A new cozy mystery series set in the Cotswalds in England. Julia has recently moved to the Cotswalds after her husband left her for another man. When she goes to put in a chicken coop, they find a dead body under the shed that had been there. Soon another woman ends up dead. Are the two bodies related? Julia has to find out before she was next.

For a first entry in a new series, this was pretty solid. I wish there had been more explanation of her back story early on - I had to check to make sure I didn’t miss anything in a previous book. I also wish there had been more intrigue about the old skeleton before the other death. Regardless, it was a good first mystery.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The first in a new murder mystery series set in the Cotswolds sees Julia resettle in an archetypical English village. Recently divorced and retired, she is nervous that her new life away from London will be too quiet. She need not have worried though as before she can settle in she acquires a dog, a part-time voluntary job, a carpenter - oh, and a body!
Gentle, undemanding and enjoyable reading.

I requested the ARC for this book because the blurb intrigued me and I was unfamiliar with the author. I was thrilled with the story set in U.K. about a divorcee starting over in a small village, and finding out that her life was not going to be as quiet and boring as she thought. A little yard work exposes a body and she’s off snooping around the village, finding answers and more questions. Interesting and intriguing, I highly recommend it.

I received a copy of An English Garden Murder through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

An English Garden Murder by Katie Gayle is the first mystery in the new Julia Bird Mystery series. Julia Bird, a retired social worker, has just moved to the Cotswolds after a divorce and is making herself at home in her newly purchased country cottage. When she starts working on making the backyard her own, she stumbles upon a body buried in her back yard. After the discovery of the body, Julia starts to investigate on her own and ends up stumbling upon another body, or two.

I really enjoyed An English Garden Murder and found this to be a great read. I intrigued by the Cotswolds setting, pulled in by the inviting and interesting characters and my attention was held by the mystery. The mystery kept me guessing until the end in who the murderer was, twisting and turning with many false leads along the way. I had a good time reading this first mystery in a hopefully long series and look forward to seeing what comes next for Julia Bird. I would definitely recommend this to cozy mystery fans!

I loved this very English murder mystery, so reminiscent of Agatha Christie's style. Peopled with eccentric yet relatable characters and set in a typical English country village. Julie Bird ,newly and amicably divorced from her husband who has fallen in love with a man, Julie has decided to have a complete change of life and retired from her stressful job in social work, resolving to spend het days in comfortable village pursuits . Her attempts(some hilariously disastrous, such as her jam making) were not meant to include finding dead bodies, yet before she's finished unpacking, a body is unearthed in her own back garden ..leading to a series of murders and a new career as an amateur detective. I loved every thing about this book, the characters, setting and especially the gloriously disobedient Jake, the failed guide dog recruit who adopts Julie as his human. I look forward to many more books in this series .

I loved this book so much and read it in two chunks.

A great cosy murder mystery set in the cotswolds. I guessed straight away who'd done it but I still really enjoyed getting to know the characters and it was a fun, easy read. I've read other series by the authors and didn't enjoy them but really enjoyed this new series.

Thank you for the arc.

An English Garden Murder (Julia Bird Mysteries Book 1) by Katie Gayle
Published by Bookouture
ISBN 9781803140667

Julia Bird is newly divorced, but on friendly terms with her ex-husband and his new partner. At around the same time her marriage was ending, she was having some trouble in her job as a social worker in London. The trouble was never explained, although we learn that she was suspected of something and then cleared. This situation ended up causing her to retire. Needing a fresh start, she buys a cottage in the Cotswolds, in a small village where an old friend lives. She expects to have many adjustments, but enthusiastically jumps into her new life, ready to embrace change. One of the changes she makes is to get some chickens. This will require a coop, so she asks around to see if there is a local person she can hire to build one. She's told told to go find Johnny at the village cafe, The Buttered Scone. He agrees to build the coop and shows up the next day with his grandson to start the job. When the grandson starts taking down the shed so the coop can be built, he finds human remains from the past. Who was this person, why did she die, and who put her under the shed? The local police begin their investigation, but Julia and her Labrador puppy end up helping out.

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. I loved Julia from the start. The puppy brought back memories of puppies I've had in the past. As you'd expect in a cozy, the village is full of quirky characters. And the book is funny. I laughed more than once. When Julia goes to the cafe to find Johnny, it's not hard to find out who he is, because he is bellowing so loudly that he is impossible to miss--he is hard of hearing and didn't have his hearing aid in. When someone suggests that he put it in, he says that he'll put it in when people start saying things worth listening to instead of spouting nonsense all the time. In another scene, Julia goes into an office to ask some questions and is met by the receptionist who presents a startling picture with some extravagant false eyelashes, which remind Julia of 'Petunia the cow, her grandmother's prize jersey.' The mystery and the ending are well done.

If you want to spend some time puzzling over whodunnit in a picturesque village in the Cotswolds with an interesting mix of people, an older woman making a new life for herself after some shocks and an adorable chocolate lab puppy, then this is a great book to choose!

A cosy murder mystery and enjoyed getting to know the town the villagers. The setting was picturesque. I loved the characters and the way I had to keep asking myself if I was right in how I thought the plot was turning out.

I gave An English Garden Murder by Katie Gayle 4 stars (3.75 really).

Julia Bird’s picturesque Cotswolds cottage has everything she could want. Rustic charm, cosy fireplaces and, it turns out, a dead body in the garden…

Recently divorced and reluctantly retired, Julia Bird has fled London to enjoy idyllic rural life in the Cotswolds. Determined to have the perfect English garden, her first job is to tear down the old shed, where she unearths much more than she’d bargained for… A body, apparently buried for decades. But who could it be, and who killed them?

