Poppy is settling into life in an English village and gaining some green fingers at last as she restores the beautiful cottage garden nursery she’s inherited. When she meets a wealthy dog lover at the village fete and is hired to create a “canine scent garden”, the future looks rosy… until the day ends with a vicious killing and she finds herself spade-deep in a murder investigation again.… again.
Meanwhile Einstein the terrier has fallen head-over-paws for a pampered poodle and Poppy has her hands full keeping him out of trouble. With vandals attacking her cottage and orders for flowers flooding in, she barely has time for sleuthing! Then unexpected help comes from her eccentric neighbour Bertie and his crazy inventions, as well as crime author Nick Forrest and his talkative cat Oren, and before long, Poppy is sure she’s found the killer…
The only problem is – with false clues and suspects galore, could she be barking up the wrong tree?
This book follows British English spelling and usage.
Genre: cat cozy mystery series / gardening cozy mystery / women amateur sleuth / British detective mystery
THE ENGLISH COTTAGE GARDEN MYSTERIES
Deadhead and Buried (Book 1)
Silent Bud Deadly (Book 2)
Doom and Bloom (Book 3)
more
Doom and Bloom earns 5+/5 Coconut Shy Trys…Engaging, Clever Fun!
Fête. Terrier race. Gardening. Murder. This series definitely has gained favorite status: clever murder mystery, delightful and quirk characters, a fascinating theme, “fur” friend antics, and an ending with just the right amount of nail-biting. H.Y. Hanna’s writing style doesn’t overload the reader with too much extraneous falderal; you know someone is going to be dead, and she creatively leads you into that direction, provides clues to let you “play along,” and adds a few giggles. It’s not only murder, murder, murder, though, she explores, strengthens, and celebrates the endearing relationship between Poppy and her surrogate mother Nell, generational mentoring, and a love/hate connection with Nick Forrest who has his own complex family issues. After reading the first two books that I highly recommend, I’ve been eager to continue following Poppy as she tries to take her very novice skills, like me, and build a successful gardening business, learning about the nuances of a proper English Garden, and exploring fascinating information about plants and herbs.
For the animal lover, H.Y. Hanna always puts in a “fur” friend or two as key characters with whom others interact and often providing assistance. Oren, the demanding ginger tom adopted by Nick, has no trouble putting his own two “meows” into the situation. However, dog lovers don’t despair, this third book has a plethora of breeds available including Poppy’s other neighbor and inventor “Bertie” whose mixture mutt Einstein seems to have a case of “puppy love” for the toy poodle. Whatever the animal, they always seem to have the natural senses to be helpful.
My only constructive criticism, minor and selfish, is the absence of a recipe or “how-to” information. Being a story about a novice gardener, I’d love to have had gardening tips on seasonal choices, flower projects, or a recipe using specific herbs, vegetables, etc. Just saying…
UPDATE 9/29/19 (Audio Version)
I am always eager to revisit my favorite H.Y. Hanna books, and with audiobooks (a format I love), it’s almost like a totally new experience. Add my all-time favorite narrator Pearl Hewitt applying her artistic talents, and I don’t care that I know what’s happening ‘cause I’m in for some great entertainment for seven hours. Pearl Hewitt, who lends her artistry to Hanna’s Oxford Tearoom Mystery and Bewitched by Chocolate series, is masterful at the English accent and its various dialects along with performing the tone, emotions, and quirks of the many personalities that keep me totally engaged. She also does a good job performing male voices which is often a challenge to female narrators. If you are leery about trying audiobooks, I can attest to the exciting differences to reading eBook/print versions. I love hearing the emotions and the varied voices that the narrator, like Pearl Hewitt, performs helping to bring the book to life. I connect my earbuds to my phone and while in the doctor’s office, auto shop, or coffeehouse, I am getting an enhanced experience. I love audiobooks, H.Y. Hanna is my all-time top author, and Pearl Hewitt is my favorite narrator by far! Cozy fans should not miss this one!
I really enjoyed this book and just love the whole series, it is a nice refreshing change for the book to be set in the English countryside. The characters are fun and quirky and I especially like the two next door neighbours and can’t wait to see what the inventor comes up with next time, and this time a few of his ideas worked …. well sort of.
Poppy is attending the local village fete, when a murderer strikes. Proving it is easier to kill someone then it is to knock a coconut off. Poppy is soon knee deep in the murder especially as she is hired by the murdered girls aunt to create a sensory garden for her pampered pooch and digs up the murder weapon. With the added fun of a romance (for the dogs not are heroine) things get really complicated and with the police dropping the ball it is up to Poppy to make sure the right person is caught. Even if that means she puts here own life in danger.
