Moord op de Moestuin is a book written by a Dutch writer Nicolien Mizee. This book is written in Dutch, and so far has not been published in English, nor any other language. Click here if you prefer to read this review in Dutch.  

Based on the title "Moord op de Moestuin" which is literally translated as "Murder on the Kitchen Garden", I honestly expected this book to be a thrilling detective action kind of book. If you also expect something similar, well, not a good news for you mate. This book IS NOT a thriller, but more like a light psychological detective-ish kind of book. In fact, the murder itself is not happening until one-third part before the end.  

What can you expect from this book, then? You can definitely expect some classic story about a heroine who wants to know-it-all and her curiosity pushes her to solve a mystery from the past. The main character here - Judith - is a successful published author with no background in crime solving. That being said, her analysis is more of a hunch (main character talks a lot about her opinion about other characters), and not so forensic based (the mystery is often found not in the "scene" but in the dialog). For crime lover readers (like me, Agatha Christie lover here!), this might be annoying to read. But hey, taste is very personal.

The plot, well... if it goes any slower than this, it will go backwards (I am being nice here). The author spent more than a half of the book just to introduce the characters. There are many interesting characters in this book though (Judith the curious author who is in the middle of writer block, Cora who is a firm believer that Garden gnomes are real, Kenny - one of the gardeners - who for some reason hates the saffron-pear tree, etc) and I understand why she wants us to get to know them better. But for a book that has the word "Murder" included in its title, I wish she'd wrote more about the murder and maybe weaving in the characters as background story.  

However, this book is still a captivating mystery book to read especially for those who love to know about Dutch culture and nature. For me - someone who is not born in the Netherlands - the details about the kitchen garden, the saffron-pear tree, the birds, even the dishes mentioned in this book are very interesting. The dynamic between the characters is also very Dutch. So for those details, interesting characters, light humor, and (painstakingly slow) plot, I give this book 3 out of 5 score.  

"[...]Do you guys eat everything? no allergies whatsoever?" 

"We are not THAT modern" said Cora.

THE MYSTERY IN GROENLUST

Judith is a successful author who is in the middle of writers block. She is busy taking care of her new husband (who got a heart attack three days after their wedding), and the construction sounds from her neighbors' house don't help her husband to get better either.

Her sister Cora and her Husband Ab then suggest that they should go on a holiday. They find a summer house on the property called Groenlust. Groenlust itself is a collective Kitchen Garden that is passed on from generation to generation as charity land where anyone can rent a piece very cheaply (one gulden per year, just for formality). There are in total nine interesting tenants who rent land at the gardens.

Groenlust is owned by two sisters Anne and Fiep who are old friends of Cora and Judith. Anne and Fiep's father - Uncle Frisso - went missing during their teenage days. Since then, the sisters are trying to sell the property, but fail because based on the testament, the property is not allowed to be sold while there are at least nine tenants.

Out of boredom, Judith decides to rent a patch of the garden - next to a wild uncared for bamboo garden once owned by Uncle Frisso - and grows her own vegetables. Little does she know, by renting it she made it impossible for the sisters to sell the property. That's not the only problem though, there is another mystery behind the bamboo garden that she'll soon find out about. A mystery that will change Groenlust and the people around it forever, because besides the charm of the saffron-pear tree and the green-woodpecker, there is so much more to this beautiful property than meets the eyes.