Dollycas's Thoughts

Lily Jayne became a bit of a recluse when her beloved husband Alan passed away but her friends have encouraged her to get back to her more outgoing self because her husband wouldn't want her to dwell any longer on his death. They decide a garden party would be a great way to get her life back on track. Sadly the problematic third wife of her ex-husband, Merilee crashes the party, causes all kinds of chaos, and has to be escorted away from the party.

The party did help Lily Jayne see it was definitely time to get back out there and participate. She missed a lot while she was mourning. One project she is excited to get involved in is the clean-up of a local park. A committee is organized and a group of volunteers arrives at the park and get busy but then Lily Jayne's friend and housemate Delia makes a gruesome discovery. Merrilee Frank in the garden shed, lying on bags of mulch with hedge clippers "protruding from her chest".

Lily Jayne didn't think a murder investigation would be part of her return to community involvement but when people she cares about lead the suspect list she has no choice. She brings together a group of friends to be sleuths to help her catch a killer. The "Garden Squad" is born to dig into the clues and plant the murderer behind bars before anyone else ends up 6 feet under.

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I immediately liked Lily Jayne. She was devastated by the loss of her husband and needed to take some time for herself. Her friends were supportive and understood. But they knew she needed a little shove which she did. As a former Goosebush mover and shaker, it was time to get back out there. She is such a kind woman with a huge heart. She has fantastic ideas and really cares about the residents of her town. Delia had been Lily's husband's graduate assistant and when Alan died she moved in with Lily. Even with the 40-year age difference, they became good friends. Tamara O'Connor is Lily's best friend. They met in nursery school and have been friends ever since. It was Tamara's idea to throw the party. We also meet several other residents of Goosebush. They are a diverse group and are all very cleverly crafted and true to real life.

Goosebush is a small town with a very unique setup. The author uses the first chapter to explain the "wheel" layout, with a prominent center and several "petals" branching off. This was very helpful because the characters travel all around the town during the book. A great picture formed in my mind and a map could be easily drawn out from the descriptions. I am sure the author has one nearby as she is writing.

The murder mystery was very entertaining with a plethora of suspects. A tightly woven subplot regarding city finances really grabbed my interest. Both had some nice twists and turns. The Garden Squad really spent time pruning through the suspects. I really enjoyed the way Lily got involved in all aspects. Her generosity was so heartwarming and her gathering all the suspects together to reveal the truth was magnificent. A fabulous time!

Pruning the Dead has set this series off on a spectacular start. Ms. Henry's characters are so engaging that I didn't want to let them go. I will be reading the next book in the series Tilling the Truth soon.

A wonderful start to a cozy mystery series. Lilly, is an older widow, who loves to garden, and has a solid group of friends. When her ex-husband's wife is found murdered, she steps in to help solve the mystery. Well rounded cast of characters, and fun to read. Highly recommend.

This is the first book in the new Garden squad mystery series. I am a fan of a good cozy mystery and this did not disappoint!!

With hundreds flocking to her inaugural garden party, meticulous Lilly Jayne hasn’t left a single petal out of place. But the picture-perfect gathering turns unruly upon the arrival of Merilee Frank, Lily’s ex-husband’s catty third wife. Merilee lives for trouble, so no one is surprised after she drinks too much, shoves a guest into the koi pond, and gets escorted off the property. The real surprise comes days later—when Merilee is found dead in a pile of mulch. The characters are extremely well developed and this is a wonderful start to the series!!

Pruning the Dead by Julia Henry is the first book of the cozy A Garden Squad Mystery series. This series finds sixty-five-year-old Lilly Jayne in the role of trying to change Goosebush, Massachusetts for the good. She is still trying to get over the death of her husband, but realizes that she has been ignoring the town the she loves for far too long. A group of friends and townspeople want to revive a local park that has gone to ruin. Unfortunately for the group, the third wife of Lilly Jayne's first husband, Merilee, is found dead in the garden shed on the morning of the first day of work. Lilly Jayne has no desire to get involved, but when her best friend and ex become the main suspects, she knows she can't just let it go.

I really like the character of Lilly Jayne. There is so much I can identify with, her age, being a widow and enjoying gardening (although my gardens are not anything like hers). She has always been a pillar of the community, and many people look up to her. She also has money, which often helps when the town needs something. The crime is a bit complicated, but I was pretty sure I knew who the culprit was and I was right (that doesn't happen often). I enjoyed finding out the motives and getting to know the various characters in the Garden Squad, but overall this was just an okay read for me. I am hoping that the mysteries will get a bit harder to solve as this one was telegraphed from the beginning. I will continue to read this series, even though I only gave this one 3 stars as I like the characters and hope that the next ones are a bit more enjoyable.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The synopsis of this book sounded intriguing to me so I requested a copy to read.
Unfortunately, I have tried reading this book on 2 separate occasions and during this 2nd attempt, I have
decided to stop reading this book
and state that this book just wasn't for me.

