The first in a mystery series from the much-loved Irish actor, writer and comedian, for readers who enjoy the warmth of Graham Norton and the mystery of Death in Paradise, all wrapped up in one small Irish town. When beloved celebrity gardener Finn O'Leary returns to his hometown of Abbeyford in Ireland to care for his aging mother, he is naturally roped into the Tidy Towns committee. The Tidy Towns is a competition fanatically fought over by every town and village in the land. And for his best friend's sister, Aoife, it's a competition she's determined to win. With everyone's favourite gardener on board, she is sure that this year Abbeyford will take home the prize. But Finn's not been back long when an alto-baritone at his mother's choir practice drops dead during a rendition of 'What the World Needs Now'. With more at stake than just winning Tidy Towns, Finn soon finds himself trying to solve a murder - or two. For one of his many qualities is that people tend to confide in him... With his mother, her Nigerian carer and Aoife in tow, Finn sets out to discover just who has brought murder to Abbeyford. And so it begins.

アーダル・オハンロンが描く本作の真髄は、アイルランドの田舎町に渦巻く執着と滑稽さを、鋭い観察眼で暴き出した点にあります。「街づくりコンテスト」に命を懸ける住民たちの熱狂が、悲劇と喜劇の境界線を曖昧にし、読者を独特の酩酊感へと誘います。単なる謎解きに留まらず、人間の虚栄心や地域社会の閉鎖性を軽妙に風刺する筆致は、文芸としての確かな品格を漂わせています。 主人公フィンの武器は、庭師としての技術以上に、人々の本音を引き出す不思議な包容力にあります。母への献身や多文化的な絆を通じて、物語は重層的な人間ドラマへと昇華されており、事件の背後に潜む「過去の亡霊」が浮かび上がる瞬間は圧巻です。アイルランド文学特有の湿り気と乾いたユーモアが融合した本作は、心の深淵を覗き込ませる珠玉のミステリーと言えるでしょう。