But I was a little disappointed when it tuned into a verge romance.
Kindle Editions
I usually love British mysteries. Pru Prunella Parke has made the move to live in England after the death of her mother and the end of a long term relationship. She decides she will stay for a year hoping to find a gardening position on one of the large English estates. Meanwhile she works a variety of part time gardening jobs and maintenance. One of these jobs takes her to Chelsea to a job that requires immediate attention to make the garden presentable before the lady of the house scheduled party occurs. What a surprise when Pru discovers an ancient Roman mosaic buried in the estates shed!!
Then several days later, Pru discovers a body The police are notified. Inspector Christopher Pearce is in charge of the case. He and Pru develop undeniable chemistry between each other. Will Pru find a job in England or return to Texas? Will she and Inspector Pearce develop a relationship? Mix together gardening, murder, hidden treasure, dangerous situations, intrigue, mystery, a well plotted book with humorous shenanigans plus some romance and this British set cozy mystery makes for a captivating read.
Description, English garden and area historical sites are deftly woven into the story. You will feel a part of the story while learning about flowers, trees and garden maintenance. Great cast of vivid, well defined and colorful characters with a lot of suspects. All the characters bring their own flavor to the story. A mid life American woman moves to England, the birth home her mother.
She is a highly trained gardener specializing in English gardens, but has little experience in England. Pru is having a hard time finding full time employment as a head gardener, so she is taking part time work while giving herself a year to make it in England.
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The first relatively large job she gets is stalled because of a corpse in the gardening shed! The book is fun, character and relationship based. Pru is a really nice woman, and she has made just a couple of friends. There was an awful lot of detail about gardening, plants, Roman history, and famous British gardens. In a few places it almost felt like a tour guide. But there was a wonderful story and characters in there, intriguing enough for me to start the second book in the series.
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Potting Shed Mystery Series
Get fast, free shipping with Amazon Prime. Get to Know Us. English Choose a language for shopping. Explore the Home Gift Guide. Not Enabled Screen Reader: Enabled Amazon Best Sellers Rank: When Pru stumbles over a dead body at one of those homes she finds herself drawn in Pru Parke grew up in Dallas, Texas, only child of an English mother and American father. When Pru stumbles over a dead body at one of those homes she finds herself drawn into the investigation.
We first meet Pru in the last month of her self-imposed year limit. She is just about out of funds and coming to the end of her lease on her house. She has made friends in England but her old Dallas friends and an old flame are pressuring her to come home. She can even get her former position back but England has become more of a home to her than Dallas could ever be.
There are so many things I loved about The Garden Plot. Pru herself is a mature woman; over fifty and extremely self-reliant. Some might even call her stubborn. Yet she is also vulnerable, feeling that she has always been somewhat of a fish out of water. She wants more than anything to stay in England but things just haven't worked out.
Every chapter of The Garden Plot begins with an extremely polite and very English rejection letter from an interview she has had for a position. Those letters get more and more painful as time grows short. Pru is a delightful and sympathetic character with a small support network of other well developed and slightly eccentric characters. When a dishy Chief Inspector joins that network, things really get interesting.
There are also a couple of sleazy bad guys to contend with but Pru is up to the challenge. The Garden Plot is an almost perfect cozy, a great antidote for the snowy day in February when I read it. I look forward to more of what I hope will be a series. Jun 28, AngryGreyCat rated it really liked it. From the cover, you would expect a cute, lighthearted cozy read, but The Garden Plot has much more to offer than that! I was really impressed by this and I only picked it up on a whim. The character of Pru is an interesting complex single expat American living in England.
She is a trained gardener and is looking to find a permament position. In the meantime, she does odd gardening jobs and of course stumbles across a body. The plot is enriched by British history, archaeology, gardening and garden restoration. It has less humor and more tension than a cozy usually has.
It is a fine mix of the mystery with all of the information and the romantic subplot that makes this mystery stand out. Apr 30, Kimberly rated it really liked it Shelves: The Garden Plot is a modern version of the cozy British mystery—complete with the hidden treasure, the by-the-rules detective, the breaking-the-rules amateur detective, and an array of colorful, potential suspects. Pru, short for Prunella, is an American gardener searching for a permanent gardening position on a grand English estate but, instead of finding a steady job, Pru discovers an ancient Roman mosaic and a dead body.