I really loved this book in a new to me author. The characters and location really and to the story. I can't wait to read the next one. This book keeps you guessing until the end.

This book is all about community, friends that have become family and a town that is set in its ways but ready to understand the difference between upkeep and changing. A long time resident with a knack for solving crimes emerged after remaining dormant because of death but is now noticing how her beloved town has changed and not for the best. This book is told from a surprising point of view that restores faith in it doesn't matter who you are or how old you are you can still make a difference. It has twists and turns and has you guessing right up to the reveal, this is one mystery that not every amateur detective is going to solve before the reveal.

The mystery is a little light and details are repeated, but what I disliked the most was the too perfect main character. Everything Lilly (or her deceased family members) does is perfect. One character finally mentions a "flaw" that Lilly is shy so she sometimes seems stand offish which is not really shown which makes sense since everyone who pops up in the book is well known to her. Everything Lilly had worked on was golden and people come to her to "fix" everything. Her business acumen is mentioned several times. Business acumen??? How did she acquire this? What did she do for work? We get little about her life outside of Goosebush and it was minimal details about her traveling with her husband.

When so much page space focuses on a main character, they have to be likable/engaging. Her perfectness didn't irk me too badly so I give the book an OK rating, will try the second book to see if it's toned down a bit.

I spontaneously picked this book up at my library while trolling the New Books shelf, but also got a copy from Netgalley I forgot about. .

Great cozy. It hit on everything I look for in a cozy. I enjoyed it and it was a quick read. I would buy it and recommend it to others.

When I first read the synopsis to “ Pruning the Dead” by Julia Henry, I knew it was a book that I had to read! I love all things cozy mystery and this title definitely fit the bill. It is the first book in the “A Garden Squad Mystery” series. When one of the guests of her inaugural garden parties winds up dead and a suspect is named , Lilly Jayne will stop at nothing to find out who is responsible.
There is so much that I loved about this book. The characters are all older. We usually expect to read about twenty or thirty something year old characters. That’s not the case here. Lilly is in her mid-sixties. Also, as in most cases when it comes to cozies, the mystery was solved by the end of the book and a new mystery will begin with the next installment. The story was very well-paced and developed. I will definitely be reading more from Julia Henry in the future.

Lilly Jane has not socialized much since her husband passed so when she decides to host her garden party again it seems like the whole town is in attendance. This party and the up and coming clean up of the park in town has sparked her decision to get involved again in the community’s issues. On the day of the park’s clean up the body of a woman is found in the shed that was set up to store the equipment they were using. Lilly Jane and her group of friends can’t help but get involved with the investigation to help solve the murder before the town’s reputation can be damaged.

This is a great start to a new series by Julia Henry. The plot is well written and has just the right pace with several twists and turns to keep the reader guessing whodunit. The characters are fun, unique and very likable. The setting of a small town makes you feel like you are apart of their group of friends and you are there solving the crime right along with Lilly Jane and the Garden Squad. I look forward to the next book in the series.

I voluntarily agreed to read a copy of this book supplied by Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own and in no way have been influenced.

This was a really cute cozy mystery that I found delightful. I loved the characters and the small town plot was fun. The plotting was paced well and the book was well written. All of the gardening talk made me excited for spring and a chance to work a little garden magic of my own! There were a few things that knocked down the last star for me though. The main character is an over achiever who seems to help every single person in town and the town itself whenever there is an issue, which is fine, but the author mentions it a few too many times. Other than that it was a good book and I look forward to the next in the series!

Some readers want the murder to show up in the first chapter or even the first page. In this, the first of the Garden Squad series, it takes awhile to get everything set up and it is well worth the wait. We get to know the lay of the land in the small town of Goosebush, Massachusetts and the people who call it home. The main character is Lily Jayne, a lady of a certain age, a widow who has been reclusive since her husband passed away. Now she is ready to re-enter the social world and throw a garden party. Her late husband loved them and she promised him she would carry on in his memory. If left to her own devices she wouldn't do it as she is not so outgoing. But it's time to shake off her gloom and have some fun. Too bad one of the guests drinks a wee bit too much and is removed from the party. A couple of days later that guest is found stabbed. Things are sticky for Lily due to the fact that she found the body and the dead woman was the current wife of Lily's first husband. As they say, awkward.
This first in the Garden Squad series was a good debut and I found myself enjoying the close knit group of seniors that made up Lily's circle of friends. I have no skill as a gardener but I would enjoy hanging out with Lily as I might just learn a thing or two and not just about gardening. The second in the series, Tilling the Truth will be published 8/27/2019 and I will be adding it to my TBR stack.

