The Garden Plot (Potting Shed Mystery series)

Pru Parke has her dream job: But life gets in the way of the best laid plans: When not being happily distracted by the romantic attentions of the handsome Inspector Christopher Pearse, Pru is digging into the mystery of her own British roots. Still, she manages to make considerable progress on the vast grounds—until vandals wreak havoc on each of her projects. Then, to her horror, one of her workers is found murdered among the yews. Once again, Pru finds herself entangled in a thicket of evil intentions—and her, without a hatchet.

Pru Parke always dreamed of living in England. Now, as the sublet on her flat nears its end, the threat of forced departure looms. Determined to stay in her beloved adopted country, Pru takes small, private gardening jobs throughout the city. On one such gig in Chelsea, she makes an extraordinary find. Digging in the soil of a potting shed, Pru uncovers an ancient Roman mosaic. Other Series By Marty Wingate. More about Marty Wingate. Other Series You Might Like. Find other titles in Cozy Mysteries. 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.

Audio Editions

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.

Buy for others

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.

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.

Potting Shed Mystery Series by Marty Wingate

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. Mar 02, FangirlNation rated it really liked it. Turned down by everyone to whom she applies, Pru is on the verge of returning to Texas when she gets a small local job cleaning up the garden of the Wilsons.

After a day of dealing with vines, Pru gets into the garden shed, only to do some digging within the shed and find hints that a mosaic of a Roman horse might be buried there. This really excites Mr. Wilson, an amateur and highly enthusiastic archeologist, who is so thrilled to find ruins in his own backyard. But then the next day Pru goes back to the shed, only to stumble across the body of one of Mr.

Read the rest of this review and other fun, geeky articles at Fangirl Nation Oct 31, Suzanne rated it liked it Shelves: A 50 year-old who shakes up her life As with all Marty Wingate books I seem to like the secondary characters better than the MC. Pru Parke has given herself one year to make it in her mom's home country of England. Her goal, become a head gardener at an English manor house. She finds a small job fixing a garden for a garden party with the promise of a complete redo. When she finds a body in the potting shed all plans are put on hold. When her employer is the perfect suspect Pru decides to investigat A 50 year-old who shakes up her life As with all Marty Wingate books I seem to like the secondary characters better than the MC.

When her employer is the perfect suspect Pru decides to investigate. The story line is good and the characters while not physically described are given personalities that you can either like or dislike.

• The Wide Game!
• Get A Copy.
• The Garden Plot.
• Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life.

For me I just wanted to smack Pru up side the head. Between her woe is me, tears, and acting like a teenager at times, in public no less, with the inspector in charge of the case. I thought she might need hormone replacement therapy. But that makes the character fun. The description of the gardens are wonderful. What I really enjoyed though was the archeological site descriptions and the history. I hope the next book is just a pinch better.

Jun 09, Louise rated it liked it Shelves: A fun cozy mystery. I particularly enjoyed the gardening and archeological aspects of the story. I will definitely look for the next one in the series. May 04, Marlene rated it really liked it. Originally published at Reading Reality The title is a play on words; the main character is a gardener who specializes in creating new and unique gardens, and there is a plot in one particular garden that leads to murder.

For a middle-aged private female to get involved in a murder inve Originally published at Reading Reality The title is a play on words; the main character is a gardener who specializes in creating new and unique gardens, and there is a plot in one particular garden that leads to murder.

For a middle-aged private female to get involved in a murder investigation has been done before, but that the woman finds romance along with the culprit is unusual, and fun. Pru gave herself one year to try her hand at finding a full-time gardening position somewhere in England. She has savings to see her through, and a dual citizenship to make her eligible for employment in Britain.

Not her own potting shed, the shed belonging to her latest clients. Too bad about the body. And every time Pru looks just a bit further into the mystery, she finds herself tripping over the Detective Chief Inspector in charge of the case, Christopher Pearse. He wants her to get her nose out of his investigation, but that wish conflicts with his desire to get her into his life. China Bayles in the Albert series is a professional gardener who owns her own herb shop in Texas, where Pru is from. China also falls in love with, and marries, a cop who investigates one of her early cases.

There are lots of Roman ruins buried pretty much everywhere in Britain. And a huge part of the confusion about who really done what and why.

Potting Shed Mystery Series

They have patience and impatience in equal, and real, measure. It was great to see a couple who are older than 30 still capturing that marvelous flush of falling in love. Jun 29, Christine rated it really liked it Shelves: American Pru Parke leaves her home in Texas and relocates in London to live out her dream of being a gardener in England.

She has given herself one year to find a permanent position and although she has the skills and the training has so far only been able to find temporary gardening jobs. While on a job for Vernona and Harry Wilson, Pru makes an exciting discovery in a potting shed, but then later literally stumbles across a dead body in the same shed. Does he dislike her meddling or is he just trying to keep her safe? Either way, Pru keeps ending up right in the middle of things. She seems to be finding plenty of danger, but unfortunately no solid job leads and may have to leave her new home.

