Name: Rosemary Boxer and Laura Thyme
Occupation: Gardeners, amateur sleuths
Location: England, and occasionally continental Europe
As seen in: British television series Rosemary and Thyme
Rosemary Boxer and Laura Thyme are accidental sleuths. Rosemary is an experienced botanist and plant pathologist, who meets Laura Thyme at a bed and breakfast near the home of a friend with diseased trees in their garden. Laura is staying at the B&B because her husband left her for a younger woman, and the two become fast friends when a murder occurs on the property where Rosemary is working and Laura’s experience working for the police allows the two to catch the killer.
As the show progresses, Laura becomes Rosemary’s partner, and the two travel to the historic gardens of England and continental Europe and meet the strange characters who own the grounds. The most satisfying thing about the show is the double mystery ‚Äì in every epsiode there is a murder (or two, or three) and a mystery involving diseased plants, and the plants often help Rosemary and Laura catch the killer. The show plays on a few different stereotypes ‚Äì Rosemary and Laura are the epitome of nosy gardeners, though their nosiness often saves the day, and because the two are unmarried and typically stay at bed and breakfasts while working, police officers and snobby hotel owners often assume they are lovers, which the ladies find hilarious.
There is a lot of genius in the execution of this show. Nobody ever mentions that the names of the characters so perfectly correspond to their profession, and nobody seems to find it strange that every time Rosemary and Laura show up in a garden, a murder takes place. Because the detective duo consists of two straight women, the show managed to avoid that awful, cliché partner-romance that ruins so many other detective shows, and I love the independence of the two characters, who are perfectly content to be without husbands or lovers despite being middle-aged. Rosemary and Thyme are curious, astute, scientifically trained ladies who eternally save the day and catch the killer right in the nick of time. This is a show for garden lovers, mystery lovers, and feminists alike.
-Rebecca Valley
Junior Girl
Girl Museum Inc.