Thanks to netgalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. This book has a lot of positive ratings on Goodreads, but this was not the experience I had whilst reading this book unfortunately. I didn't realise it was a "cosy" mystery and how I felt about this book could just mean that Cosy mysteries aren't for me. It felt like there wasn't a whole lot happening throughout most of the book, it didn't grab my attention and I didn't like any of the characters either. One of those books you finish and immediately forget what you have read. I may try another cosy mystery down the track and see if maybe it's the cosy mystery genre that just isn't for me. ⭐ #pamelahart #diggingupdirt #netgalley #tea_sipping_bookworm #goodreads #litsy #thestorygraph #amazonkindle #bookqueen #bookstagram #cosymystery

Such a fun read.

I really enjoyed the intrigue and red herrings.

I liked learning more about our characters and the ‘will-they, won’t-they’ aspect.

Poppy McGowan is renovating her inner Sydney house when bones are found beneath the floorboards. An archaeologist asked to determine whether the bones are animal or human and their significance, is later found murdered in the pit. What follows is a well written mystery which has more depth than appears on the surface. It has a bit of a chick lit tone,( will Poppy dump boring boyfriend for hot archaeologist?) but underneath is some quite interesting stuff about politics, religion, hypocrisy and how the media functions. An enjoyable read.

Digging Up Dirt is a cosy mystery, set in Sydney.
An ABC journalist just bought the worst house in the best street. She needs to do renovations. As part of that bones are discovered. The house and renovations are put on hold as experts investigate.
Then one of the experts is found dead.
I was a little disappointed. Not my usual type of story. But I did finish it.

I have real mixed feelings about Digging Up Dirt. It felt like nothing was happening most of the time, and I forgot what the story was supposed to be about. I think there may have been too many working pieces for me to get a handle on the point of the story.

Combining a cozy mystery with attacks on religion and right-wing politics may have been asking for too much. Pamela Hart seemed to be working hard on the angle that religion was okay, but only if it's traditional Catholicism. I understand that she was trying to draw a line between right-wing politics aligned with hypocritical religious leaders, but it still tainted the story for me. I got more of a 'my religion is better than your religion' vibe than a 'racism/sexism/homophobia masquerading as religion is bad' vibe, when I think (or at least hope) she was aiming for the latter.

Putting all of that aside, the solving of the case was more of a secondary motive to everything else going on - no one seemed to care much about the murder victim. I don't care how unlikable someone is; their murder should not be less important than the sexual chemistry you have with their boyfriend or getting on with your home renovations.

Finally, anyone who has spent any time in Sydney will find it hard to believe a lot of the timelines here. Poppy zips around the city like it's no problem when in fact it should've taken so much more time to get around - Sydney traffic is no joke. Plus, her ability to purchase a house pretty much in the city (no matter how run down) despite constantly complaining about how little money she has/earns is just totally unbelievable.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Australia for providing me with a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love cozy mysteries, and this one had a really interesting premise and a bit of a different feel to it - it’s set in a large city and Poppy has a large city-type job. It also didn’t contain my pet hate - stupid people getting in the way of the police, interfering with the investigation, and putting themselves needlessly in danger. So I was doubly excited to read this!

Essentially, Poppy is doing up her newly purchased house when bones are found under the floor. Her mortal enemy ends up being called to identify the bones, which stops renovations, and then mortal enemy is discovered dead in the house.

I loved the pacing and flow of the book. It does feature religion and politics as a major plot point which is something I tend to avoid *waves in fundamentalist childhood* but in my opinion it’s handled well and at no point did I feel the need to cringe.

I enjoyed the love interests as well and, even though you KNOW what’s going to happen, I really enjoyed how it all worked out. I really like Poppy’s character, and her family and friends were quite entertaining too. I would absolutely recommend this book for anyone looking for a fresh take on a cozy mystery.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

A home renovation leading to an archaeological dig in the inner-west suburbs of Sydney is the setting for this quirky murder-mystery. Some very topical parts of this book (the rise of conservative right-wing Christians primarily) while also having light, funny moments. Love the characters of Poppy and her large family. Hope to read more about Poppy (and hopefully Tol) in the future!

