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The Botanist's Assistant

Author Peggy Townsend
Ebook (EPUB)
Berkley / NAL | Berkley
On sale Nov 18, 2025 | 304 Pages | 9780593638125
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A murder in the science lab shatters a woman’s quiet and ordered life when she decides she must solve the crime herself in this entertaining and uplifting mystery.

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.

With a cast of quirky and likeable characters that one won’t soon forget, The Botanist’s Assistant is a delightful story of perseverance and the power in all of us to survive.
"The Maid meets Lessons in Chemistry in this clever, charming mystery."—Nina Simon, New York Times bestselling author of the Reese's Book Club Pick, Mother-Daughter Murder Night

"With a quietly fierce heroine at its center, The Botanist’s Assistant is a feel-good mystery with real emotional depth. Research assistant Margaret Finch is precise, private, and wonderfully complex. Her journey from life in the shadows to determined amateur sleuth is as compelling as the murder she sets out to solve. A delightfully satisfying read from start to finish."—Jenn McKinlay, New York Times bestselling author of A Merry Little Murder Plot

"Irrepressible, funny, heartwarming—in Margaret Finch, Townsend has created a character so compelling, so smart that readers will be clamoring for more time with her. One part mystery, one part send-up of academia and its unusual denizens, The Botanist's Assistant is one of the most charming, original novels I have read in years!"—Katy Hays, New York Times bestselling author of the Read with Jenna Pick, The Cloisters

"A smart, funny, bighearted novel that explores ever-so-deftly the challenges of being a woman in a man's world, and the sheer guts required to defy an establishment. Readers will root for the marvelously eccentric Margaret, and cheer as she finds her power, a family, and the ability to adapt as surely as the plants she studies and loves. Fans of Bonnie Garmus will love this one."—Meg Waite Clayton, internationally bestselling author of Typewriter Beach and the Postmistress of Paris

"The Botanist’s Assistant is at once clever, humorous, and touching—a delightful mystery told with compassion and heart. And not unlike the complex heroine she has created, Peggy Townsend demonstrates an uncanny attention to detail in her descriptions of both the natural world and the human condition in this exquisitely crafted novel."—Leslie Karst, award-nominated author of the Orchid Isle Mysteries

"Margaret is a delight... The ending leaves the possibility for more from Margaret and Joe, which would be a fine addition to the genre."—First Clue
Peggy Townsend is an award-winning journalist and author. Her work has appeared in Catamaran literary magazine, Santa Cruz Noir, The Boston Globe Magazine, Memoir, and the San Francisco Chronicle, among other publications. Twice she lived for seven weeks in her van, traveling to Alaska and along the back roads of the U.S. View titles by Peggy Townsend

About

A murder in the science lab shatters a woman’s quiet and ordered life when she decides she must solve the crime herself in this entertaining and uplifting mystery.

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.

With a cast of quirky and likeable characters that one won’t soon forget, The Botanist’s Assistant is a delightful story of perseverance and the power in all of us to survive.

Reviews

"The Maid meets Lessons in Chemistry in this clever, charming mystery."—Nina Simon, New York Times bestselling author of the Reese's Book Club Pick, Mother-Daughter Murder Night

"With a quietly fierce heroine at its center, The Botanist’s Assistant is a feel-good mystery with real emotional depth. Research assistant Margaret Finch is precise, private, and wonderfully complex. Her journey from life in the shadows to determined amateur sleuth is as compelling as the murder she sets out to solve. A delightfully satisfying read from start to finish."—Jenn McKinlay, New York Times bestselling author of A Merry Little Murder Plot

"Irrepressible, funny, heartwarming—in Margaret Finch, Townsend has created a character so compelling, so smart that readers will be clamoring for more time with her. One part mystery, one part send-up of academia and its unusual denizens, The Botanist's Assistant is one of the most charming, original novels I have read in years!"—Katy Hays, New York Times bestselling author of the Read with Jenna Pick, The Cloisters

"A smart, funny, bighearted novel that explores ever-so-deftly the challenges of being a woman in a man's world, and the sheer guts required to defy an establishment. Readers will root for the marvelously eccentric Margaret, and cheer as she finds her power, a family, and the ability to adapt as surely as the plants she studies and loves. Fans of Bonnie Garmus will love this one."—Meg Waite Clayton, internationally bestselling author of Typewriter Beach and the Postmistress of Paris

"The Botanist’s Assistant is at once clever, humorous, and touching—a delightful mystery told with compassion and heart. And not unlike the complex heroine she has created, Peggy Townsend demonstrates an uncanny attention to detail in her descriptions of both the natural world and the human condition in this exquisitely crafted novel."—Leslie Karst, award-nominated author of the Orchid Isle Mysteries

"Margaret is a delight... The ending leaves the possibility for more from Margaret and Joe, which would be a fine addition to the genre."—First Clue

Author

Peggy Townsend is an award-winning journalist and author. Her work has appeared in Catamaran literary magazine, Santa Cruz Noir, The Boston Globe Magazine, Memoir, and the San Francisco Chronicle, among other publications. Twice she lived for seven weeks in her van, traveling to Alaska and along the back roads of the U.S. View titles by Peggy Townsend

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