A great start to a new cozy series. It felt very similar to M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin series. Both the location, Cotswolds, and in the way it was written.

It was a fun, quick read and the village had some colourful characters that I both liked and disliked.
I could not figure out who dunnit and that is a plus!

I will be keeping my eyes open for the upcoming book in this series.

An English Garden Murder will be released on 05 May.

Thank you Net Galley and Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4629321653

https://www.instagram.com/p/CcDS3TNrMqg/

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I really enjoyed this mystery story and really liked the character Julie Bird, great read, great storyline, would recommend

When Julia moves to charming Berrywick in the Cotswolds, newly divorced and retired, she quickly finds herself busy with a new puppy, new friends and acquaintances, a new builder for a coop for her new chickens, a new cottage, a new job as a charity shop volunteer, and dead bodies, one not so new. Julia’s relationship with DI Hayley Gibson may make some fans of police procedurals roll their eyes, but in this cozy mystery it’s fun to see the Detective come to trust the instincts of the former social worker as she can’t help herself from investigating a crime that has hit so close to home. An enjoyable, light read with a surprising end, I’m looking forward to the next in the series. I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read an advance copy via NetGalley as a way to introduce me to a new series.

Who says retirement is boring? Certainly not Julia Bird. Well, not after she moves to the Cotswolds and finds herself trying to find out who killed the person in her garden. What a welcome home, but will it be home sweet home for Julia or will she be joining plowed under in her efforts?

A great start to a new cozy series that has me yearning for the next entry in the series already.

Let The Games Begin…
The first in the Julia Bird mystery series set in a delightful village nestled in the Cotswolds. Julia has arrived seeking a new start, recently single and retired, but what she did not expect was amateur sleuthing. The cottage is everything she hoped it would be but the body in the back garden was….a surprise. Let the games begin! Julia is soon on the case. With a plethora of both suspects and clues, not to mention red herrings and the death of suspect number one, Julia has her work cut out. Wholly enjoyable and entertaining with a likeable protagonist in Julia and a supporting cast of colourful characters in a perfectly crafted backdrop. A promising start for a new series, the second is eagerly anticipated.

I absolutely LOVED this novel. Imagine Jessica Fletcher from Murder She Wrote, meets the setting of Midsomer Murders. Julia Bird was an amazing and lovable character. Just nosy enough to get the job done, but not to the point where you thought she was unlikeable. I liked how we as the reader got to know each individual character that made up this small, but interesting town! I thought that the pace of the story was really nice and I also thought that the ending was clever. 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!

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and guessing along with Julia who the killer could be

Following the end of her marriage Julia has moved to the Cotswolds and within the space of a few days has found her self owning a failed guide dog puppy, a skeleton under the demolished shed in her garden and a voluntary role in the local charity shop

Making friends with the local DI Hayley Gibson Julia decides she will assist in the discovery of who the body was and who put them under the shed

What promises to be a fantastic series

I love reading a new series, the first book is alway important to set the scene for the rest! Really enjoyed it, look forward to more.

1st in a new series set in an English country village. Julia Bird is starting to have a knack for finding bodies, so she decides to snoop around and ask questions. Like the Miss Marple appeal of the small village in England, and the multiple characters that make up the village. Also enjoyed naughty Jake, the new puppy she acquires when he flunks out of school. Highly recommend, and had trouble putting this down. Look forward to the next in the series.

I received a free review copy from the publisher, via NetGalley - thank you!

After a recent marriage breakdown and an unplanned retirement, Julia moves to a little cottage in the country to experience the quiet life.

This is a true cozy mystery, and an excellent one. It was an easy read, great likeable characters, a chocolate Labrador and a lot of fun.

Looking forward to the next in the series.

This is wonderful cozy debut that is well crafted with smart charcters and a beautiful Cotswolds setting. I was pleased to receive this for review. Thank you to the publishers and to Net Galley.

After the death of M.C. Beaton I feared my reading trips to the Cotswolds were over. Fear not these this author team has captured the pulse of life in the Cotswolds perfectly. Julia Bird moved to the charming Cotswold's town of Berrywick . She retired from social services in London and went through a divorce. She has settled in the small village to start over and have a quieter life.

Julia wants to build a chicken coop for chickens and through her friend finds a local man to build the coop. When the building begins a body is found. It is determined to be a missing woman who disappeared decades ago. Julia soon finds a second body while walking her dog who is the Mother of the first victim. She is curious to work with the detective assigned to both cases. Soon clues abound and Julia is finding in this small village many have secrets.
I enjoyed this charming debut. It is a fun read with a surprising conclusion . I look forward to the next in series.

The first book of the Julia Bird series! This is a cozy mystery novel but I actually enjoyed reading it.

Julia Bird moves to a small town into a cottage after her divorce to her husband, leaving behind the city life. While trying to get used to the countryside living, she wanted to make a chicken coop by the garden shed near her cottage. But when they start digging, they find skeletal remains of woman dated nearly twenty years ago. And so begins the mystery.

I just loved the title of the book and thought I will try out the first book of the cozy mystery series. And to my surprise, I actually enjoyed reading this one. It was really entertaining and I really got into the story. The author(S) did a good job of making the reader feel like they are a part of the story and I actually really enjoyed this book that I simply couldn't put the book down. There were some funny parts in the book as well and the descriptions of those countrysides and Julia's life in the countryside with her newly adopted dog Jake was too enjoyable to read. So as much as I enjoyed this novel, I cannot wait to read for Julia Bird's next adventure!

So if you like a cozy mystery series set in an English countryside, then this book is one for you--worth five stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.