Julia Henry

cozy-mystery, Massachusetts, small-town, friendship, relatives, small-business, conflict, family, murder, murder-investigation, embezzling, series*****

The Garden Squad is a group of friends who have lived in their small town (mostly forever) and have known each other for enough decades that many are retired.
The plot revolves around weird goings on at the town cemetery (a concept I am completely unfamiliar with). There are interconnected side plots as well to make you root for the nasty one show more to be murdered. Let the sleuthing begin! Despite it being in series, I think that there is enough series history included that it can easily stand alone. It's a good fun read full of twists, red herrings, and some really delightful characters, and I loved it!
I requested and received a free e-book copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you! show less

Goosebush is a quaint small town, but with a large enough arts community to house two, sometimes dueling, community playhouse groups. The holidays are coming, and the beginning seemed full of activity and red herrings with the death of a local benefactor, Leon, a wreath fundraiser, a garden sculpture contest and stage reading of a Christmas Carol. A star returns to Goosebush to participate in the reading and his death definitely seems suspicious. There are a lot of fun characters and small show more town squabbles amid the mystery. A pretty fun way to kick off some holiday reading. show less

The Plot Thickets by Julia Henry is the 5th A Garden Squad Mystery. We return to Goosebush, Massachusetts where Lilly Jayne resides in her family home, Windward. I like Lilly Jayne who is a smart, kind woman in her 60s who loves to garden. There are beautiful gardens surrounding Windward. She has a great group of friends who comprise the Garden Squad. They secretly tackle gardening projects around town. The multidimensional cast of secondary characters includes Delia, Ernie, Roddy, Tamara, show more and Warwick. I love the descriptions of Windward. This is a home that I would love to reside in. Stan’s father, Buzz causes a scene at a local restaurant where Lilly and her friends are dining. Stan and Buzz soon depart. Stan rushes back inside a couple of minutes later calling for assistance. Buzz has collapsed and is soon pronounced dead. Lilly and Delia are checking out a project in the cemetery a few days later for the Beautification Committee. Lilly notices some oddities among the gravestones including the moving of the Jayne bench near the family mausoleum. Stan asks them to check out where his father is buried. Delia and Lilly are unable to find the grave. The ladies decide that some research is in order. It is a multifaceted mystery which I enjoyed. While I anticipated the resolution, I had a good time following Lilly Jayne and her friends as they dug into the case. I appreciated the good wrap up at the end. The ending of the book will leave fans of the series smiling. There is a lot going on in The Plot Thickets. This is a story that is engaging and interesting. The Plot Thickets can be read as a standalone for those new to the series or if you have missed a book or two (like me). The Plot Thickets is a good cozy to read in October with the cemetery theme. There are some gardening tips at the end which includes a list of plants that are good pollinators (which is just what I needed). The Plot Thickets is a graveyard smash with plant pruning, a displaced bench, a dead dad, a witchy Whitney, puzzling plots, a house hunt, and a bad back. show less

For several years after the death of her husband, sixty-five-year-old Lilly Jayne paid little attention to what was happening in her town of Goosebush, Massachusetts. But now, with the help of some good friends, she is venturing out again and what she sees shocks her. One thing that really upsets her is the condition of Alden Park and she vows to restore it. A group has barely started on the project when someone is murdered. While Lilly likes and is friends with the Chief of Police, she show more realizes he is over his head on this case and vows to help him solve it. It won’t be easy – the murder victim and many enemies and none of them are sad that she is gone.

“Pruning the Dead” is the nicely done first book in Julia Henry’s Garden Squad cozy mystery series. With some debut cozy mysteries, I find myself immediately pulled into the action and characters – with this one it took me a little longer (perhaps because I am not a gardener) but by halfway through the book I became hooked on the characters and setting. I really like Lilly as a character – it is nice having an older amateur sleuth as the main character. Her friend and housemate Delia is also great, unique character. The other main characters –Tamara, Ernie, Stan, Roddy – are all equally well done as characters as are the other characters in the book – readers will certainly feel like they knew the murder victim by the end of the book. The town of Goosebush also plays a big part in this mystery – well done by Henry. Speaking of the mystery – it is well plotted with just the right amount of suspects. I did figure out who the killer was close to the end of the book but was totally surprised as to the reason why.

“Pruning the Dead” is a nice cozy mystery. show less