She is intelligent and very knowledgeable about the gardens in England, which seems to help her fit in. The author clearly has a love for flowers and English gardens and that comes through in this novel. The mystery is interesting and keeps your interest throughout the book. The supporting characters range from mysteries, to kind, to offbeat and quirky, but add interest to the book even when not completely believable.

They are definitely a couple to root for! She did have small jobs and a variety of clients and everything else about her new life in England was everything she dreamed of. It seemed silly that she is so willing to give up everything and move back to Texas with her tail between her legs.

Luckily, the book has a nice ending and it appears a sequel is coming out later this year and I look forward to finding out what happens next for Pru. James will enjoy this charming cozy mystery. I received this book from NetGalley, through the courtesy of Alibi Publishing. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review. Apr 08, Hannah rated it really liked it. A story about a normal woman who gets herself mixed up in all sorts of trouble, where the love story takes a back seat to the mystery.

Kindle Editions

A very good mystery that is a little slow at times but always entertaining. My only complaint is more of a question and that is just how old is Pru supposed to be? It seems like she is middle aged at times and other times she just seems very young and I spent most of the book The Garden Plot by Marty Wingate is a mystery that reminds me of an M. It seems like she is middle aged at times and other times she just seems very young and I spent most of the book wondering just how old she was.

Pru Parke has always wanted to be the head gardener in a real English garden. Raised by her English mother to appreciate all things English, but after her Mother's death she takes a sabbatical from The Dallas Arboretum and moves to London to try and fulfill her dreams and get a job as the Head Gardener in a English garden. Well her year is almost up and he lease on her sublet flat is about up when she gets a frantic call from a Mrs. Wilson asking for help cleaning up her back year and then plot out the garden. That's when the trouble starts she finds an ancient Roman Mosaic buried underneath the plotting shed, the next day Pru finds a dead body in the same shed next to the mosaic.

DCI Christopher Pearse is in charge of the investigation, and following evidence it leads him to suspect Mr. Wilson, armature archaeologist who was colleagues with the deceased. Pru having gotten to know the Wilson's know with out a reasonable doubt that Mr. Wilson didn't do it. But suspects the weird and nosey neighbor, Malcolm. Just through talking to people she finds clues that lead to the why and who. She also gets closer to Pearse running into him and going to see the badgers and then a few dates and sharing a few kisses.

As it goes on with rejection letter after rejection letter Pru is faced with the fact that she might have to leave back to Dallas and now with her budding relationship with Pearse it is even more difficult. Through the story Pru's deadline looming closer and closer she is almost killed and threatened as she unknowingly gets closer and closer to the truth. With more to come I am curious to see where it will lead Pru and Pearse and what trouble Pru will find herself in next. Oct 02, Tracey rated it really liked it Shelves: I constantly complain about cozy mysteries — and I keep on reading them.

Anyone wanting to bring up the "definition of insanity" quote can just pipe down, thank you. And see, this book is why I keep trying them. I was cautious at first, and only downloaded a sample at first — but I liked it. And then I spent more than I really expected to to buy the complete book I tend to resent any Kindle book that costs more than about five dollars , but … I liked it. I believe it unlikely that most will guess the identity of the murderer before the author reveals it. The emotional tension parallels that of the mystery.

Can Pru escape the deadly traps set for her and if so, will she be forced to return to Texas and leave behind her beloved England and the family of dear friends gathered around her? Will Christopher step up to the plate so early in their relationship, and will Pru trust him enough to stay? I've now read the entire series including the advanced copy of the latest "Bluebonnet Betrayal" to be available for sale August 2, , and it is by far my favorite cozy mystery series to date. I thoroughly enjoyed each book and now will be reading them again.

I cannot recommend any of them more highly, especially to readers who are Anglophiles, lean toward cozy mysteries or like gardening and or flowers. Wingate, I hope you plan to add many more novels to this series. I'm far from ready to say good bye to Christopher, Pru along with her nose for trouble and their friends and family! Pru Parke has given herself one year to make it in her mom's home country of England.

Her goal, become a head gardener at an English manor house. She finds a small job fixing a garden for a garden party with the promise of a complete redo. When she finds a body in the potting shed all plans are put on hold. When her employer is the perfect suspect Pru decides to investigate. The story line is good and the characters while not physically described are given personalities that you can either like or dislike. For me I just wanted to smack Pru up side the head.

Between her woe is me, tears, and acting like a teenager at times, in public no less, with the inspector in charge of the case. I thought she might need hormone replacement therapy. But that makes the character fun. The description of the gardens are wonderful. What I really enjoyed though was the archeological site descriptions and the history. I hope the next book is just a pinch better.

One person found this helpful.

I was really excited to read the first of this new mystery series. But I was a little disappointed when it tuned into a verge romance. 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.