The mystery unravels at a leisurely pace, a pace that allows the reader t The Garden Plot is a modern version of the cozy British mystery—complete with the hidden treasure, the by-the-rules detective, the breaking-the-rules amateur detective, and an array of colorful, potential suspects. The mystery unravels at a leisurely pace, a pace that allows the reader to easily play detective alongside Pru.
The characters are well developed and the romance between Pru and DCI Pearse is not over-the-top or unrealistic no love at first sight here! The setting moves from London to the countryside and displays a variety of gardens in and around the city. I found Pru's constant side trips and the plethora of historical information about gardens interesting but a tad lecture-ish. I recommend this novel to, of course, mystery fans but also to readers that are new to the mystery genre.
This book was engaging—I finished it in one sitting—and it is the perfect place to start reading a new genre. I certainly hope this will become a series. I am ready to follow Pru on her next adventure. Wingate--Please don't take too long with a sequel! I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. May 05, Kari rated it really liked it Shelves: The Garden Plot was a pleasant surprise.
I'm not usually one for straight cozy mysteries, but I found myself really liking the main character Pru and her adventure. There was also a sweet surprise romance in the book that made it that much better. Pru is a transplant from Texas. Her mother was from England and she decided to move to England to start a new life. She gave herself a deadline of a year to find a permanent head gardener position before she heads back home.
When the story begins, it i The Garden Plot was a pleasant surprise. When the story begins, it is down to the last few weeks before her time is up. I thought Pru was a great amateur detective. She is older and fiercely independent. She also has an amazing wealth of knowledge about English gardens. She and Christopher's story was very sweet. I enjoyed the mystery. I could see this one on TV. I didn't figure out the ending and loved the twist.
It looks like this is the beginning of a series and I look forward to having another adventure with Pru. Wingate on a great debut novel! Feb 08, Bubble Bath Books rated it really liked it. Sissy says " All the while reading The Garden Plot I was pulling for Pru to get a job so that she could stay in England, where her heart was.
I though it was very clever how Marty Wingate puts a rejection letter from prospective employers at the beginning of every chapter. One of my new British friends I have met through my son has told me she is trying to get rid of his American accent and turn him into a proper English gentleman. Speaking of which, Pru meets a lovely one, and the ensuing roma Sissy says " All the while reading The Garden Plot I was pulling for Pru to get a job so that she could stay in England, where her heart was. Speaking of which, Pru meets a lovely one, and the ensuing romance is quite satisfying.
Kudos to the author for making middle-aged women vital and sexy! He keeps finding Pru in "hinky" situations, any one of which would cause one to consider abandoning the relationship, but he perseveres! We see so much showy, flashy, overly physical romance in the books which become available to us, so it was refreshing to have a romantic lead who sees our girl's heart first and falls for her--patiently waiting for and believing in her.
Read full review at www. Feb 28, Chaitra rated it it was ok Shelves: It was interesting initially, what with Pru seeming sensible. But she quickly loses that edge, because the plot requires her to make some foolish decisions, slips, omissions and leaps of logic. I'm not sure Wingate can write suspense, because it's very hard to miss where the book is going towards. Pru's bad decisions stick out like a sore thumb. I mean, there are only so many completely oblivious mentions of mice rearranging furniture I can take from a fifty year old woman.
I also felt really ti It was interesting initially, what with Pru seeming sensible. I also felt really ticked off at her attitude - she gives herself a self-imposed one year deadline to make it as a gardener in England. And there's so much self pity because she only has a number of weekly clients and no steady garden. In the beginning stages of the book, given her self pitying, I thought she had an actual problem, like she would get kicked out of the country if she didn't find work.
But no, it's completely arbitrary. I'm sorry if I don't cry a river for you, Pru. Mar 02, Jaime rated it really liked it Recommends it for: The action begins when Pru Parke, an American gardener desirous of a permanent position in England, takes on the job of clearing out a neglected London landscape.
When she stumbles upon a dead body along with the dead vines, a series of complications ensues. Pru becomes fully entangled in the case as well as with the lives of the people involved, including a potential romantic interest, and while she can be foolish and occasionally annoying, the reader roots for her, regardless.
Snippets of English history and garden lore provide an entertaining backdrop to the investigation. The writing is tight and stylish, never overdone. Though a detailed beginning belies the rather rushed ending, the story has plenty of appeal. May 05, Susan Foulkes rated it really liked it. This was a thoroughly entertaining read with an engaging heroine who, for once, was nearer my age with experiences I could relate to and a believable love interest.
