The Botanist

By: L. K. Hill

Narrated by: Larry Oblander

In the heat of the desert, Detective Cody Oliver makes an alarming and inadvertent discovery - a strange garden, adorned with various exotic flowers, is a showy cover for the scores of bodies buried below. Soon, the small town of Mt. Dessicate plunges into chaos as journalists, reporters, and cameramen from across the nation clamor to get a piece of the action.

Along with the media, a mysterious woman appears who may be the only person who has come face to face with the killer, known as the Botanist. If Detective Cody can’t piece together the crime scene, decipher how the woman’s mysterious past is connected to the killer, and bring the Botanist to justice, he may lose the people he values most.

©2017 Liesel Hill (P)2019 Liesel Hill

A Great Listen

A dark night on a dark road and you're pulled over by police cruiser, can your night get worse? Maybe, especially if the officer is just "off" and your instincts are telling you to run. The experience stays with you for years and then one day you see a newscast from that town about a mass grave that's been found. Now you know why you've never forgotten that night. Interesting characters, suspense and action will keep you listen until the very end. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request, and have voluntarily left this review.

Wow!

I just finished this and I have to say I was very impressed. The storyline held me captive, the characters were believable, and the man doing the narration did an excellent job!

A well narrated serial killer tale

I have never read any of Ms Hill's work but I love audiobooks and serial killers so when I was given the chance to get a free copy of this book I jumped at the chance. The title says it is A Small Town Romantic Suspense Thriller with Cute Detectives Serial Killers Murder and Heart Stopping Twists and Turns. Well, there is some romance but not too much. I guess Cody the lead detective was cute, there definitely was a serial killer and there were twists and turns. Mt Dessicate is a small town in the desert in far western Utah near St George, an area I am familiar with so I could relate to it. The book has a fairly strong but not perfect heroine but she is pretty much the only female character of any consequence besides the victims. Driving down a back road in the desert late at night on her way home Alex is stopped by a policeman with a raspy voice. He ends up letting her go but she feels like there is something weird so she stops at the next town's police station to report it. A very young policeman takes the report but doesn't seem too interested. Several years later Alex hears about a serial killer case in the town with a mass grave with blue tulips (hence the title) very near where she was stopped. She returns to the area to remind the police of her report and stays to help the police. The detective in charge is the same officer to whom she made her report so her doesn't just write her off. The police work seemed realistic for a small town that has little crime. There were twists and turns involving some history of the town which gave me an idea of who the killer might be but there was still plenty of suspense and some twists I didn't see coming. The book was wrapped up well and didn't leave the reader hanging. The narrator Larry Oblander did an excellent job. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more of Ms Hill's work.

A serial killer or not

I listened as an ARC reviewer and fell in love with a new author to me. The story kept me up listening from start to finish. A killer is loose and now a girl has been seen being dragged into a vehicle kicking and screaming. Bodies have been discovered in the desert. A toddler was found wandering alone on a highway. What is happening in this town? You will love this story and the narrator is perfect for this audiobook. I can't praise this story enough. I highly recommend it.

Crimes across decades, Hints, twists upon twists

Stories across years can be intriguing, and this book is no exception. Immediately we are placed in a situation that breathes threatening evil - and yet we are left free to move on. Why me? Then to learn that more have been there but not "walked away".
What happened to them? Is anyone looking into these dusty files that have so much in common with what you just experienced? Who is this unknown who gives us glimpses? Glimpses hinting at what?
Yes, I was hooked quickly and found it difficult to put the story down for the night. Brilliance and malevolence bought together in a captivating story any gritty mystery lover will relish.