I don't read very many cozy mysteries but when I do, I enjoyed them immensely. There aren't many set in Australia though (please do correct me if I'm wrong but I just haven't encountered that many whilst they seem prevalent overseas) so this was, to me, such a fresh breath of air. A romp through my beloved hometown filled with its diverse residents and quirky [read: Aussie] humour.

Within a few minutes of reading, I know I'd have so much fun reading this. And I did. In fact, I read this in a single-sitting [ignoring the fact that I had to cook dinner & feed my kids]. The first moment that I loved in this book is when we met Mirha, a minor character who doesn't even have anything to do with the plot, but author's description of her described a friend to a tee that made me so happy lol (you know you are!! x)

As always, her hijab, loose top and trousers in various shades of turquoise...

My next encounter with a minor poc character felt a little funny to me. A description of his office noting wedding photo of mixed race parents just felt a little bit unnecessary and therefore, forced into the book. Maybe I'm being a little sensitive noting my background and the usual whitewashed cozy mysteries I'd read. After the read, however, and I've stepped back a little, I noticed that overall, author's just describing the usual cast of diverse people you'd meet in Sydney but for me, this multicultural mosaic stood out a mile away. And I very much appreciated author's inclusivity intent.

On that note, however, I found myself a little bit bashed as well with the religious & LGBTQ+ factors of the novel. While these are somewhat relevant to the plot, I do feel that the way Poppy repeated her perspective several times to be unnecessary and superfluous to the story.

As Poppy is living at home with her parents while renovating her new house, we get to see her parents quite a bit and I do love this family picture especially her mother (guilty...😅)

Mum wasn't satisfied, but of course she would believe a total stranger before she would believe me. That's what being a mother does to you.

Poppy McGowan is truly an easy protagonist to love and one you can easily imagine of coming across in real life. She's a down to earth, intelligent, modern & sensible woman. I loved that she's not trying to justify [too much] why she's investigating looking into things and that her interaction with the real investigating detectives aren't fraught with too much secrets. In fact, she tried her best to keep those detectives up to date with her findings without betraying too much confidences. I must say that I did guess the murderer because I think those red herrings are too much in your face so I dismissed them rather easily.

Digging Up Dirt is an absolute joy to read; a setting that says home to me (diverse residents, coffee culture, & some sceneries!) and a fast paced mystery that kept me turning the pages. I just couldn't put it down.

My thanks to Harlequin Australia for ecopy of book via NetGalley in exchange of my honest thoughts

I’ve enjoyed the other books by Hart I’ve read a lot and was eager to read Digging Up Dirt even though, being a contemporary cosy mystery, it was a bit of a change of pace from her usual historical romance titles. I’ve got to say, after finishing, I’ve got mixed feelings about this swap of style.

If I compare this to other cosy mysteries, it’s quite a superior book. Most cosies I’ve read up until now have been a little annoying. I’m not a fan of the ‘quirky’ characters usually included. Hart, at least, avoids that trap with her supporting characters being mostly an appealing bunch, archeologist Alain and builder Boris (wait… were those alliterations deliberate?) being my favs who I hope turn up again in subsequent books.

Our heroine, Poppy, is [most of the time] pretty likeable too. Poppy has engaged Boris to renovate her house when he comes across bones under the floorboards and soon she is embroiled in a murder mystery involving an ultra conservative minor political party which is being funded by a Pentecostal contemporary Christian church. Poppy’s day job as a researcher for a children’s programme at the ABC (Australian Government funded tv station ABC, not the US commercial network version) makes it easy enough for her to switch roles and use the excuse of being a reporter to nose around into the affairs of the leaders of the church/politicians.

The pace of the book moved along nicely until I got to around the last third where I felt the fun of the book started to wane a bit. There’s a few things I put this down to. One was the chemistry between Poppy and her potential love interest. Hart gave them some conflict, a couple of good reasons why they shouldn’t get together, I admit, but I still just didn’t feel the unresolved sexual tension was that strong.

