Poppy desperately wants to pay off her debts, quit her dead-end job, find her missing father… oh, and keep a plant alive. But she knows that these are just hopeless dreams. Then a mysterious letter arrives and Poppy finds that she’s inherited a cottage garden nursery – complete with romantic climbing roses, scented herbs, a bossy, talkative ginger cat.. and a dead body!Now she must solve the … the mystery or risk losing her new home and the chance for a fresh start. But who would want to murder a gardener in a sleepy little village? Could a reclusive inventor have something to do with the killing? What about the brooding crime author next door? And why is her long-lost cousin so desperate for her to sell the cottage?
Poppy might not know her pansies from her petunias, but that doesn’t stop her digging for clues. The only problem is – she could be digging her own grave too…
This book follows British English spelling and usage.
Clean read: no graphic violence, sex, or strong language.
Genre: cat mystery / 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)
Trowel and Error (Book 4)
Fronds and Enemies (Book 5)
more
This book is about a woman who inherits her grandmother’s garden business and discovers a dead body in the garden.
Poppy Lancaster finds out she’s inherited her grandmother’s Oxfordshire cottage and garden nursery on the day Poppy quits her job. The terms of the will say that Poppy must run the business or she can’t inherit. The only other choice is to sell the property. So Poppy goes down from London to at least see the cottage, and of course finds a dead body in the garden. This mystery is typical of the genre where the character has no faith in the police solving the crime and so sets out to solve the crime herself. The author includes a couple of interesting neighbors, a cat and dog, and a former landlady, but basically it is Poppy making unfounded speculations and assumptions that fills the plot. Not a good read for me.
I really enjoyed reading this book. It was a really good read.
Good plot. Easy to read, kept my interest.
Accused everyone in the book of the murder!
Nice easy to read book.
Might be suitable for preteens?
I love all of H Y Hanna’s books. I’ve read all the books in this series & just finished the latest in the Florida mystery series. Always hoping for more books in the series!
A fun read. Outcome is not predictable
This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I enjoyed it.
The plucky, determined main character Poppy was in desperate money straits when she received a letter regarding an unexpected inheritance of a cottage and a garden nursery. As per the terms of the will must stay at the site for a certain length of time to keep it or it goes to her cousin. While she’s there, she finds a man’s body. Although she knows nothing about plants or solving crimes she realizes she must do both. I was not aware there is so much competition and money involved in finding and cultivating rare flowers so it was a learning experience for me too.
Loved the Cover and Title.
I chose to read this book because I was plotting a cozy series set in a garden center. As someone who spent two years working in a greenhouse, I loved the little details regarding plant care.
The book features a woman seeking answers to her past who inherits an English Cutting Garden from her estranged grandmother. Knowing absolutely zero about running a plant nursery, she stumbles into a new business, a dead body, a pool of suspects, furry friends, and slightly crazy neighbors.
I could relate to a single woman trying to make it on her own running a business. The characters are fun. I love the cat and dog. Awesome names for both of them. There’s a hint of a romance in the future, suspense, and a few larger than life characters added to the story’s mix. Oh, and it’s a wonderful mystery.
Loved this book and this series.
Great comfortable read! Read it during Christmas vacation and it was entertaining!
Great English cozy mystery. Enjoyable characters and a fun read.
It was a very interesting story, with believable characters and a different ending. Very enjoyable to read.
Enjoyable read
Fun quick read. Characters were well written. Ordered rest of series.
I like all of this series.
Love the characters!
I loved this book. Loved the story, the array of characters, the charming pets – it all added up to a great read.