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Monday, May 5, 2014

Blog Tour: The Garden Plot by Marty Wingate

Author: Marty Wingate
Publisher: Alibi (Random House)

Date of publication: May 2014

Pru Parke always dreamed of living in England. And after the Dallas native follows an impulse and moves to London, she can’t imagine ever leaving—though she has yet to find a plum position as a head gardener. 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. But enthusiasm over her discovery is soon dampened when, two days later, she finds in the same spot a man’s bludgeoned corpse. As the London police swarm her worksite, ever inquisitive Pru can’t quite manage to distance herself from the investigation—much to the dismay of stern Detective Chief Inspector Christopher Pearse. It seems that, much as he tries, even handsome DCI Pearse can’t keep Pru safe from a brutal killer who thinks she’s already dug up too much.

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 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.  In reminded me of the TV show Rosemary and Thyme and others British shows like it.  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.  I congratulate Ms. Wingate on a great debut novel!

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About the Author:


Marty Wingate is a regular contributor to Country Gardens as well as other magazines. She also leads gardening tours throughout England, Scotland, Ireland, France, and North America. The Garden Plot is her first novel. More Potting Shed mysteries are planned.


Amazon  
Goodreads


Marty Wingate’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Thursday, May 1st:  Patricia’s Wisdom
Monday, May 5th:  From the TBR Pile
Monday, May 5th:  Kelly’s France Blog 
Wednesday, May 7th:  A Chick Who Reads
Thursday, May 8th:  Bibliotica
Monday, May 12th: Under a Gray Sky
Wednesday, May 14th: A Bookish Way of Life
Thursday, May 15th: Joyfully Retired
Friday, May 16th:  Kahakai Kitchen
Monday, May 19th:  Staircase Wit
Tuesday, May 20th:  Serendipity Reviews
Wednesday, May 21st: Mom in Love with Fiction
Thursday, May 22nd:  Stitch Read Cook

Thursday, May 29th: No More Grumpy Bookseller

3 comments:

joepall said...

Was fortunate to have read an arc and fell in love with this book. So happy to have this on my #nook now!

Anonymous said...

English Gardens are always beautiful. Would love to read about them in this Cozy. Thanks for entering my name.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for being a part of the tour. I'm featuring your review on TLC's Facebook page today.