The plot had enough twists to satisfy a lifelong mystery reader, although I did guess "whodunnit" about three quarters of the way through the book. I am not a gardener but I found the discussions, descriptions and history of plants and important British gardens fascinating. I particularly liked the tongue in cheek tone of Prue's rejecti This was a thoroughly entertaining read with an engaging heroine who, for once, was nearer my age with experiences I could relate to and a believable love interest.
I particularly liked the tongue in cheek tone of Prue's rejection letters I'm still trying to picture a famous garden near Billy Row!! I can recommend this book as a good read ARC received via publisher and Netgalley in return for an honest review. Feb 09, Mollyjr rated it really liked it. Pru, an American with 2 passports due to her mother's English citizenship, has moved to England. As she is looking for a position as a head gardner of an estate or something similar, she gets embroiled in a murder having quite literally stumbled onto the body.
There is intrigue as she sticks her nose into places she probably shouldn't and against the wishes of the Detective Chief Inspector DCI working the case. There was an archeological component to this which I appreciated. The author enga Pru, an American with 2 passports due to her mother's English citizenship, has moved to England. The author engaged me in the main character's life. I wanted her to get that permanent position in England so that she didn't have to return to Texas in defeat. Cozy mysteries are fun and I liked this one. Jan 30, Jacque rated it really liked it. The Garden Plot was a perfect cozy mystery.
Set in England, the characters were well-drawn and likable. The mystery keeps you guessing and the story moves along at just the right pace. A little romance is thrown in and in cozy tradition, you are sure all will be well by the last page. I enjoyed this story very much and hope to read more from this author. Lovely to find a middle-aged heroine, one experiencing nearly dire straits as she makes an eventful career and life change.
Strong in character and perseverance, Pru soldiers on as her temporary stay in London, and her intent to become a head gardener, are repeatedly thwarted.
The Potting Shed Mystery Series in Order - Marty Wingate - FictionDB
May 06, Susanna - Censored by GoodReads rated it liked it. A fun little read. For a further review: Aug 16, Nicole rated it it was amazing Shelves: Loved this first book in the Potting Shed series by author Marty Wingate. Just the right balance of mystery, gardening, romance, England - the perfect cozy mystery! Nov 06, Carol rated it it was amazing Shelves: Pru Prunella Parke has made the move to live in England after the death of her mother and the end of a long term relationship.
She decides she will stay for a year hoping to find a gardening position on one of the large English estates. Meanwhile she works a variety of part time gardening jobs and maintenance. One of these jobs takes her to Chelsea to a job that requires immediate attention to make the garden presentable before the lady of the house scheduled party occurs.
What a surprise when Pru d Pru Prunella Parke has made the move to live in England after the death of her mother and the end of a long term relationship. What a surprise when Pru discovers an ancient Roman mosaic buried in the estates shed!! Then several days later, Pru discovers a body The police are notified. Inspector Christopher Pearce is in charge of the case. He and Pru develop undeniable chemistry between each other. Will Pru find a job in England or return to Texas?
Will she and Inspector Pearce develop a relationship? Mix together gardening, murder, hidden treasure, dangerous situations, intrigue, mystery, a well plotted book with humorous shenanigans plus some romance and this British set cozy mystery makes for a captivating read. Description, English garden and area historical sites are deftly woven into the story.
Potting Shed Mystery Series: Titles in Order Sort by: Latest to First First to Latest. Shakespeare comes to Hampshire—and Pru Parke is cast into the role of cunning detective gardener once again. 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. The Potting Shed series: Pru and her husband, former Detective Chief Inspector Christopher Pearse, are long overdue for a getaway.
The Garden Plot
So when Pru is invited to redesign an Arts and Crafts garden in the picturesque Cotswolds, she and Christopher jump at the chance. With such a small police force in the area, Christopher is called upon to lead the investigation. But as her work on the garden turns up one ominous clue after another, Pru discovers that the scenery is more dangerous than she or Christopher could have anticipated. Technically, Twyla Woodford, the president of a gardening club in the Lone Star State, is in charge of the London event, but Pru seems to be the one getting her hands dirty.
When they finally do meet, Pru senses a kindred spirit—until Twyla turns up dead. Twyla would have insisted. If Pru has anything to say about it, this killer is going to learn the hard way not to mess with Texas. Brew a pot of tea and settle in with this immensely enjoyable mystery.