A Magic Garden Mystery series begins with an enchanting introduction to the residents of Bellewick (Scotland) and the magic garden at Duncreigan. Fiona Knox, a U.S. citizen, has inherited Duncreigan from her godfather, Ian MacAllister, who recently died. Upon her arrival at the cottage, her new home, Fiona meets Hamish, the caretaker, and his friend Duncan, a squirrel that rides on his shoulders.

In fact, Duncan steals the key to the cottage and garden leading Fiona and Hamish on a wild chase to the garden where they find the body of her godfather’s lawyer, Alastair Croft, dead. And so, this intriguing mystery begins, including the surprising rebirth of the garden that had died upon the death of Fiona’s godfather.

Fiona meets Chief Inspector Neil Craig, who is overseeing the murder investigation. Then on her trip to the village she visits her attorney’s partner, Cally Beckleberry, and agrees to take Croft’s cat, Ivanhoe, since Cally is allergic. Events are moving quickly.

Then to prove Hamish is not the murderer, Fiona decides to play sleuth while she is trying to find the letter her godfather sent her explaining how she is the new Keeper of the Magic Garden.

Amanda Flower artfully crafts a multi-layered mystery, populated with interesting characters, a few red herrings and the history of Duncreigan dating back to the 1700’s. This delightful debut offers a fascinating secret, hopefully with more details to come later, along with charming animal characters that add humor and a captivating, passionate protagonist.

Keep an eye out for a quick red fox….

Flowers and Foul Play is the first in a new series, A Magic Garden Mystery, by Amanda Flower and takes place in Scotland. Fiona Knox leaves Nashville and goes to Scotland when she receives news that she has inherited her godfather's cottage, Duncraigan, near the village of Bellewick on the coast of Scotland near the North Sea. Fiona's dad is Scottish and her mom is American. They met when her mom was at St. Andrews for a summer study abroad. Her Uncle Ian MacCalister was her father's best friend and a career military man who never married. He died in Afghanistan in battle and left his place to Fiona. Fiona's life is in turmoil because her fiance' left her for the cake decorator for their wedding and her own failed florist shop closed. The trip to Scotland is a welcome reprieve from her life right now.
The caretaker for her godfather, Hamish MacGregor, meets her at the cottage and helps her get settled. But things get strange right away when they are in the walled garden on the property and find the body of her godfather's solicitor, Alastair Croft. After a call to the police, we meet Chief Inspector Neil Craig, a local boy who works with police in Aberdeen. Neil is a very tall and handsome young man who seems to suspect Hamish of the crime.
But there are many villagers who didn't like Alastair. The village of Bellewick is full of colorful locals who are diverse and a little leery of an American in their midst. Why would one of their own, a local war hero, leave his property to an American?
This is an entertaining mystery that will keep you turning the pages to figure out who is behind the murder. There is an uproar in the village over a land sale that Alastair was involved in. Maybe someone who was against the land sale killed him. There are other villagers that are suspicious seeming and undercurrents afoot. A very important part of the book with a mystical flair is the fact that the garden on the property is magical and needs to be cared for by a special keeper. Ian was one of a long line and now Fiona is the next one. When she arrived, the plants were dead but came to life soon after. I enjoyed the location and color of the Scottish people and look forward to reading more in the series.
I received a complimentary copy from Crooked Lane Books through NetGalley. The opinions expressed are mine only.

This first book in a new series by Amanda Flower is a treasure! I’ve been dreaming about Scotland lately and then this book found it’s way to me…magical!

Fiona Knox inherited her Godfather’s home and garden in Scotland. After being jilted by her fiancé she decide to head to Scotland and claim her inheritance and leave the past behind her.

Upon arriving at her new home, she finds a dead body in the garden and everything seems to change. First the dead garden begins to come back to life with her arrival and then the arrival of Chief Inspector Neil Craig’s arrival also seems to bring Fiona back to life.

This is a truly enjoyable book and I cannot wait for the second book to see what the future has in store for Fiona, Neil, and the locals.

A good start to a new series I couldn't put it down .i enjoy all of Amanda flower books and this one doesn't disappoint.
Fiona Knox came into inheritance from her godfather in Scotland with the cottage came a magical walled garden.
finding a dead body in her walled garden was a shock to Fiona.
The village has a lot of wonderful friendly characters
A well plotted mystery that is full of twist turns surprises and a little romance.
Hopefully I won't have to wait too long for the next book in the series

Flowers and Foul Play by Amanda Flower is an intriguing beginning in a new cozy series by this author.

