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Book Review
Reviewed: 08 May 2024

An English Garden Murder

by: Katie Gale

Julia Bird Mysteries - Book 1

  • Rating: full starfull starfull starstar outlinestar outline (3/5)

Who says country village life is boring? Certainly not when you find a body under your shed.

I knew early on like 40% in who was involved and it took a long time for the sleuths to come close to figuring it out. I like that the police and sleuths are not adversaries. Julia's backstory is one that I've not seen before and appreciate how her former life is incorporated into her new country village life. As the story wound to a close, there was a couple of loose ends that were left hanging. 

A pleasant enough read about an older woman starting over in a country village who just happens to find dead bodies.

Happy Reading!

Release Date: 5-May-2022

Plot Summary

Julia Bird’s picturesque Cotswolds cottage has everything she could want. Rustic charm, cosy fireplaces and, it turns out, a dead body in the garden…

Recently divorced and reluctantly retired, Julia Bird has fled London to enjoy idyllic rural life in the Cotswolds. Determined to have the perfect English garden, her first job is to tear down the old shed, where she unearths much more than she’d bargained for… A body, apparently buried for decades. But who could it be, and who killed them? The police draw a blank, and even the gossip-fest that is the local bookclub can’t remember anyone going missing in the village.

Unable to get on with her garden until the mystery is resolved, Julia decides to conduct her own clandestine investigations. So, together with her wayward chocolate Labrador puppy Jake, Julia begins a whirlwind tour of the local residents. And everyone, it seems, has something to hide in this village. As she gets closer to the truth, Julia uncovers something even more shocking… Another body, this time of someone she actually knows.

Determined to unmask the killer and find out what connects the two dead bodies, Julia – newly nicknamed the Grim Reaper – ups the stakes and hones in on the most likely suspect. But if she hasn’t deduced correctly, then there is someone else in the village who has killed twice already. Will they be prepared to make it third time lucky to keep their secret safe?

This totally addictive page-turning cozy mystery is perfect for fans of M.C. Beaton, Faith Martin and Betty Rowlands.