Shakespeare comes to Hampshire—and Pru Parke is cast into the role of cunning detective gardener once again. Pru’s friends and neighbors are abuzz with the news of an acting troupe putting on an outdoor performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. And while many are eager to catch a glimpse of famed actor Ambrose Grant, Pru can’t wait to finally see the spectacular gardens of the private estate … of the private estate where the play will be performed. When the estate’s gardener abruptly quits—frustrated with actors trampling his beloved plants—Pru is called upon for her gardening expertise. She throws herself into creating magical woodland forest scenes, and is quickly drawn into the excitement of putting on a play, as she watches the drama on and off the stage. But the play’s suddenly no longer the thing, when one of the actors turns up murdered.
Pru’s husband, Detective Inspector Christopher Pearse, relies on Pru’s knowledge of all the players in this particular intrigue, and Pru finds herself using rehearsals to investigate. But playing the role of private eye could prove perilous for Pru, as she closes in on a murderer who won’t let anyone—least of all the gardener—keep him from stopping the show . . . dead.
Marty Wingate’s captivating mysteries can be enjoyed together or separately, in any order:
The Potting Shed series: THE GARDEN PLOT | THE RED BOOK OF PRIMROSE HOUSE | BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE | THE SKELETON GARDEN | THE BLUEBONNET BETRAYAL | BEST-LAID PLANTS | MIDSUMMER MAYHEM
The Birds of a Feather series: THE RHYME OF THE MAGPIE | EMPTY NEST | EVERY TRICK IN THE ROOK | FAREWELL, MY CUCKOO
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My favorite kind of mystery–lots of suspects with lots of juicy motives, which gives the book a fun, gossipy feel. Plus the cover is just too fun!
Pru (Prunella) Parke and her husband, Detective
Inspector Christopher Pearse live at Greenoak
in the English Countryside. Pru has earned the
title of detective gardener as she always seems
to get involved in some kind of mystery.
Our book finds Pru being asked to help out the
Shakespeare au Naturel with the production of
A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the Coeur-de-la-Mer
Gardens in walking distance from Greenoak.
The famous play director requires a variety of plants,
small trees, vines and whatever it takes to make the
stage as realistic a woodland staging as possible.
Pru is happy to be asked to create the magical forest
scenery plus meet all the actors as they prepare for
their production.
The cast consists of a lot of well developed characters.
They all bring their own touch of flavor to the story
plus provided a long list of suspects when one of the
cast if found murdered. The man was allergic to bees.
He was hit on the head then a jar of honey with bees
was released so he went into anaphylactic shock then
died.
Description of the gardens are so vividly written that
the reader will feel as if they are there. You will learn
about small trees, vines, flowers, types of honey and
the harvesting to make the honey plus garden
maintenance.
Combine gardening, acting, murder, a puzzling plot,
twists with plenty of turns, a touch of romance and
mayhem in this British set cozy mystery for a
captivating read.
This is book # 7 in the Potting Shed Mysteries series
but can be read as a stand alone.
I volunteered to read Midsummer Mayhem. Thank
you to Alibi through NetGalley for the opportunity.
My opinion is voluntary and my own.
Midsummer Mayhem: A Potting Shed Mystery
by Marty Wingate
Midsummer Mayhem is an excellent mystery, entwined with beautiful description of plants and gardens. If you enjoy cozy mystery stories and are looking for a superb, then I will simply ask you to read this book for yourself. While Midsummer Mayhem can be read as a standalone; I would recommend reading them in order, simply because of character development and to gain more insight. The clues are there throughout the book; but it is up to the reader to sift through them to find the truth.
A well-written intriguing mystery story in an English setting, with a delightful cast of characters that are also, quite interesting. Just the right amount of suspense has been added and a good suspect line-up, only adds to the mystery. The side plots are most effective in the book with a climatic ending making it fantastic. Merging a bit of gardening information with the notes of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream outdoor performance is genius and a nice touch.
