Other works by Ilse van Staden:
Watervlerk, Fluisterklip, Die dood is 'n mooi blou blom, waar die oog van stil word, verveertaal, Goeie dood wat saggies byt, Palimpses
ilsevanstaden.com

"Well, thought Harry, did you want to hear my list? A snail plague, an unsolicited pet, a missing client, a missing spade, noises in the dark, a whole nest of dead cat and kittens, and - did I mention it? - another missing client! Talk about being over it."

Harry is a gardener, who occasionally has to kill things for a living - weeds, insects, snails. This makes him a murderer, according to his five-year old daughter Martha. She wants a snail for a pet, before he "petticides" it. But a cat will also do.
On the same day that Martha's pet arrives, Harry discovers something buried in a client's garden. But then the client disappears. While Harry is confronted with deaths and disappearances, his wife Nancy goes on a wild goose chase searching for the meaning behind the find. Harry learns there is no easy answer to the question: when is killing murder?