I really like this book. it was pretty fun and a good mystery.

though I do think some more parts of the setting could have been fleshed out more and some characters given more depth I loved it either way. it was short and cute, a good read when you are free in the afternoon and what a book to get through.

When I requested this ARC, there were two main draws for me - 1) I love a good cozy mystery and 2) I was excited to see a cozy with queer characters. The book did not disappoint - I really enjoyed the characters, the setting of Crescent Cover was lovely (particularly Luke's inherited cabin in the woods), and the mystery moved at a pace that kept you reading.

Luke travels back to Crescent Cove after the death of his aunt - he left years ago and his relationship with the aunt that was so important in his youth has been strained over the last years. Luke's determined to sell the house and shop that she left to him so he can return home and use the money to buy out the condo he shared with his ex-boyfriend. Naturally, things don't go as expected. When a stranger who he confronted the night before shows up dead in the garden, Luke quickly finds himself at the center of a murder investigation. Add in that the investigating Mountie is a childhood friend whose personal opinions seem to be setting Luke in to take the fall and a challenging store employee, Luke's got to get involved to help move this investigation in the right direction and away from him.

The book follows a pretty typical outline for a cozy mystery (death that has to be solved or the main character will be found guilty, two love interests competing for attention from the main character, a cast of slightly quirky characters and a charming setting), there are enough new twists and spins that it feels fresh. The fact that some of the characters are queer is just a part of the story, which made it even more enjoyable to read. It didn't feel like the book was trying too hard. The book also touches upon discrimination and racism.

I really enjoyed this cozy and look forward to more from Mark Waddell!

All right, I'll admit that my stereotyping got the better of me. I assumed the main character was a woman, which is the case in almost every cozy I've ever read. Even when the name "Luke" was given, I figured that was short for Lucretia or something. So 10% in, when Sergeant Munro says, "Mr. Tremblay," I had to kind of reorganize my thoughts. That's what I get for assuming!

This is a fun first outing in a series. There's enough emotional family background to give some weight and bittersweet feeling to the way things have worked out. And Luke is a flawed but relatable protagonist. The idea that RCMP Jack would let Luke keep tagging along on the investigation is pretty ludicrous. But overall, this is a quick read and an enjoyable cozy.

Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The title of this book caught my attention. Luke Tremblay returns to Crescent Cove after his aunt has been killed in a hit and run accident. He has been left her cottage and antiques shop, but shortly after he arrives, a man shows up at the cottage and insists that Luke’s aunt had something he wanted. Soon after this man is found dead in the back yard if Luke’s aunt’s cottage. This is the beginning of the mystery that Luke sets out to solve the mystery. Along with people from his childhood, Luke tracks down clues that eventually solve the mystery of his aunt’s death and the murder in his backyard.
This tile is described as queer cozy and does include some same sex situations.

Luke Tremblay returns to Crescent Cove, a charming little seaside town in Canada, after the death of his aunt. The trip is well-timed, giving him a bit of distance from recent drama back in Toronto. There are so many mysteries surrounding the quaint village. What happened to his aunt? Why is a strange man trying to get into his house? Then there's a murder, a break-in, a decades-old secret someone is willing to kill to keep quiet. Luke can't leave until it's all straightened out but the longer he stays the less certain he is about his own future.

This book was a very quick read. Though it started out a bit slow with long paragraphs full of descriptions that might have gone a bit deeper than was strictly necessary, once we got the lay of the land (Luke's background, setting the scene in Crescent Cove, meeting the characters) things really began to flow. I love the setting of Crescent Cove, a small town with just enough tourists to keep it hopping but far enough off the beaten path to keep it cozy. Luke's cottage with it's view of the water and fully stocked library is adorable. There's also some heat between Luke and the handsome Mountie. Though I did find it very easy to nail the killer and there wasn't much in the way of investigation (more of that would have made this book a 5 star for me), it was still a fun read.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

A new and exciting series. After inheriting a cottage and antique store in Crescent Cove, Luke is headed back to where he spent many summers as a kid to sell everything. He wants to be back in Toronto asap. But a stranger makes wild talk about Luke's aunt forcing Luke to send the stranger away. The next morning the stranger is dead. The Mounties are looking at Luke as the suspect. Good story plot. Excellent character development. Thanks #netgalley and #crookedlanebooks for the eARC in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are mine.

The Body in the Back Garden is Mark Waddell’s debut novel, a cozy mystery set in Crescent Cove, Vancouver Island, Canada, and is the first book his new Crescent Cove Mysteries series.

