where to Start Reading

The absolute best place to start is with the first novel, Pretty Poison. This book introduces you to Peggy Lee, a botanist and widow of a Charlotte police detective, who runs a popular garden shop called "The Potting Shed" in Charlotte, North Carolina. It also introduces her lovable but mischievous Great Dane, Shakespeare, and establishes the core relationships with the local police department that define her amateur sleuthing career. Starting here ensures you don't miss the foundational plant lore and character dynamics that make the series so special.

Peggy Lee Garden Mysteries: The Complete Book List

Here is a closer look at each entry in the series, detailing how the botanical clues and mysteries unfold:

1. Pretty Poison (2005)

Peggy Lee's quiet life as the owner of The Potting Shed is upended when a wealthy philanderer is found dead in her shop. When a local homeless man who helps Peggy is accused of the crime, she uses her extensive knowledge of forensic botany to dig up the truth and clear his name, starting her journey as an amateur detective.

2. Fruit of the Poisoned Tree (2006)

In her second outing, Peggy investigates a suspicious death linked to a massive insurance policy. As she sifts through family secrets, her botanical expertise and sharp instincts guide her through a tangled web of lies, proving that her first successful case was no fluke.

3. Poisoned Petals (2007)

Peggy is preparing to deliver endangered sunflowers to a fellow botanist when a devastating gas explosion destroys his home and kills him. The mystery deepens when his brother is found dead shortly after with purple hyacinths. Using online tips and her knowledge of plants, Peggy races to stop a calculating killer.

4. Perfect Poison (2008)

While attending a funeral in Badin, North Carolina, Peggy learns of a diver who drowned under mysterious circumstances. When another body is discovered in a Charlotte swimming pool with a strange plant wound and traces of duckweed, Peggy connects the two cases, plunging into a complex double-homicide investigation.

5. A Corpse for Yew (2009)

During a historical society "bone harvest" volunteer trip with her mother, Peggy stumbles upon a fresh corpse with telltale red lips. She is quickly drawn into the investigation, matching wits with a killer who uses toxic plants to silence their victims.

6. Buried by Buttercups (2012) — Novella

After being on the outs with the Charlotte Police Department for two years, Peggy is brought back into the fold by a new homicide lieutenant. A serial killer is using flower-based poisons—beginning with angel's trumpet—to get Peggy's attention, targeting men who share her late husband's name.

7. A Thyme to Die (2013)

Peggy takes on the role of director for the International Flower Show in Charlotte, but opening day is ruined when a friendly orchid grower is found shot and buried under a blanket of pink thyme. The choice of plant points to someone inside the show, bringing the FBI into the mix and putting Peggy in the crosshairs.

8. Lethal Lily (2014)

Peggy agrees to investigate a cold case involving a twenty-year-old death in exchange for files on the death of her late husband, John Lee, whom she suspects was murdered. The trail leads her to a storage unit auction, a clumsy private investigator, and a murder executed via convallatoxin (lily of the valley poison).

9. Killing Weeds (2015)

In the final installment of the series, Peggy's garden shop is vandalized, and the stakes rise dramatically when her son, Paul, is accused of murder. Peggy must weed out the real killer to save her family and protect everything she has built.

What to Know Before You Start

The Peggy Lee Garden Mysteries are written by the beloved husband-and-wife writing team of Joyce and Jim Lavene. They wrote dozens of cozy mysteries together, often featuring strong, independent female leads in Southern settings. One of the signature features of the Peggy Lee series is the inclusion of authentic gardening tips, plant lore, and historical botanical facts at the beginning of each chapter. This integration of forensic botany makes the series stand out in the cozy mystery genre. While the individual murder mysteries are solved in each book, there is a strong overarching narrative concerning Peggy's grief, her relationship with her family, and the truth behind her husband's death, making sequential reading highly rewarding.

Can the Books Be Read as Standalones?

Yes, each book features a self-contained mystery that is fully resolved by the end of the story. However, we recommend reading them in order. The personal relationships, Peggy's status with the Charlotte police department, and the ongoing investigation into her late husband's death build from one book to the next. If you read them out of order, you may encounter minor spoilers regarding who Peggy is dating or the resolution of family conflicts.