An English Garden Murder

Meet Julia Bird: recently single, reluctantly retired, and... an amateur sleuth? Julia Bird has left London for a fresh start in a picturesque Cotswolds village, and the rustic charm and cosy fireplaces of her little cottage are everything she'd hoped for. But when she tears down the old garden shed to make way for a chicken coop, she unearths much more than she'd bargained for... the body of a young woman, apparently buried for decades, thrusting Julia into a baffling mystery. With only one copper on the case in Berrywick, Julia decides to solve the who and whodunnit herself, taking her wayward puppy Jake along for the ride. And so begins a whirlwind tour of the village - from the dotty 90-year-old to the delightful doctor and the village gardener, it seems everyone has something to hide. Soon, Julia is convinced she has discovered the killer's identity, until Jake, a true Labrador, finds a new love of the local lake's waterfowl and instead ends up catching her chief suspect... drowned. Back at square one, with potential culprits galore, Julia - newly nicknamed the Grim Reaper - despairs at ever solving the murders. But as Julia ruffles feathers village-wide, the clock is ticking. There is someone 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. Readers love Katie Gayle: 'Wow! I need to get my breath back after that... A lie down in a darkened room is also definitely required to recover!... Moves along at a break-neck pace.' Fiction Books Blog 'Katie Gayle never fails to keep me laughing, entertained, and trying to figure out the mystery til the very end. I absolutely adore this book... 10/10... This book is absolutely perfect!' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars 'Fantastic... I can't say enough good things about this book. I just loved every minute of reading it.' Fireflies & Freekicks 'Undoubtedly rollicking good fun. If the need to escape reality for a few hours presents itself, I can highly recommend this hilarious hullabaloo of a read.' NetGalley reviewer, 5 stars 'There is so much I adored about this book!... The perfect mixture of humour and mystery makes this book an absolute page turner that I would highly recommend to everyone!' Victoria Wilks Blog 'Thrilling and immensely enjoyable... An absolute joy to read... Will have readers laughing out loud and keep them glued to the pages from beginning to end.' Bookish Jottings 'A hilarious romp of a mystery.' NetGalley reviewer, 5 stars 'Compelling and compulsive... An uplifting, endlessly charming and highly original cosy mystery series... Filled with drama, action, twists... A fabulous, and much-needed, piece of escapism in these times.' Readers Retreat

Meet Julia Bird: recently single, reluctantly retired, and… an amateur sleuth? Julia Bird has left London for a fresh start in a picturesque Cotswolds village, and the rustic charm and cosy fireplaces of her little cottage are everything she’d hoped for. But when she tears down the old garden shed to make way for a chicken coop, she unearths much more than she’d bargained for… the body of a young woman, apparently buried for decades, thrusting Julia into a baffling mystery. With only one copper on the case in Berrywick, Julia decides to solve the who and whodunnit herself, taking her wayward puppy Jake along for the ride. And so begins a whirlwind tour of the village – from the dotty 90-year-old to the delightful doctor and the village gardener, it seems everyone has something to hide. Soon, Julia is convinced she has discovered the killer’s identity, until Jake, a true Labrador, finds a new love of the local lake’s waterfowl and instead ends up catching her chief suspect… drowned. Back at square one, with potential culprits galore, Julia – newly nicknamed the Grim Reaper – despairs at ever solving the murders. But as Julia ruffles feathers village-wide, the clock is ticking. There is someone 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. Readers love An English Garden Murder: ‘There just aren't enough stars for this one, so I can only give it FIVE!! I'm so looking forward to the next book in the series!!’ Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I absolutely LOVED this… Julia Bird was an amazing and lovable character… Once I started it, I couldn't stop until I had finished it. I will definitely be on the lookout for the second novel in this series!’ Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I loved this very English murder mystery, so reminiscent of Agatha Christie… I loved everything about this book.’ NetGalley reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Fabulous… addictive… a witty and delightful crime novel full of delicious red herrings, rural mischief and bucolic charm that is impossible to put down.’ Bookish Jottings ‘Oh my, I loved Julia Bird… she is a delight!. I can’t wait for the next one! Please don’t let it be long! It’s a five out of five on the enJOYment scale and highly recommended!’ MoongloTexas ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Really entertaining… I simply couldn't put the book down… Julia's life in the countryside with her newly adopted dog Jake was too enjoyable… I cannot wait to read for Julia Bird's next adventure!… five stars!’ Tropical Girl Reads Books ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Brilliant!… I really warmed to Julia and especially Jake, her errant puppy and loved the village life…’ Broadbean’s Books ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I loved this first book in a new cozy, English countryside series and hope it continues for a very long run…’ NetGalley reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I really enjoyed this… heartwarming… always entertaining read.’ Jen Med's Book Reviews ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I loved this book! I am always thrilled to find a new cozy mystery/series to get stuck into and I thoroughly enjoyed this one…’ A Wordy Woman ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I'm pretty sure I want to be Julia Bird when I retire. Charming little cottage in a village in the Cotswolds in England? Check! Best friend who works as a librarian? Check! Time to finally learn how to bake and cook delicious food? Check! Insta-love with an adorable chocolate lab puppy? Check! Distinguished village Doctor who could be mistaken for Sean Connery?… I really enjoyed this brand-new cozy mystery.’ Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A delightful mix of humour & mystery.’ NetGalley reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Addie Greyborne loved working with rare books at the Boston Public Library—she even got to play detective, tracking down clues about mysterious old volumes. But she didn’t expect her sleuthing skills to come in so handy in a little seaside town . . . Addie left some painful memories behind in the big city, including the unsolved murder of her fiancé and her father’s fatal car accident. After an unexpected inheritance from a great aunt, she’s moved to a small New England town founded by her ancestors back in colonial times—and living in spacious Greyborne Manor, on a hilltop overlooking the harbor. Best of all, her aunt also left her countless first editions and other treasures—providing an inventory to start her own store. But there’s trouble from day one, and not just from the grumpy woman who runs the bakery next door. A car nearly runs Addie down. Someone steals a copy of Alice in Wonderland. Then, Addie’s friend Serena, who owns a nearby tea shop, is arrested—for killing another local merchant. The police seem pretty sure they’ve got the story in hand, but Addie’s not going to let them close the book on this case without a fight . . .

