Markham Author Launches Garden-Club Cozy Mystery Series Under the Pen Name Elspeth Marlowe

MARKHAM, Ontario - Rezul -- Independent author Susan Cork has released A Deadly Garden Party, the first book in the Magnolia Grove Cozy Mystery series, written under the pen name Elspeth Marlowe. Published August 12, 2026, by Ginzburg Press, the book is available in paperback and Kindle editions on Amazon.

The story follows Delia Norris, a 54-year-old retired biology teacher who has moved to the small Southern town of Magnolia Grove to start over after her divorce. Three months after joining the local garden club, she watches its formidable president, Lorraine Ketchum, collapse in the middle of the club's annual garden tour. When poison is suspected, Delia's teacher's eye for detail and her botanical know-how put her on the trail of a killer in a town where everyone smiles and everyone keeps secrets. Her African Gray parrot, Captain, offers commentary that isn't always welcome, and Detective Reed Stratton is only slightly amused.

"Garden parties are where the best gossip lives, and gossip is the raw material of a cozy mystery," said Cork. "I wanted a heroine who notices what everyone else is too polite to mention, and who is brave enough to build a new life in the middle of it."

More on Rezul News

• Stockdale Capital Partners Announces Strategic Partnership in AI Platform Zinq AI
• Lunai Bioworks (N A S D A Q: LNAI) Takes Parkinson's Discovery to the Next Level With Exclusive Tanaist Agreement
• Revenue Optics Names Prat Patibandla Director of Growth Marketing
• Independent Autopsies Are Changing Civil Cases: Kansas City Forensic Explains Why Families Are Seeking Second Opinions
• JEGS Launches Transformed Digital Commerce Platform Powered by PhaseZero

Early reviews have highlighted the book's mix of mystery, garden-club intrigue, and botanical clues. One Amazon reviewer wrote, "Secrets, rivalries, and a splash of digitalis make for a lethal afternoon." A Goodreads reviewer called it "A satisfying, breezy start to the Magnolia Grove Cozy Mystery series." The second Magnolia Grove mystery, Poisoned Ground, is in development.

Book Details

A Deadly Garden Party
Magnolia Grove Cozy Mystery, Book 1
By Elspeth Marlowe

Ginzburg Press, August 12, 2026
Paperback ISBN: 978-0-9940941-4-8
Ebook ISBN: 978-0-9940941-5-5

Available on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HDSHZRQK

About the Author

Susan Cork is an independent author based in Canada. Under her own name, she has published the biography The Soul of a Shoemaker, along with satire and nonfiction. As Elspeth Marlowe, she writes the Magnolia Grove cozy mystery series.

Connect with Elspeth Marlowe

Website: https://elspethmarlowe.com/
Instagram: instagram.com/elspethmarlowe.author
TikTok: tiktok.com/@elspethmarlowe

Review copies available on request.