Another problem I had was Poppy’s age and the book’s contemporary setting. I actually don’t think Poppy and her inner thoughts felt very modern or young a lot of the time. Her talk of tea and roasts and such all seemed to suit someone a lot older. I think Hart should have just made her older and perhaps set the whole thing in the 60s or 70s.

I didn’t think anyone in the book acted like it was 2021. Okay, maybe there’s some very strict religious people around in Australia still but, really, is there as many as this book implies? I do not know anyone who would want to keep their homosexuality a secret or think that women who had had sex before marriage were whores or any other rubbish this plot mentions, no matter what their religion. And I wasn’t keen on how Hart tried to lecture us on these themes and others, like Indigenous affairs etc. These ideas weren’t organically included but forced down our throats. Trust me, I’m not a ScoMo Hillsong fan at all but surely even they don’t go to such lengths to demonise strong women or homosexuals. (Surely?) The great irony is I found Hart’s in your face politically correct writing very moralistically American-like which is what she was mocking with the plot a lot of the time.

I do think, however, if Hart can rein in that self righteous attitude, she will be on a winner with Poppy and this series. At least there was no mind reading witches or grandmothers reincarnated as cats, after all.

3 ½, heading towards 4 out of 5

4.5★s
Digging Up Dirt is the first book in the Poppy McGowan series by Australian author, Pamela Hart. The first thing Poppy McGowan does, when her carpenter tells her he’s found bones under the floor of her house (the most run-down, tiny house in the worst street in Annandale), is to hope this won’t delay the booking with her elusive electricians. Her best friend Annie Southey, Director of Gallery Operations at the Museum of New South Wales, offers to send an archaeologist to check the bones are not human.

As a researcher for the Children’s and Education Department of the ABC, Poppy decides it can form part of their program, so calls in her camera and sound guys to record. She is dismayed to have to welcome Dr Julieanne Weaver (aka Psycho Woman) into her little house (they have a less-than-amicable history) but Julieanne is trailed by a rather gorgeous assistant, Dr Bartholomew (call me Tol) Lang, apparently also her current boyfriend.

The good news is that the bones aren’t human; the bad news is that they might be historically significant, so need to be carbon-dated. Just to make certain that Poppy stops work on her floors, Julieanne applies for a heritage preservation order with the local Council. When Julieanne’s body is discovered, not much later, there in Poppy’s house, the Police immediately tag the preservation order as a motive: Poppy is a suspect, as is Tol, being close as he was.

But there are others with motives: Julieanne’s involvement with a certain nascent right-wing political party and its funding ultra-conservative church did not meet with universal approval; her ex-boyfriend and her boss had potential issues with her behaviour; and there are rumours of a secret lover.

Poppy’s proximity to the case soon sees her pushed into conducting on-camera interviews of parties of interest to the case, uncovering pertinent information, and liaising with the police in an effort to clear her name (and Tol’s). The melodramatic denouement in Poppy’s tiny kitchen is laugh-out-loud funny. This is a hugely entertaining Aussie cosy and more of Poppy McGowan is definitely welcome.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and HQ Fiction.

There’s a real dearth of Australian cosy mysteries so I’m delighted by the publication of Digging Up Dirt by Pamela Hart, introducing television researcher, and amateur sleuth, Poppy McGowan.

Poppy McGowan is nearing the end of renovations of her terrace house in inner Sydney when her builder discovers bones buried in the dirt under her living room floor. To determine if the are animal or human, the Museum of NSW sends Dr. Julieanne Weaver, with whom Poppy has an antagonistic relationship, who arrives with her boyfriend- the handsome visiting archaeologist Bartholomew ‘Tol’ Lang. Weaver quickly agrees the bones aren’t human, but she won’t release the site, declaring the bones may belong to a rare breed of sheep that arrived with the First Fleet. Poppy is frustrated but decides to make the best of the situation, as a researcher for an educational television show on the ABC, at least footage of the dig can be used for a upcoming program. Two days later, Poppy finds herself in front of the camera after the body of Julieanne is discovered in the hole in her house. The police consider Poppy to be a prime suspect so using her research skills and media contacts, Poppy sets out to prove her innocence.

