The Botanist’s Assistant
Author: Peggy Townsend
Reviewer: Jen
Rating: B
What I’m Talking About:
Margaret hasn’t had the easiest life, but she’s perfectly content working as a lab assistant for the brilliant Dr. Deaver on his groundbreaking cancer treatment research. However, on her 54th birthday, she discovers Deaver dead and despite being told different, knows it was a murder. With the help of the janitor, Margaret is determined to discover the truth, even as she may be the next victim.
The Botanist’s Assistant is an exciting story and mystery. Margaret is a bit different from everyone else, and she’s okay with that. She knows people make fun of her and don’t treat her with the respect she probably deserves. She knows she’s blunt and can be off-putting, and my guess is she has a touch of OCD. I like Margaret. I love that she continues on despite the rude and mean people that surround her. It hurts, but she knows it’s not her but them.
Margaret makes an excellent first person narrator for this mystery because she is very reliable and straightforward. She may misinterpret things, but the reader understands and is not misled.
While the mystery was the primary focus of the book, Margaret making genuine friends and moving on after the loss of her mentor is a huge part of the story. She begins to change slowly with the introduction of Tom the stray cat, and her reluctance to add something that will “waste“ her time. Part of her is worried about heartbreak, especially after her difficult youth and life. I also love the friendship that she strikes up with Joe the janitor. She is uncertain why he would want to help and that he is straightforward in his intent. She is unsure how to react and it takes her some time to adjust. Lastly, it’s forging a friendship with Calvin the postdoc who learns from Margaret and realizes she’s someone to trust and believe in.
In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed The Botanist’s Assistant. It’s a delightful mystery with a lot of heart.
My Rating: B Liked It — Recommend
Jen
About the Book:
Plenty of people consider Margaret Finch odd. Six-feet-tall and big-boned, she lives alone in a small cabin in the woods, drives a 20-year-old truck, and schedules her life so precisely you can tell the time and day of the week by the chore she is doing and what she is wearing. But the same attributes that cause her to be labeled eccentric—an obsessive attention to detail and the ability to organize almost anything—make her invaluable in her job as Research Assistant II to a talented and charismatic botanist.
It’s those very same qualities, however, that also turn Margaret into a target after a surprising death shakes the small university where she works. Even as authorities claim the death appears to be from natural causes, Margaret fears it might be something more: a murder born of jealousy and dark secrets. With the aid of a newly hired and enigmatic night custodian, Margaret finds herself thrust into the role of detective, forcing her to consider that she may not be able to find the killer before the killer finds her.
Release Date: November 18, 2025
Publisher: Berkley
Series: Standalone
Genre: Contemporary Cozy Mystery
Format(s): paperback (304 pages), e-book, audiobook
Book Source: Publisher / NetGalley