Book Review : THE SKELETON GARDEN BY MARTY WINGATE (Cozy Mystery)

Today is my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for The Skeleton Garden by Marty Wingate.

The Skeleton Garden:
A Potting Shed Mystery
4th in Series
Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Alibi (March 15, 2016)
233 pages
ASIN: B00ZNE45FO

Synopsis

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.

Another garden and another murder mystery for Pru to solve!  This is the fourth in the series and I've enjoyed every one of them.

As usual with these books, we start with a murder being committed, when and by whom we don't yet know but clues and suspects are slowly unravelled along the journey.

Pru is getting to know her gardener brother, who Pru only found out about recently, and I enjoyed them sparring and being at loggerheads as they worked together on the garden at Pru's former neighbours estate.

I find that all Marty Wingate's characters are interesting, whether they're major characters or just on the periphery.  Nobody is every boring or dull!

This time a WWII plane is dug up, complete with skeleton, but all is not as it seems.  The story was at a good pace, there were some twists and turns, red herrings, several suspects and plenty to enjoy in this story for cozy mystery fans.

About the Author

Marty Wingate is a Seattle-based writer and speaker who shares her love of Britain in her two mystery series. The Potting Shed books feature Pru Parke, a middle-aged American gardener transplanted from Texas to England, and Birds of a Feather follows Julia Lanchester, bird lover, who runs a tourist office in a Suffolk village. Marty writes garden articles for magazines includingCountry Gardens and theAmerican Gardener. She is a member of the Royal Horticultural Society, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and the Crime Writers Association. She leads garden tours to England, Scotland and Ireland, spending free moments deep in research for her books. Or in pubs.

Author Links

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/martywingateauthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/martywingate

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/453259.Marty_Wingate

Website: www.martywingate.com

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/marthawingate/

Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Marty-Wingate/e/B001JS1AIS

Purchase Links

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZNE45FO?tag=randohouseinc7986-20

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-skeleton-garden-marty-wingate/1122928338;jsessionid=CDBA029B53D8EBC6210553DAB234CED8.prodny_store01-atgap10?ean=9781101968055

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-skeleton-garden/id1048436145?mt=11

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Marty_Wingate_The_Skeleton_Garden?id=2vriCQAAQBAJ

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/the-skeleton-garden

Books a Million: http://www.booksamillion.com/search?query=9781101968055&AID=10876509&PID=2665379&SID=PRHEFFDF5A7F1–9781101968055&where=eBooks