Pruning the Dead
Series: A Garden Squad Mystery Book #1
Author: Julia Henry
Publisher: Kensington Books
Page Count: 346
My Rating:
Book Summary
Post-retirement aches and pains can’t prevent sixty-five-year-old Lilly Jayne from keeping the most manicured garden in Goosebush, Massachusetts. But as a murder mystery blooms in the sleepy New England town, can a green thumb weed out a killer?
With hundreds flocking to her inaugural garden party, meticulous Lilly Jayne hasn’t left a single petal out of place. But the picture-perfect gathering turns unruly upon the arrival of Merilee Frank, Lilly’s ex-husband’s catty third wife. Merilee lives for trouble, so no one is surprised after she drinks too much, shoves a guest into the koi pond, and gets escorted off the property. The real surprise comes days later–when Merilee is found dead in a pile of mulch . . .
Lilly wishes she could stick to pruning roses and forget about Merilee’s murder–until her best friend and ex become suspects in an overgrown homicide case. Now, aided by the Garden Squad, an unlikely group of amateur crime solvers with a knack for planting, Lilly knows she has limited time to identify the true culprit and restore order to Goosebush. Because if the murderer’s plot isn’t nipped in the bud, another victim could be pushing up daisies!
More Facts for Readers about our Sleuth:
Main Sleuth: Lillian (Lilly) Rose Jayne (age 65)
Best friend/ Sidekick: Tamara O’Connor and Delia
Physical Description: White female, active, short silver hair
Location: Goosebush, Massachusetts
Time of Year: Spring (April/May)
Business: Retired, Gardener, part of community groups, town politics, and the Garden Squad
Pet: None
Love Interest: Alan McMillan (husband, deceased) and Roderick (Roddy) Lyden
Family: None
Cussing? No
Diversity? Yes! There is a whole host of diverse characters. Our main sleuth is white Caucasian, but her life long best friend Tamara is an African American woman, and Tamara’s husband Warwick is an African American man. Ernie, who is also a great friend and the local hardware store owner is a gay man with a deceased husband. None of these characters are stereotypical or falling on tropes or cliches. They’re regular folks just bonding together which is always great in my opinion. Representation is so important.
My Review
My appreciation is blooming for “Pruning the Dead”, book 1 in the Garden Squad mystery series by Julia Henry. Retired woman of leisure Lilly Jayne is coming back into society after the death of her husband and her years of seclusion following his passing. She’s much loved and well known in the community by her generosity and involvement in local politics, not to mention because of her magical green thumb. But her joyous return is short lived when Merilee, her first husband’s latest wife, turns up dead in a town gardening shed – then it’s Lilly and her friends, the Garden Squad, on the case!
This book features a mature sleuth and the pacing is a bit slower than a typical cozy. There is a lot of detail and description of the town, the many characters we meet, the gardening projects, and the town politics. At times there was a stray from the mystery and the whodunit aspect of the story, however, we did get a really rich view of the world created by the author, which may take more of a backseat in subsequent books. I like detail, and so I didn’t mind the slower pacing. Not all cozies need to be the same!
As a cozy book lover, and a small town, main street, resident myself, who also has to answer to a Historical Society for home improvement – much of this book really resonated with me. I love that this book centered around a team of diverse do-gooders paying it forward and bonding together to help their fellow citizens and help solve a grisly murder at the same time. This is a great summer read and I recommend it, especially if you’re planning any gardening!