Pruning the Dead is a well written murder mystery. Loved the plot and the elderly sleuth. I recommend this book to mystery fans. I received an arc from Netgalley and this is my unbiased review.

Pruning the Dead

by Julia Henry

A new cozy mystery series. A different sort of mystery. In what way different? Don’t they all follow a general formula? Yes and no. There are common expectations for cozies such as the absence of graphic violence, sex, or language, and the presence of a likable main character who finds herself (or occasionally himself) drawn into solving a mystery, often in a small town. Pruning the Dead fits the bill. The manner of deviation is the amount of time the author spends setting up the backdrop, the small town of Goosebush, on the south shore of Massachusetts, the gardening theme, and the characters, some of whom take on the role of Garden Squad with the goal of replacing “weeds with plants” and restoring “order from chaos.”

Lilly Jayne is starting to emerge from a cloud of grieving and depression following her husband’s death. She is rich and considered somewhat of a matriarch in Goosebush. Having neglected her civic duties for years during her husband’s illness, she suddenly begins seeing the negative changes that have crept into her hometown.

Although the murder doesn’t occur until a quarter of the way into the book, don’t be lulled into thinking it is less than an interesting mystery. The time the author, Julia Henry, spends developing the characters and setting is time well-spent. Although I deduced the murderer as I approached the end of the book, I enjoyed reading how it played out, and there were many detours and suspects along the way that kept the journey interesting.

Even though the second book in the series has not been published yet, I anticipate that readers will benefit by starting the series by reading Pruning the Dead, the first book. I look forward to reading the next book to see how the Garden Squad develops and what happens next in Goosebush, Massachusetts.

I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Kensington Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5/5

Category: Mystery

Notes: #1 in the Garden Club Mystery Series
Gardening tips are included at the end of the book.

Publication: January 29, 2019—Kensington Books

Memorable Lines:

“Facts are facts, but the truth depends on the teller.”

“Choosing a kinder path is important. It makes the journey easier.”

“I made a decision a long time ago that hate is more exhausting for me than it is for the object on which I would bestow that energy.”

Pruning the Dead by Julia Henry takes us on a jaunt to Goosebush, Massachusetts. Lilly R. Jayne is a widow who lives in Windward, the family home. Lilly has been reclusive since her deceased husband took ill and then passed away. Lilly made a promise to her husband, Alan to host a garden party every year on their anniversary and she is holding the inaugural garden party today with the assistance of Delia Greenway. Unfortunately, her first ex-husband, Pete Frank crashes the party with his insufferable third wife, Merilee. No one is surprised when Merilee overindulges in the alcoholic refreshments and then shoves Tamara O’Connor into the koi pond. Security ushers Merilee off the property much to everyone’s relief. On clean up day for Alden Park, Delia opens the shed to find Merilee dead on bags of mulch with hedge clippers protruding from her chest. When Pete Frank finds himself at the top of Chief Haywood’s list of suspects. Lilly, with the aid of her friends who are dubbed the Garden Squad, dig into the case in the hopes of identifying the killer. When not discussing the case, the group is trying to outwit the town clerk with her penchant for permits to spruce up select areas of the town. Can Lilly Jayne and the Garden Squad root out the killer?

Pruning the Dead is the debut novel in A Garden Squad Mystery series. I appreciated that the author took the time to establish the main character and her sidekicks who compose the Garden Squad. I like the town and most of the residents (there are always a few bad eggs). Lilly comes across as a do-gooder (I am surprised there is not a golden halo shining over her head). Goosebush is a small town that needs a little TLC. Lilly has not been paying attention the last four years as she dealt with her husband’s illness and then grieving for her lost mate. Now, she is aware that things have not been kept up around town and she has plans to rectify it. Unfortunately, Pat French, the town clerk, has numerous rules in place to prevent the simplest task (like pulling weeds and installing plants around the flagpole). Pruning the Dead is nicely written with steady pacing which makes for an easy to read book. The mystery was very straightforward. It is easy to distinguish who would die and who did the deed before the crime had been committed. The why was equally obvious (insert disappointed sigh here). There was repetition of case details as the Lilly and the Garden Squad got together to discuss the case. Also, that Lilly creates order out of chaos was frequently mentioned along with Delia’s researching skills. The friends like to get together to socialize, eat good food, and discuss gardening. The gardening details are not lacking in Pruning the Dead. There are gardening tips at the end of the book. The story could have used more action (less gardening, talking and eating). The pace slowed down when I was a quarter of the way through and did not pick back up until the end. There is a hint that romance may blossom between Lilly and her new neighbor, Roderick Lyden as Lilly rejoins the living and becomes immersed in town matters. I am giving Pruning the Dead 3 out of 5 stars. Pruning the Dead is a good start to A Garden Squad Mystery series. I will be reading Tilling the Truth when it releases later this summer.