Poppy digs up no shortage of suspects, Julieanne wasn’t well liked among her colleagues at the Museum, and then there is her surprising involvement with the right-wing Australian Family Party and the Pentecostal Radiant Joy Church. Hart provides plenty of red herrings for Poppy to be sidetracked by, creating an interesting ‘whodunnit’ plot.

I wasn’t keen on the involvement of religion and politics in the story, simply because both subjects tend to distress me. That said, it allows Hart to raise some topical issues including feminism, domestic violence, the status of LBTQIA+, Aboriginal heritage, and obliquely comments on Australia’s current political climate. Poppy uses the media credentials bestowed upon her by the ABC news desk desperate for an exclusive, to involve herself in the two conservative groups, suspecting one of their leaders may be responsible for her death.

Smart, resourceful and quick-witted Poppy is a likeable, well rounded character. As she is living with her staunchly Catholic parents while her home is being renovated we are briefly introduced to her family giving us a sense of her background. I found her work as a researcher to be interesting and think it lends itself well to the practicality of amateur sleuthing.

There’s a touch of romance in the novel, though Poppy is involved with an accountant named Stuart, and Tol is dating Julieanne, the attraction between the pair is obvious from their first meeting. As it turns out Stuart is a prat, and well Julieanne dies, so the situation is not quite as awkward as it could be. I liked the will they/won’t they nature of the relationship, however given that Tol is expected to leave for a long term position in Jordan in a few weeks, there is no guarantee he will become a series regular.

Offering well crafted intrigue, appealing characters and a uniquely Australian setting, I found Digging Up Dirt to be entertaining and engaging cosy mystery. I hope there will be more.

This is the first mystery I've read for a while and it was worth diverting from my usual romance fiction fare.
Poppy McGowan works in children's television. She has a boyfriend Stuart, an arch nemesis Julianne who works at the museum, a married friend with children, an extensive and diverse friendship network and of course, a conservative Catholic family. Really, what more could you ask for?
In this case what Poppy wants is a home of her own with a garden to potter around in. And she is so close to achieving the dream. She has the house, which admittedly is a fixer upper. She has the contractors on tap.
What she doesn't need is a skeleton under the floor joists and the arch nemesis making life difficult for her. And true to form, Julianne gets herself murdered in Poppy's house so the already disrupted renovations are thrown totally out of whack. The only consolation is the rather nice archaeologist who rather unfortunately happens to be Julianne's new boyfriend.
I really like the pun in the title as Poppy starts out with archaeologists digging up her dirt, and Poppy then has to start digging up the dirt of all the people around Julianne in order to keep from being taken up for murder.
I loved the characterisation of Poppy and her family and everyone around her. Everyone was so real and engaging, even the bad people. You could imagine yourself sitting down to have a cup of tea with any one of them. Yes even the bad people.
There is a romantic element in the story but it's very much a work in progress like the house. It's a first in series so I imagine there will be more to come. For those who like resolution, you will have to be satisfied with the solution to the crime.

Tongue-in-cheek humour shines out from the first page of this gloriously funny story, It’s beautifully structured and flows effortlessly from start to finish. I shared Poppy’s horror at the discovery of bones beneath the floorboards of the home she’s renovating and her determination to prove herself innocent when a body is discovered. I was fascinated at the author’s insights into the machinations of the ABC, where she works, both the glimpses of the news department in full swing and those of the more measured approach taken in the education arena. I loved the subtle digs at the fundamentalist church at the centre of the story and laughed at the snappy, witty dialogue. This story is one that will lift you on a rainy day or make a perfect beach read.

I really enjoyed reading Digging Up Dirt and if you are a fan of cosy murder mystery novels I would recommend reading this book.

The main character Poppy was an interesting character, my first impression of her was she a little self-centre in that all she was interested in was getting her house renovations done. As the book went on, Poppy grew on me as she was determined to find out why there were bones in her house. Throughout the book there are many twists and turns till the end, it was a lot of fun to read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Australia for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Digging up Dirt


I was quite surprised with this book, as Pamela Hart usually writes historical fiction so I was bit unsure on how a murder mystery would pan out. Also not having read any of Pamela's books before I wasn't sure how I would like her written style. I wasn't disappointed at all.