Luke Tremblay arrives in Crescent Cove to deal with selling the cottage and antiques business that he inherited unexpectedly from the aunt with whom he spent many summers in his youth. The morning after arriving, he wakes to find the body of a man he'd had an altercation with the previous day, dead in the pond in his back yard.

It isn't long before Luke is drawn into the mystery of the man's death, and whether or not it relates to his aunt's tragic death in a hit and run. Investigating the murder is Luke's former friend, Jack Munro, now a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and in charge of the detachment in Crescent Cove. Jack is still upset with Luke because after Luke's last summer in Crescent Cove as a teenager, his family disowned him after he revealed he was gay, and Luke never returned or kept in touch.

The Body in the Back Garden was a lovely cozy mystery. The setting in a small town on Vancouver Island was perfect. The characters in the town were diverse and interesting. I enjoyed seeing the relationship between Luke and Jack develop as adults, even as they came to terms with the way they parted.

I am a big cozy mystery (or any mystery really) fan, and I was not able to figure out the culprit until very near the end of the book. This book was very entertaining, and I'm looking forward to reading more from the series.

The Body in the Back Garden releases on August 22 2023. If you love cozy mysteries, put it on your list!

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing an ARC for review.

amateur-sleuth, Canada, Canadian-author, class-consciousness, cozy-mystery, first-in-series, friendship, frustration, greed, inheritance, investigative-journalist, law-enforcement, m/m-cozy-mystery, murder, murder-investigation, new-series, read, secrets, shame, Vancouver Island, wealthy, First Nations*****

I think this is a great start to a new cozy mystery series!
Luke Tremblay has come back to Vancouver Island to see to his inheritance of a beloved cottage and his aunt's store. It was assumed that her death was a simple hit and run.
He isn't there very long before he is threatened on the property by a drunk whom he finds dead in the ornamental pond in the garden. Enter the local RCMP Sgt.
Great sleuthing by RCMP as well as our investigative journalist. AND they have a personal history from twenty years ago. Looking forward to more!
I requested and received an EARC from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

Luke Tremblay has returned from Toronto to the small village on Vancouver Island where he spent summers with his aunt. He hasn't been back in 20 years, as he launched a successful career as an investigative reporter. But his aunt has died and, surprisingly, has left her cottage and antique store to Luke.

Luke just wants to sell off the cottage and business and get back to his life in Toronto. But he has a few difficulties. First, a mysterious stranger wants to get his hands on something that had belonged to Luke's aunt. Not only doesn't he get it, but he shows up dead in Luke's backyard the next morning. The other complication is that Luke's childhood friend is now the heard of the investigation. And he's gone from a picked-upon nerd to an attractive hunk.

The characters were interesting. The dialogue was crisp and entertaining. My only beef with the book was that the ending was quite predictable. Otherwise, this was a really good book.

Luke is still suffering from a recent breakup when he gets the news that his aunt has died and he has inherited her home and shop in a small town. When he arrives in town to deal with her estate all is fine until he discovers a body in the back garden of his aunt's home and is then accused of potentially being a murderer by the sergeant - his childhood best friend Jack! In true cosy mystery fashion, Luke decides to clear his name and figure out why a man was killed on his deceased aunt's property.
I really enjoyed this cosy, it was very classic for the genre except for the male protagonist and the queer romance which I don't come across often while reading cosy mysteries.
I appreciated the diversity in the story, from the expected small town cast to the POCs and queer characters, which lead to a few mentions of racism and homophobia while the characters spoke of their lives.
Four stars because I enjoyed the book and the cast, and I will definitely read the next book released in the Crescent Cove Mystery series however I did not finish this yearning for more which is what makes five stars for me (still excited for the next book though!)
Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC

I absolutely loved reading The Body in the Back Garden by Mark Waddell!
This book is first and foremost well-written, with characters who are easy to care about and an intriguing mystery with plenty of suspects that guarantee that readers will be eagerly turning the pages to the very end. I found it difficult to put down and read far beyond my bedtime.
I also enjoyed the fact that it is unapologetically set in Canada, with references to not just one but three provinces.
Finally, having read a number of mysteries with gay characters portrayed as caricatures and stereotypes, it was refreshing to read a book in which all of the characters are portrayed as people, with hopes and dreams and desires and challenges that are relatable to all, thanks again to wonderful writing.
I will definitely be looking forward to the next book in the series.
I received a copy of #TheBodyintheBackGarden from #NetGalley.