This was a well-written and well-plotted starter for a new series and I really enjoyed my trip to Goosebush, Massachusetts. I may not be a fan of gardening as an activity, but I sure felt like the friends who made up the Garden Squad were good friends of mine by the end of the book.

There were a lot of secrets in the town not to mention the murder, but with the help of Lilly's Garden Squad friends, they all played a big part in bringing down the killer. I especially loved the showdown where Lilly had gathered all the suspects a la Agatha Christie. I liked how the current police chief and the retired chief both worked together and how Lilly took the new chief under her wing and helped him any way she could. I hadn't guessed the killer, so I just went along for the ride and discovered it as it unfolded.

Lilly was one of the kindest, most thoughtful and generous characters I've read about in a cozy mystery, but what I loved was that she was realistic too. It was cool that she and her friends are a little older, but these folks are no strangers to tech, since they all have their smartphones and texting network. I'm anxious to see what the next Garden Squad adventure will be!

Great first in series! Likable main characters and enough twists and turns to keep me guessing until the very end. I love the setting and the idea of the Garden Squad. I can't wait to find out what the squad gets into in the next book!!

This is the debut book in the new series and it is delightful. The author has every aspect of the perfect cozy mystery in this wonderful mystery. I loved it and highly recommend this series. Well done to the author.

We meet our savvy smart new protagonist Lilly Jayne who I was thrilled to read is in her sixties. It is so rare that a author features senior women and so appreciated by this reader. .We seniors appreciate a realistic protagonist for a welcome change to the world of cozies. . This is a protagonist that is talented,, vital and a fun personality to read about. She is a vital part of her community and well loved. She also does much behind the scenes for people in the community. as well as is a well known outstanding gardener.. She has returned to her community activities after a period of grieving for her husband. where she did not leave her home while grieving. I like this was presented in a realistic way for the reader and part of what makes Lilly Jayne so endearing to us. The town of Goodbush is a fun small town to read about with all the charcters that make a perfect cozy small town likable including friends and foes.
She has written a well-crafted sleuth with very likable location and people. The small town local is described so well the reader feels they are in the town among the gardens solving the murder in read time with the group of gardeners. The characters are relatable and I look forward to their development in the second book. This was such a enjoyable read with wonderful gardening information and fun charcters. The sleuth kept me guessing until the end. I enjoyed it from beginning to end.
Thank you for the advance reading copy which did not influence my personal review . I look forward to the second book.

THIS was an excellent book - a very good mystery within the genre of the cozy mystery. I had never heard of this writer and I was reluctant to start a new series, but there was just something about the description that drew me in and man am I glad that I took that chance; I enjoyed every second of this book. The main character Lilly and her companion Delia are just so delightful and I love how their minds work and how well they work together, in spite of their age difference. I appreciated how the author dealt with Lilly and how she grieved [and was still grieving] the loss of her beloved husband Alan and how the grief process includes often shutting ourselves off from the world, which had happened to Lilly and she was oblivious was happening in her beloved town and it wasn't until some things about the town were brought to her attention did she realize she needed to start living. As someone who has dealt and lived with the grief process, this part of the story felt very real to me and I am grateful that the author didn't try to gloss over it or make it a trite thing; it made the book seem more real and believable to the reader.

The whole book in itself was very real and believable; as someone who lives in a small town [full of many of the kinds of people in this book], so much of this book and what happened - the murder, the "garden squad", the comradeship - all of those are very real in a small town, along with the gossip, the nasty rumors and all the bad that also comes with a small town. It made me feel like I was just visiting another small town like mine and that made the book even more fun to read. The characters are real and fun and believable. And the mystery was excellent; I had no idea and that always makes it awesome!!

I truly enjoyed this book and cannot wait to read the next one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.