It was a slow release, cosy murder mystery, set in Sydney Australia. Pamela names buildings and suburbs in the book, having Sydney like a second home to me it was great to know where certain locations were set or thereabouts.
Beside the location, there was an incredible amount of research used in the book. From the archaeological terms to the criminal side of things- naming law acts, and police terminology.

Some of the characters were likeable while some weren't. Which was good because you didn't know who was a suspect or who wasn't and you didn't know how the story was going to end. Poppy and Patience were my favourite characters because I felt they were most realistic under the circumstances - they were raw when showing feelings.

Pamela also ties in this book with political views, religion, LGBTQIA+, news media, and today's views on women in the working society. Added these elements into Digging up Dirt I believe makes the book a stand out for today's day and age.

Book is out now.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Australia for the gifting of the book and to Pamela Hart for writing a great book.

I liked the sound of this book as it had an element of murder mystery but sadly it wasn't one that I enjoyed as much as I was hoping to. I know I'm in the minority as I have seen this one pop up on my social media with positive reviews, but for me, I just couldn't connect with the characters and therefore, it didn't hold my interest.

Poppy is a researcher for ABC television and is renovating her dream heritage home. However, when bones are discovered under the floorboards her plans get put on hold, but this might just be a great segment for her tv show. Then when archeologist (and Poppy’s nemesis) Julieanne is found murdered in Poppy’s home things take a turn for the worse. With lots of suspects and a bit of romance, this was a cozy mystery indeed.

This is the first Pamela Hart book I have read and I certainly would pick up another.

An old house, renovations, bones beneath the floorboards and mystery are just the start of this great book. What seemed like a normal task of renovating turns into a nightmare for Poppy. So she does some digging. What ensues is murder and more mystery.

I loved this book and found it easy to read yet kept me intrigued throughout. It had everything a good book should have. It was written well, had humour and intrigue, mystery and murder, it is Australian and the characters are fantastic.

It is a book for anyone who likes to delve into murder/mysteries but also likes it to be somewhat light-hearted and full of character.

Loved it and would recommend.

It is always a delight to come across a novel that embodies the very best of a genre and yet also manages to be its own marvellously unique creation.

Digging Up Dirt by Pamela Hart sits very much in that rarefied camp, a book that manages to give Agatha Christie an invigorating 21st-century Australian sensibility while having a great deal of romantic comedy fun, with a deliciously dark tinge, into the bargain.

Chief among its many pluses is protagonist Poppy McGowan, a late twenty something producer in educational children’s television for Australia’s national broadcaster, the ABC, who has just bought her first small but perfect home in the inner west suburb of Annandale in Sydney.

Also newly-ensconced in a relationship with accountant Stuart, who’s oddly stuffy and decidedly unexciting but sweet nonetheless, Poppy looks to have kicked a lot of life goals all at once.

Tick one for living her best life.

However, and you knew there’d be a however because how else would a book like Digging Up Dirt have the narrative fun you know is coming your way, life has a funny way of upending even the most ordered and stable of apple carts and so it is that just as Poppy is cosying up in her new happy world, she discovers a body in a pit in her currently-being-renovated house.

Yes, a body but not just any body.

No, no the person lying decidedly lifeless in the pit in the bottom floor of her home, which may or may contain vitally important archaeological evidence of early agrarian activity in Australia (yet another complication Poppy does not need), is none other than Dr. Julieanne Weaver, an archaeologist at the Museum of New South Wales where Poppy once worked and as much of a nemesis as anyone can hope to have.

Even worse, everyone knew the two of them didn’t get along which means that the police almost immediately zero in on Poppy as a suspect.

She’s not alone, of course, but as she reflects on the near-overnight destruction of her Oprah-esque best life, and the fact that Julieanne’s smoking hot and delightfully warm and sweet archaeologist boyfriend Tol Lang seems to like her a lot (the feeling is mutual, soz Stuart), Poppy has a choice – she either caves in or she fights.