Ms. Wingate has the writing talent that interlaces everything together; from her descriptions of the gardens that are just lovely to the creation of her characters that are animated yet believable. Her writing style has a way of keeping her readers interested from the very beginning through the end. When the end of the book comes, it is almost disappointing that there is no more of the tale; but since I have such enjoyment reading these types of books and I always look forward to the next book in the series. Ms. Marty Wingate has a new fan of her writing.
Midsummer Mayhem the seventh book in the Potting Shed Mysteries and once again Ms. Wingate has given us a mystery well worth reading. I love Midsummer Mayhem: potting shed mystery by Marty Wingate. I enjoy reading books and giving my own thoughts of the books for others to find with my hopes of enjoying them also. With a 4.5-star rating I highly recommend Midsummer Mayhem to all cozy reader fans.
Midsummer Mayhem is the first one of Marty Wingate’s Potting Shed Mysteries that I have read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a wonderful story combining gardening, an outdoor performance of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and a murder. Pru Parke finds herself charged with providing plants and landscaping for the stage decoration of a theater company’s performance of Shakespeare’s play at a neighboring estate, and in the process, finds herself swept up in a murder mystery. Her husband, Inspector Christopher Pearce, is investigating the murder, and Pru is determined to help from behind the scenes.
The characters in this book are wonderfully written, and I felt an immediate kinship to them. Even though this is the 7th book of the Potting Shed Mysteries, it can stand on its own. It definitely made me eager to start the series at the beginning to learn more about Pru and her gardening adventures — which I have and am loving!
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are solely my own.
This latest book in the Garden Plot mystery series is very cleverly built around an outdoor production of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. Pru Parke, the amateur sleuth and garden expert, is brought in to design the trees and plants used in the set. . . and winds up embroiled in a murder. Of course! One of the things I like best about this series is the way Wingate varies the use of the gardening theme by giving Pru jobs in different areas of England (and Scotland) and assigning her a wide variety of gardening challenges.
I really like the Potting Shed Mystery series. I like the characters and how they are developing. I love the English background and the main character’s being a gardener – I like her husband who is a policeman and a good one, at that. This book had a good story and I’m looking forward to the next one.
Pru is embroiled again in a murder. She is providing the plants for a production of A Midsummer’s Night Dream . The biggest womanizer in the group of actors is found dead. How did this happen? Who had the chance and the motive for doing such a thing. Everyone seems to be keeping secrets, but who has a secret worth killing?
Pru and her husband DI Christopher Pearse are fun characters. Pru doesn’t really think she is meddling or putting herself in danger until she is. Christopher knows her so well.
The mystery is fun and engaging. The characters are delightful. The writing style is easy to read and at times made me smile. This is light, reading for a quick escape. The murder took me by surprise. The story just carried me along and did exactly what I wanted–offered me an escape.
Thanks to NetGalley for this advanced reader copy.
Dreaming of Shakespeare
I love the practical approach of “the gardener,” observing without interfering with her police detective husband’s investigations. Unlike so many “cosy/cozy” mysteries, due process is observed, police procedure is followed, and the amateur’s insights assist rather than replace official efforts. Not having to suspend disbelief, I was able to simply absorb the clues as presented, playing the “whodunit” game while fully enjoying the clever twists and turns of the plot. It helps that the main characters are thoroughly likable so one is pulling for their success and concerned for their safety. Plus there is the play within the play for added enjoyment. Solidly entertaining! (Hah! AND I managed to figure out the villain from the clues!]
There are those people who want to be actors or actresses but only in their hearts. They are the ones that insist on sitting in the back rows of the theater. Then there are those who would love a little part in the play but don’t want to be seen. Being in charge of and designing the plants for scene setting is just the thing for Pru since she is a master gardener. This is a story about gardens and Shakespeare and acting. Although it could sound stuffy it most certainly isn’t. I found it read quickly and was entertaining. I loved the gardening talk and the plant names and so forth and I sure could picture the beautiful gardens and overall landscaping they were to perform the play in. I am not a Shakespeare person but there was not enough of him to get me yawning. I also loved the talk of all the food the cook sent to the green room every day. Good grief I was running to the frig constantly. This is a fun mystery with some twists and turns. The plot was a little different which was enjoyable.
