Dig in to a fantastic new mystery
The Skeleton Garden: A Potting Shed Mystery
By Marty Wingate
Alibi/ Random House
Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date: March 15, 2016
Review
The Skeleton Garden is a captivating, multi-layered mystery with plenty of surprises in store for readers. If you are a fan of British cozy mysteries, Marty Wingate's novels will not disappoint. Her plots are original and there is always a fascinating array of characters.
The story begins with an accidental murder of a British airman during WWII. The body is buried alongside a downed German fighter plane. It is only when Pru and her brother Simon are refurbishing Greenoak's extensive gardens that the remains are discovered. The unidentified skeleton proves an intriguing mystery.
The importance of the remains is not realized until after a man's body is discovered where the excavation took place. As the local Detective Inspector fumbles through the investigation, Pru and Christopher start their own, digging into long buried secrets.
Marty Wingate's cozies are never formulaic. Each are carefully plotted with great attention to detail. She is such a good storyteller that I didn't mind at all that the present day murder didn't occur until close to the middle of the novel.
Even if you have the biggest black thumb ever, as long as you love a good mystery you will enjoy The Skeleton Garden.
5/5
I received a copy of The Skeleton Garden from the publisher and netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
--Crittermom
Description
USA Today bestselling author Marty Wingate's Potting Shed series continues as expert gardener Pru Parke digs up a Nazi warplane—and a fresh murder.
Texas transplant Pru Parke has put down roots in England, but she never dreamed she'd live in a grand place such as Greenoak. When her former employers offer Pru and her new husband, former Detective Chief Inspector Christopher Pearse, the use of their nineteenth-century estate while they're away for a year, she jumps at the chance. Sweetening the deal is the prospect of further bonding with her long-lost brother, Simon, who happens to be Greenoak's head gardener. But the majestic manor has at least one skeleton in its closet—or, rather, its garden.
Working on renovations to the extensive grounds, siblings Pru and Simon squabble about everything from boxwood to bay hedges. But when the removal of a half-dead tree turns up the wreckage of a World War II–era German fighter plane and a pile of bones, the arguments stop. That is, until a rival from Simon's past pays a surprise visit and creates even more upheaval. It's suddenly clear someone is unhappy their secrets have been unearthed. Still, Pru's not about to sit back and let Simon take the fall for the dirty deed without a fight
