Lizzie Raju has "Six Reasons Not to Have Kids." Finding a corpse in her happy place wasn't on the list.

It's been six months since Lizzie married the hunky guy she met at Vista Mar Community Garden and, unfortunately for him, she has six reasons for not wanting kids.

But when a dead body turns up in the tool shed, she has to solve the mystery and save her marriage, or her urban oasis will wither to dust. In Bolting to Seed, Lizzie and the eclectic cast of characters return for another growing season, but in-fighting and the threat of death prevent them from finding peace in gardening.

What's a gardener to do when plants aren't the only thing dying behind the locked gates at Vista Mar?

Bolting to Seed is a cozy mystery that follows the lives of Lizzie and a diverse group of urban farmers at Vista Mar Gardens, an organic community garden in Los Angeles, CA. You'll find gardening lessons interwoven with clues as you guess whodunit in this engaging work of women's fiction.

Lizzie tackles the very personal question: To breed or not to breed, as she grapples with the fact that her biological clock has no alarm. Jared struggles to find his way through Lizzie's indecision. Meanwhile, Ralph tumbles head-first into matters of the heart, while Ned and Mary deal with the challenges of aging and contentious members of their community garden.

New characters enter the mix: homicide detective Gloria Jimenez-will she fall for Vista Mar as she solves the mystery? Will Tyler Wong get what he needs to keep his boyfriend happy? And is Soo-Jin stringing Ralph along, or does she feel more? You'll have to join the members of Vista Mar Gardens inside the gates to find out.

Who is this for?
Lovers of cozy mysteries will find this book charming, and they'll learn about gardening as they solve the murder. Fans of Garden Variety will love the return to the scene of the crime, so to speak, to continue the story of Lizzie, Jared, Mary, Ned and the rest of the gardeners at Vista Mar. Will Lizzie go childless by choice? Will Ned & Mary give up Board control? Or is something deeper taking hold that is beyond their control?