There were a lot of characters, and yet I had no trouble knowing who was whom, so to speak. There is nothing wrong with the amount of characters an author places in his or her story. The problem for me comes when they are not identified well enough for me to learn the personality of or see a picture of each one of them. I just hate having to turn back the pages thinking “well who was this guy” and so forth. It sure didn’t happen to me here.
I had no trouble reading Midsummer Mayhem. It is Book 7 of a series titled “A Potting Shed Mystery”. All have good reviews.
***This book was provided to me free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are definitely my own.
In Midsummer Mayhem, her 7th Potting Shed Mystery, Marty Wingate once again transports the reader to the bucolic English countryside, joining American transplant Pru Parke and her husband, DI Christopher Pearse, at Greenoak, their home. An acting company, Shakespeare au Naturel, has taken over a nearby estate with breathtaking gardens for their production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but Lysander the lothario is found dead during rehearsals, and all is not well in the world of the bard. Pru is caught up in the investigation as she attempts to catch the killer and prevent harm to any other members of the production. An excellent cozy mystery, and although I always recommend starting at the beginning of a series, the reader can certainly start with this lovely little cozy mystery, which is quite an enjoyable read and does well as a standalone! A+++
What a delight to visit Pru, her husband, and friends across the pond! I always look forward to a new cozy in this series, and Midsummer Mayhem satisfies the anticipation. Pru, a gardner, is helping at a nearby home with several acres of gardens; the huge lawn will be an open-air theater for A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The characters are well-defined, at times witty, at other times serious, and hard-working when needed. The gardens sound beautiful, colorful and pleasing to the nose as well as the eyes.
Prunella “Pru” Parke is from Texas, and her mother originally from England. Pru wanted to be where her beloved mother came from. After her midlife career change, she graduated with a degree in horticulture, and accepted a small position in England, leaving behind a lifetime of good friends. Pru gets better positions as she completes assignments, and meets and marries Christopher Pearse, now a detective in the Hampshire police office. Pru learned she has a brother, Simon, who grew up in England, and they begin to make up for a lifetime apart.
Midsummer Night has a former soap opera star, Ambrose Grant, a director making a comeback, Max Stirling, and an eclectic group of performers. It sounds as if the Bumbling Blokes and the little Fairies will be the most fun. An actor is found dead, locked inside the gardener’s cottage. It is determined to be murder for the man playing Lysander – whose off-stage behavior is more like Lothario. He was found in the study with the door locked from the inside, the cottage door locked from the inside, with no discernable way for the bad guy get out. The play must go on, and Christopher and Pru decide that, with officers collecting evidence on the grounds, Pru will be safe and able to hear any talk amongst the actors. She has many plants to care for, scenes to set, and the Fan Club of Ambrose Grant (aka her sister-in-law, Reverend, and housekeeper/ cook) to keep happy.
I love the banter that Pru, Christopher, Evelyn, Polly, and Simon have. To see Pru and Christopher and how far they have come from when they first met is delightful! Hal, Simon and Pru’s assistant, is probably the most unknown of the regular characters. Each is defined as much as necessary per their role. Pru and Christopher are my favorites, with Evelyn, Polly, and Simon next in line.
This series gets better and better, from the latest gardens, to Pru and Christopher, and the investigation effecting Shakespeare Au Naturel’s production of Midsummer Night’s Dream. It is heartwarming to see how the cast worked together to help the director who had given many of them their start on the stage, the romances off stage, and camaraderie of most of those on and off the stage. I have not read this play, so it was interesting to see lines from it at the start of each chapter. The plot has many twists that invite the reader to follow a few red herrings. I did have an idea who the bad guy was but couldn’t imagine why, so I very briefly followed another herring. In some ways, the bad guy was still a surprise! The finale brought many surprises, fun and otherwise, making it a satisfactory in every way. I highly recommend this novel to fans of earlier novels in the series, those who might enjoy Shakespeare, garden settings, or visiting England, and all who appreciate very well-written cozy mysteries.