Fiona Knox was a strong young woman who is finding her way after two big losses in her life in Tennessee. She comes to Scotland to accept her inheritance from her godfather. On her first day there she discovers a body and so the mystery begins. I confess that I didn't strongly connect to Fiona in this book; however, as this is the first book in a new series I didn't feel like any of the main characters are fully developed yet. I look forward to getting to know them all better in the next book. I did enjoy the twists and turns as Fiona and Chief Inspector Neil Craig investigate the murder. The plot flowed smoothly and there were plenty of suspects who might have had a reason to want the man dead. For me, the magical garden was a plus to the story and I'm eager to know about Fiona's legacy.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. All of the above opinions are my own.

Fiona Knox feels like the world is crashing in on her - her flower shop has been closed, her wedding is off (her fiancé ran off with the wedding cake baker) so running away seems like a good idea. Having been notified earlier that she has inherited her godfather's cottage in Scotland, she flies away from her troubles - or is it to more trouble? As soon as she arrives she and the caretaker discover the body of her godfather's lawyer in the magical garden. But where is the magic? Everything in the garden seems dead along with the lawyer. In the small village, everyone seems to have a reason to kill the lawyer, but who? Fiona works to find out while trying to blend into the village life.

Loved it! The descriptions of the area and the garden were breathtaking. The characters were fun, leaving room for growth while still have a good amount of depth.

Fiona's godfather in Scotland has passed away and left his estate, including a magical garden, to her. The inheritance comes at a good time. Fiona's flower shop in Nashville has gone under and her fiance has decided that he likes the cake decorator more. So Fiona takes her broken heart off to Scotland to settle her godfather's estate.

Upon arrival, she is greeted by Hamish who has been her Uncle Ian's caretaker and gardener during the many times Ian's military service has taken him away from Scotland. Hamish's first goal is to show Fiona the garden which has been dying for lack of a caretaker. Unfortunately the garden has one unplanned addition. The corpse of Fiona's Scottish lawyer is there by the standing stone that is the center of the garden.

The police in the person of Chief Inspector Neil Craig arrive shortly much to Hamish's dismay. Craig is a local boy who had run afoul of Hamish for some pranks in the garden. Craig begins his investigation but Fiona is interested in investigating too.

As Fiona meets the residents of the nearby village, she quickly gathers a number of suspects. It seems her lawyer was in the process of brokering a real estate deal to turn some beloved beach into condos which angered most of the village and drew protests from environmentalists including Hamish's great-nephew. Another suspect is the lawyer's partner who was in love with him but didn't approve of his real estate deals. Ian's family and their magical garden had also drawn the ire of a local minister who is trying to run Fiona out of town. Throw in a local legend about some buried treasure from a shipwreck the led to Ian's ancestor settling in the area and you have still another motive for murder.

I liked the plot of this one but had trouble connecting with the main character who is the first person narrator of the story. I didn't feel like I really got to know her beyond her distress at her broken engagement and her desire to clear the name of her uncle's elderly caretaker.

A magical Scottish garden, a handsome policeman, and a charming village make Amanda Flower's new book a fantastic read. Fiona Knox has just lost her business and her fiance in Nashville, TN as she finds herself the heiress to her godfather's estate. She makes her way to Scotland and is met with a dead garden and a dead body in it. And so our mystery begins. The book is at turns a delightful cozy mystery in the vein of Laura Childs and then a paranormal mystery that echoes the standing stones of Outlander. I highly recommend Flowers and Foul Play, and look forward to more in this series.

I was able to read this book courtesy of NetGalley. This is a delightful story with magical realism set in Scotland. Fiona's godfather Ian left her his cottage and garden in Scotland when he died. Fiona's Nashville, TN life was in ruins when she found out about her inheritance. After the transatlantic flight and three hour drive Fiona is greeted by Hamish, Ian's garden caretaker. When they go into the very dead looking garden they find a dead man. Jet lag, a dead body, and the dead garden that starts to green up as Fiona walks around are quite a lot to deal with, but DCI Craig just adds to the confusion. Fiona's possible new life in Scotland becomes more complex as she meets people in the village. This cozy mystery with a touch of magic was a nice fast read; looking forward to the next book in the series. Posted on Goodreads.

Flowers and Foul Play is another great mystery by Amanda Flower. I love this author's books and this one is no exception. Great plot and characters. I highly recommend this book to fans of good mysteries.

I was given a copy of Flowers and Foul Play by NetGalley for an honest review.
This is the first in a new series by Amanda Flower.
Set in Scotland, an American named Finoa Knox goes to settle the estate of her late Godfather. She is not sure if she is going to stay in Scotland or sell the property, but what happens once she arrives makes that decision.
Her first night there she discovers the body of her Godfather's attorney in the garden. She dives right in searching for the murderer, and along the way meets the townspeople.
Flower does a great job introducing the characters and the setting. I particularly liked Hamish, Duncan, and Ivanhoe. Though the series is named Magical Garden, the magic was not overly done.
I am looking forward to reading the next adventure for Finoa.