No prizes for guessing that Poppy goes into bat for herself and the truth, setting in train a huge amount of very entertaining sleuthing that comes with a nice side order of biting social commentary.

That’s right – not only does Hart beautifully serve up a mystery worthy of the genre while giving us some Spencer-Hepburn level romantic comedy vibes, but she also expertly and with pleasing acidity takes down some very worrying trends in Australian society such as the rise of right-wing Christian fundamentalists who stand firmly against many of the progressive ideals that mark a mature and fulsome society.

The right-wing angle comes in courtesy of ambitious Julieanne’s quest to become a candidate in NSW state elections for warm-and-fuzzily named Australian Family Party – the rule of thumb is the loftier and lovelier the name, the darker the intent of those sheltering beneath its silken visage – which comes coupled with some relational choices that leave poor Tol rather in the dark.

This would not be the first time a mystery has unleashed a Pandora’s box worth of messy intrigue but Hart lets loose in the best possible way, sending readers on an energetic and very funny to find out whodunnit.

Happily, the path to finding out who did the deed is riotously festooned with red herrings aplenty as a suspect after suspect, and yes, there are a few of them as befits any mystery worth its name, come into play as amateur detective Poopy, who also roped into reporting for ABC News, finds herself determined to seek the truth if only to get her house back.

What makes Poppy such a likable and engaging character is that she’s not perfect; she has dark thoughts, impure projections of what might be (mainly relating to Tol) and she doesn’t always get it right.

That said, though, she does get a lot of things right, a capable protagonist who doesn’t anyone to save her thank you very much and yet who remains endearingly, groundedly likable throughout.

Poppy’s character, emblematic of all of the characterisation in Digging up Dirt, is fully fleshed out, delightfully substantial and a hoot to be around which helps when you are rooting for her to get to the bottom of a growing pile of shady business.

And, as noted, there is a lot of shady business to go around.

All of it built, it should be added, meticulously and carefully by Hart who for all the novel’s fun rom-com trappings, has crafted a really fascinatingly realised whodunnit.

Where Digging Up Dirt also succeeds brilliantly, and this is observed from a purely parochial position as an Australian, is the way it brings Sydney so perfectly and vivaciously to life.

It may be a cliche to say this but the city is very much a character in this novel, from the opening page where Poppy’s first reaction to bones being discovered in her house is how it will affect her renovations (Sydney is notoriously property obsessed) through to her trips across the Harbour Bridge, her Annandale neighbourhood, and even the Museum and its proximity to the very heart of Sydney’s CBD.

It is gloriously good to see the city featured so prominently and lovingly, not simply that’s highly enjoyable in and of itself but because it lends Digging Up Dirt a wholly distinctive air, a point of difference to many other novels of the genre, suffused as it is with an innate Australianness that is charming but also muscular and robust particularly when it comes to Poppy’s no-nonsense willingness to take the fight for justice (and her home renovations!) to wherever it must be fought.

Pamela Hart has gifted with a brilliantly clever read in Digging Up Dirt, a novel which effortlessly and entertainingly combines a winning protagonist of great capability and likable groundedness, an evocative setting, a beguiling and steadily-built mystery and a lingering rom-com sense of fun, with all these parts brought together in a story that is cohesively appealing, bright, light and meaningful and which gives you a very modern twist on Agatha Christie that makes you hope this is not the author’s first and last foray into this genre.

I really enjoyed this cosy mystery set in my home town of Sydney. It is always nice to read about a place you know well.

Poppy McGowan turned out to be a likeable character with common sense and no sudden propensity for putting herself into stupidly dangerous situations. I liked learning about her job working for ABC Kids plus all the archaeological information that came from the buried bones. There was also a lot of good stuff about the Aboriginal culture and language.

The mystery of the archaeologist found murdered in Poppy's house was intriguing and there were many possible suspects. It was good to have a friendly police person in charge of the investigation and Poppy was able to help in solving the case. There was also an enjoyable romantic attachment which may or may not have a future for Poppy.

Altogether this was a good read and I will certainly be watching out for book 2.