I really enjoyed this book and couldn’t put it down, caan’t wait for the next book. Who knew gardening could be so much fun.
Doom and Bloom (English Cottage Garden Mysteries #3), my 20th read/listen from author H.Y. Hanna & the third book in her new English Cottage Garden Series. An enjoyable cozy mystery. I love the narrator’s British accent; I was impressed and enjoyed the vocal variety & inflections of narrator Pearl Hewitt, especially her oh so cute animal sounds & really enjoyed the read. Cozy mystery/romance, captivating primary character, what other blurbs can I use to describe these books? Oh well, buy the book, read the books, get into a good author and some good characters as I have. I was given an Audible copy of this book & am voluntarily reviewing it. This series is so good that we listened to it on Black Friday while traveling to our daughter’s home in Toledo. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 – July 24, 2018).
Doom and Bloom is the third book in the English Cottage Garden series, and like Poppy’s gardening skills, this series keeps getting better and better. H.Y. Hanna creates characters that are immediately relatable, and she spins a wonderful mystery as well. This book was an absolute delight to read; it kept me guessing until the end and also had me laughing out loud at some of the situations Poppy found herself in.
I highly recommend this book and series.
A review copy of this book was sent to me by the author. All thoughts and opinions are solely my own.
Wonderful book in an excellent cozy mystery series.
Having enjoyed the first two books in this series I excitedly dives into book 3 and it was just as good as the first 2 books. Doom and Bloom starts at a village fête, where not only is Poppy hired for another gardening job, but there also is another murder.
I really enjoyed this third book in the series. It has another solid mystery, with plenty of suspects. Motives that are unclear and multiple people who are hiding something. It kept me guessing and so many people seemed suspicious or like they were hiding something. I liked how the mystery progressed. The reveal of who was the murderer came as a surprise as I was thinking in a totally different direction and there weren’t as many hints in this person’s direction, but it did make sense. I also liked how there were other truths that came to light as well and the suspicious behavior of other characters also made sense. It all was nicely wrapped it.
The mystery did have a slight case of incompetent police, which I am not a fan of usually, but it only slightly annoyed me a few times here. As the standard detective is away for a bit, another officer who jumps to conclusions handles the case. I was happy that this is only for one book and it was interesting how it shakes up the investigation and mystery dynamic a bit.
Another thing I love about this series is seeing how Poppy finds her place in this village and slowly starts her business. In this book she makes some important and big steps toward starting her business, but it’s also clear she still has a lot to learn. I also like how she accepts advice from some of the villagers and it was lovely to see her business starting slowly.
I like the gardening theme of this series as well. It’s fun to read about the different flowers and Poppy’s gardening skills and also her mistakes. I have very little knowledge about gardening, so I feel like I learn some new things every time I read one of these books and can totally understand why Poppy makes some mistakes along the way. The doggy scent garden in this book also made for an interesting topic to read about.
HY Hanna always does a great job with the side characters too and this series is no exception. I’ve grown fond of the eccentric scientist Bertie, grumpy writer Nick, Poppy’s friend Nell, the detective Susanne and many of the other villagers. As well as two great pet characters, Oren and Einstein. Then there are some new characters that get introduced in this book and a new pet as well, that fill out the cast. It was great to see how Poppy interacts with them all.
To summarize: This was another great installment in this series. With a great mystery that kept me guessing, a fun cast of characters and the garden theme this a series you don’t want to miss if you like cozy mysteries. The mystery was a good one with plenty of suspects and it kept me guessing. the actual murderer came as a surprise to me as I was thinking in a different direction. And it was interesting when all the reveals come to light that explain some of the characters their suspicious behavior. I also liked reading about Poppy and her gardening adventures and how she makes some important steps toward starting her business. The side characters are always so fun to read about too. I am quite fond of Bertie, Nick the mystery writer can be both grumpy and helpful and the pets Oren and Einstein are a fun addition too. It’s a great series so far and I had a lot of fun reading this book.
Love this book, the story is so much fun. The plot is well crafted and the characters are fantastic. Poppy is a great character and the situations she finds herself in make the stories interesting. H.Y. Hanna is such a talented writer and all of her book are wonderful and keep you laughing throughout. But, this series is especially endearing because of the delightful characters. Bertie is just on the edge of crazy, Oren the cat is a scene stealer and the rest of the characters make the story fun and entertaining.
Einstein the terrier has fallen head-over-paws for a pampered poodle and Poppy has been hired to design a “canine scent garden” What else could we find more interesting in this story? Another mysterious murder in broad daylight to solve. Kept me guessing right up to the confrontation with the killer! I was gifted a copy, no review was required. My review is voluntary.