I’d been wishing for a cozy that would take me away to a whimsical, magical place for a few hours relaxation. “Flowers and Foul Play” is that creation. The story is a combination murder mystery and the mystery of how the mystical garden comes to life in protagonist Fiona Knox’s presence. Fiona’s godfather, Ian, has passed along his Scottish ancestors magic found in the garden behind the hobbit-like door. I found myself completely charmed by the animal characters who often appear in scenes. I loved the inclusion of pirate treasure nesting in the nearby sea—that part of history is always thrilling to me. I can hardly wait to learn more about the characters introduced in this debut story; notably Presha and Raj. I also sense we’ll learn much more about the secret gifts Fiona has inherited. I thoroughly enjoyed the paranormal plot twists!

I reviewed an advanced Readers digital copy from NetGalley and Crooked Lane.

Fiona Know inherited her godfather’s cottage in Scotland, which was a welcome surprise after losing her florist shop and finace. She’s more than ready for a fresh start. However, the cottage and garden are not what she is expecting … and she certainly wasn’t expecting a dead body. She’s determined to find the killer.

This is an enjoyable mystery. Fiona is a courageous heroine, and she stands up for herself. Secondary characters (humans and animals) are well-utilized. While there is a paranormal aspect, it doesn’t outdo the mystery. The quirky cast is engaging, and this is a strong start to a new cozy mystery series.

<i> I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley, but I wasn’t required to leave a positive review. <i>

What a lovely book! The beautiful Scottish countryside drew me in, the magical garden hooked me. With engaging characters, the beautiful setting and the excellent plot, it was a thoroughly charming and light cozy. I loved the writing style, the book came alive with each page, from "seeing" the garden come alive, to the mischievous Duncan the squirrel (and the rivalry between Duncan and Ivanhoe that cat!) to the dramatic landscape of the coast, it was almost like being a part of the action. So well done! The action packed ending had me biting my nails with each page and in the end, there were a few plot threads in the book that I look forward to seeing resolved in later books in the series. This was an excellent first in a new series and I look forward to seeing more of Fiona and friends!

3.5 stars

Fiona Knox has just lost her business, and her fiancé has left her for someone else. Her life in turmoil, she receives a call from a lawyer; her beloved godfather has died, and he left her his home in his will. So Fiona jumps on a plane to Uncle Ian’s home in Scotland, not knowing if this is to visit or to live.

Her arrival at Duncreigan is marred by the shocking discovery of a body in the garden. Her godfather’s loyal caretaker, Hamish, is there with her, but the police believe he is a prime suspect. Fiona knows how well her Uncle thought of Hamish, and she can’t believe Hamish would be able to carry a body at his advanced age, let alone murder anyone. So how can she persuade the handsome Chief Inspector Neil Craig to focus on other suspects? And how can she help Hamish when she’s not a local, and doesn’t know anyone in the village?

This is the first book in a series by Flower. She’s written a number of books in the same cozy genre before, and this experience shows. The writing flows and the main character is well set up.

There are some issues with this book being the first in the series however. The setup takes a while to establish, and there is some interludes in which the author is introducing us to characters who are interesting, but perhaps don’t have much to do with the plot in this book. However, there was never any sense of getting the minor characters confused, and Flower gave me enough to get a sense of who these characters were quite quickly.

I did like some of the interactions with minor characters. Hamish is an untapped find, and perhaps more could have been made of him. Other characters such as the Indian twins had more flavour, and I can see more happening with them in future books.

The plot was really well handled. This is where Flower’s experience was most obvious. She handled an increasing number of protagonists and potential suspects, with aplomb, and used them to introduce more plot points for the main character to chew over.

I think this could have been a 4 or 4.5 star book for me, but there were elements that didn’t quite work for me. The potential romance between Fiona and the Chief Inspector happened very suddenly, with little interaction between them to indicate that they were at that point in their relationship. I presume this connection will blossom in future books.

There is an element of magic, but it is small. The walled garden at Duncreigan is a magic garden, which comes to life with the attention of the Keeper of the Garden. I loved the idea of this, and the potential for the magic to be a bigger part of the story. However, the magic is not willfully controlled by Fiona, which makes it less interesting. I also thought it odd that someone who ran a flower shop, and was supposedly a lover of gardens, showed almost no sense of this affinity for plants. It was a large hole in the story for me.