In this memoir-turned-cookbook, Alice B. Toklas describes her life with partner Gertrude Stein and their famed Paris salon, which entertained the great avant-garde and literary figures of their day. With dry wit and characteristic understatement Toklas ponders the ethics of killing a carp in her kitchen before stuffing it with chestnuts; decorating a fish to amuse Picasso at lunch; and travelling across France during the First World War in an old delivery truck, gathering local recipes along the way. She includes a friend's playful recipe for 'Haschiche Fudge', which promises 'brilliant storms of laughter and ecstatic reveries', much like her book.

A common, garden-variety murder... Location scout Kate Sharp is enjoying the gorgeous springtime in her favorite idyllic English village while coordinating locations for a Jane Austen documentary, but when she's assigned to manage a difficult star who has received threats, Kate discovers that danger and death aren't always on screen. After a tragic accident in the star's beautiful English garden, Kate suspects murder. With a sly and secretive murderer intent on putting suspicion on Kate, she must find the culprit before she's led down the garden path. Death in an English Garden is the sixth entry in the popular Murder on Location series, which is perfect for cozy mystery readers who want to indulge their inner Anglophile. Will appeal to fans of M. C. Beaton, Stephanie Barron, and Marty Wingate.

Alex and Kate Sheppard have found the perfect house; the home they had always dreamed of owning. Nestled deep in the Wiltshire countryside and surrounded by a two-acre walled garden, The Parsonage was to be their own little paradise . . . but nothing stays perfect forever. Soon after moving in they make an impossibly exciting discovery---one that defies every known law of nature and science. They find a blue rose bush flourishing in their walled garden. But as word of their discovery leaks out, the Sheppard's peaceful existence is shattered and they find themselves plunged into a world of coded journals, genetic experiments, cold-blooded greed, and, ultimately, murder. Threatened from every direction, with no one to trust but themselves and Lawrence Kingston, a gardening expert to whom they have revealed their exciting secret---the only way they can save their lives is to unravel the dark, seductive secret of the Blue Rose.

A group of guests gather in a large country house, owned by the dying Lord Warbeck, who wants what is left of his family around him to celebrate what he assumes will be his last Christmas. The guests are a motley bunch, including Sir Julius Warbeck, Chancellor of the Exchequer, the wife of one of his underlings, the fascist son of the present Lord Warbeck, and the Chancellor's bodyguard. Also present is foreign historian Dr Bottwink, and the traditional faithful butler. When the first murder occurs, the house is cut off from the rest of the world by a heavy snowfall, and it is left to Sir Julius's bodyguard to initiate a preliminary investigation before contact can be made with the local police force.