From a grateful heart: I received a copy of this e-Arc from the publisher and NetGalley, and this is my honest review.
Midsummer Mayhem is the seventh book in Marty Wingate’s Potting Shed Mysteries. Gardener Pru Parke is asked to take over gardening duties as well as set decoration for the Shakespeare Au Natural troupe using nearby Coeur de la Mer Priory Hall to stage their outdoor production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. With a literal cast of characters, Pru is caught up in the project, learning the names of the characters rather than the names of the actors.
Although Pru notices the inappropriate moves the actor playing Lysander makes toward every woman he encounters, she never expects to find the young actor in the shape he is found. Who would have known of his severe allergy and who would have stolen his counteracting injectors? And who would have taken this even further to harm others?
The answer to these questions isn’t stumbled upon until the very end. Pru and her husband, DI Christopher Pearse, make the discovery in the nick of time. This is another good tale in the Potting Shed Mystery series and I do recommend it!
Midsummer Mayhem is the seventh book in the A Potting Shed Mystery series.
One of Pru’s dreams is coming true, the house next to where she is living has a rather extensive and beautiful garden, but the property is gated and rarely open. The property is going to be the site of an outdoor production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Pru has been asked to take on the set decoration. With the help of her new assistant, Hal, set off to get started on obtaining flowers and shrubs to use as stage decorations. As they are busy setting up, Pru has a chance to observe the actors and they prepare for rehearsals. She is quick to notice that the actor who is playing the lover Lysander seems to be playing that role off stage as well.
Then an actor is found dead from an apparent bee sting and evidence shows that it was no accident. Pru’s husband, DI Christopher Pearce asks Pru to be his “ears” as the police begin their investigation. Pearce knows that Pru can get more information from a general conversation with the members of the troupe than he can. Pru finds that this may not always be the case as she talks with various actors that some seem to be not telling all they know about each others history. Then Pru and Christopher come to learn, at the same time, who the guilty party is and an exciting ending lead to an arrest.
This is a well written and plotted story with a very interesting cast of characters. The series should appeal to those readers who are gardeners or enjoy reading about English countryside gardens. Not being a gardener I find this series very enjoyable and with a quick click on my Kindle, I can get additional information and description from the Kindle’s dictionary.
I will be watching for the next book in this wonderful series.
I enjoy this series–the characters and settings are delightful.
Having the main character a transplanted American in the UK with a British husband works very nicely.
This mystery is fun. An outdoor production of Shakespeare with all the personality quirks of theatre people.I had my suspicions about the culprit, but couldn’t figure out the “why”,
It comes together nicely with some real drama.
I have read a couple of the books out of this series. Although there is enough pertinent information that you can read this book as a stand alone.
Pru Parke is stuck in the middle of a murder mystery again. She can not seem to keep herself out of these situations. Pru and her brother run a gardening business and a local play company is putting on a huge show of A Midsummer Night’s Dream that requires a lot of gardening and flower arrangements being done. Pru is the one who gets the job. This play company has hired a famous actor to be in the play so part of the book is that people are enamored over him. Every thing goes haywire when the most obnoxious actor gets murdered. Pru’s Husband Christopher Pearse is the Detective Inspector on this case. He wanted Pru to stay away from the case but she just could not do it and ends up in hot water herself.
I did not figure out who the murderer was. I did think that person was a little weird but never guessed it was the person who committed the crime. It kept me guessing. It was a really good story.
I received this book for free to read from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions in this review are 100% my own.
I was disappointed in this book. It did not have the information I was looking for.
law-enforcement, amateur-sleuth, actors, England, cosy-mystery
An English country house, a troupe of actors preparing for an outdoor performance of a Shakespearean play, a garden specialist with a detective inspector husband, and a devilish premeditated murder. Plenty of suspects and red herrings with some unexpected twists as well as some interpersonal intrigues. The characters are interesting and engaging, the locale inspiring, and the horticulture daunting, and the story is great. The publisher’s blurb gives hints and there is no need for spoilers, just enjoy!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Random House via NetGalley.