This fitted all the criteria of a cozy mystery; a strong female lead investigating a murder close to home, with the potential romance with the lead detective. It was a lovely way to spend a few hours.

Advanced reading copy provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

Fiona Knox has left Knoxville, Tennessee, for Bellewick, Scotland, “In County Aberdeen.” Fiona hadn’t planned on living in Scotland, but then again she hadn’t planned on her flower shop folding, her fiancé running off with their cake decorator, or her godfather, Ian MacCallister, leaving her his Scottish cottage, Duncreigan. Ian was her father’s college roommate and Fiona, daughter of a Scottish father and an American mother, spent many summers of her growing up years at her “Uncle Ian’s.”
Several surprises greet Fiona at the cottage. One is Duncan, a red squirrel who leaps from a tree to Hamish’s (the caretaker of Duncreigan) shoulder, startling Fiona. The second is the news that Fiona is there on some sort of rescue mission. The third is seeing Ian’s once thriving garden now lifeless and being told Fiona is the one who will bring it back to life and the fourth, but most important, is the discovery of a body in the garden.
As the novel unfolds, so does the magic that surrounds the garden and Fiona. Touches of magic are throughout the novel, starting with the garden springing to life again when Fiona is around. She doesn’t understand it anymore than those witnessing the greening of vegetation once thought dead, but that magic is what makes this series different from others Flower has written. Flowers and Foul Play has more than one mystery weaving through it and I am looking forward to reading the next in the series, learning more about the Magic Garden and the surrounding area of Scotland.

Amanda Flower's latest cozy mystery takes us across the pond to the jagged cliffs of Scotland. The main protagonist, Fiona Knox, arrives in Scotland to claim her inheritance from her godfather. Within the first few hours of her arrival, she is reacquainted with Hamish, the property caretaker, and then discovers a dead body in an almost dead garden with only minimal signs of life. The mystery takes off from there as Hamish is the most likely suspect and Fiona sets out to prove he is innocent. As the garden becomes alive whenever Fiona visits it, the rumor of it's magic draws questions from police authorities and villagers alike. As in all of Amanda Flower's books, irresistible scene stealing animals add the comic relief, and in this particular book, an aire of mystery to the magical skills they may possess. The setting brought this book completely alive to me. In a sense, it was a character in itself! The garden and it's rebirth takes me back to fond memories of my favorite childhood book by Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden. The ominous craggy cliffs play beautifully into the heart pounding activities that transpire there. All in all this was a wonderful first book in the series. I look forward to additional books as Fiona and the garden bond with one another. A very enjoyable read!

Amanda Flower is one of my favorites and this new series didn't disappoint. Love the setting, the animal characters and the magical elements that were worked into the story. Very fun and engaging. Looking forward to more.

Fiona's fiance leaves her for another woman making it much easier for her to go to Scotland and claim the inheritance her godfather has just left her. When Fiona arrives at Duncreigan she is greeted by her godfathers longtime friend and caretaker of the grounds Hamish. Hamish is very insistent that Fiona go and visit her godfather's garden behind the house. Remembering how the garden was on former visits Fiona is disappointed with how the garden has died away. What really startles her though is the dead body of her godfather's lawyer! Chief Inspector Craig comes to investigate the body. It seems that right before Fiona's eyes the garden starts coming to life. Could it be possible that the rumors are true? That the garden is magical? Why was her godfather's lawyer killed? Will Fiona make Duncreigan her home as her godfather wished? And what is this attraction that the Chief Inspector and Fiona seem to have going between them?



All of those questions are answered in this delightful cozy mystery! As always it wouldn't be a mystery by Amanda Flower without some fun animal characters. In Flowers and Foul Play we meet Hamish's pet squirrel and Fiona's new pet cat Ivanhoe. Even though they are animals they steal some of the scenes with their cute/funny personalities.



The characters in the book are also interesting. Fiona is determined to find out the who-done-it. Asking questions that put her in jeopardy, she and the Chief Inspector butt heads about her involvement in the case. Neil Craig is rather a handsome Chief Inspector and I'm looking forward to seeing how he and Fiona develop their relationship in future books. We get a peak into the mystery of the garden and what it is capable of and what it means for Fiona, and we get to meet some of the townsfolk that Fiona will be getting to know in future books. I enjoyed this beginning to a new series by Amanda Flower and look forward to more books in the future!

Flowers and Foul Play is the first book in this new cozy mystery series by Amanda Flower. I have read several of this author's previous books but this one had a fresh new setting which I thoroughly enjoyed. The magical elements did not overshadow the well planned mystery but lent a hint of whimsy that added to the engaging setting and characters. I am eager to read the next book in this series.