This is an enjoyable read, somewhat out of my typical genre area.
It is a second chance, friends (who did you say you are?) to romantic interest (My, you've grown up well) story with a tragic twist.
After a longer term romantic break-up, Luke inherits a home and business from an estranged aunt in a touristy location where he used to enjoy summer vacations. Planning only to stay long enough to sell and get on with his life, he is confronted with circumstances and an interesting reunion with someone he used to know, but didn't know everything he wished he knew back when.
He also discovers his aunt may not have had an accidental death.
I enjoyed the setting, getting to know the characters, and follow the clues.
I would like to read more about these two gentlemen.

Body in the back garden is the first of A Crescent Cove Mystery. It takes place in the town of Crescent Cove. Luke , the main character, has inherited a cottage and antique shop that he inherited from his aunt Marguerite who was killed in a hit and run. He is planning to put the cottage and business up for sale. After he comes back from a walk he encounters a man named Joel who tells him that he is here to pick up something that he bought from his aunt. He becomes aggressive and gets into an altercation with Luke.

The next day Luke goes outside with his morning coffee and finds a body in his backyard face down in the pond. It is Joel. He calls the police. Sargent Jack from the Canadian Police comes to investigate. When he goes to the police station that afternoon he indicates that Luke was the prime suspect as he had fought with Joel. Luke realizes that he must find the killer since he is the first suspect. Luke had been a investigation journalist at one time. This story takes Luke on an adventure which has quite a few twists and turns. The story builds up to an exciting ending one I never saw coming.

Overall, I enjoy this book as quick and easy read. I loved all those characters especially Luke. I look forward to see what is instore for Luke and the other people in the town of Crescent Cove in book two of the series.
Nevertheless, I would like to read more of his works in the future because his writing style quite good.

The body in the back garden is the first of A Crescent CoveMystery.

This book started out with a Nephew returning to town a week after his aunt was plowed down with a car following his aunt leaving him her whole estate. Luke plans to sell his aunts cottage and antique store and head back to Toronto but Cresent Covr isn’t don’t with him just yet. A town full of secrets and an unsolved hit and run that killed Luke’s aunt eventually has him investigating is own little mystery.

This book was phenomenal with the characters , murder, secrets , the love , and all around small town life. This was definitely a cozy little mystery that I think everyone should read at some point. I look forward to seeing what is in store for Luke and all the other people in Crescent Cove in book two of the series.

This book is due to be published August 22, 2023 byCrooked Lane Books publishers.

Thank you NetGalley and Mark Waddell for allowing me to read an advanced readers copy of “The body in the back garden.”

Read this one in one sitting! Murder, suspense and a little bit of romance. Couldn't put it down. A must read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The end of the book had me hoping for a sequel!

The scene setting captured the sense of privilege and ruralness of Crescent Cove beautifully and made me wish I could be there particularly in Marguerite's cottage. The detail in each person's description brought them alive for me and only a couple of chapters in I had my list of goodies, baddies and ones I wanted to know more about. I pictured easily each character and my own mind decided for me to like / dislike / love.

For me the pacing of the storyline was just right, It didn't rush through things; equally it did not drag out elements unnecessarily either. I was able to read this book and feel I had not skimmed over any part of it.

The plot line was intriguing and although I did not guess the killer correctly - I was in the right area, and this was the thing I enjoyed - not once did the book become samey / predictable. It kept me guessing on who, what, where and why. For a new author it is a very good outing and I hope there will be a sequel.

Anyone wanting a good, solid, murder, mystery would enjoy this read and I hope it does well after publication. approach the book with an open mind that new authors can enhance an already crowded genre of book and keep the conversation going to push this book as a great success.

A delightful read, that proves that even small towns can have secrets that lead to murder. Once I started reading it, I didn't want to stop. This is a story of mystery, but also shows you that sometimes, things aren't always what they seem. I look forward to reading, many more books, in the series.

Do you know when you just need to immerse yourself in a book with some cosy escapism, but you still want your brain to have a little bit of a challenge so it’s got to be a little cosy mystery, With perhaps some side romance, etc. and you want it to be all about a cute nostalgic little place that you would love to explore yourself?
Well, this is that book!
Author Mark Waddell hits all the points with this book!
This is a cosy mystery with a small town beautiful setting, relatable characters, nostalgia and more!
The story is a fun “who done it” with just enough intrigue to keep you going to find out the ending!
It also has a cute budding romance thrown in.
And I love how the author wraps up the ending.
I highly recommend this book!
Looking forward to more from this author!

Thankyou to author Mark Waddell and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
🤗🌸📚 Charlene @lastnownext

Body in the Back Garden is The first book is this new mystery series. Growing up, Investigative Journalist Luke Tremblay, spent his summers in Vancouver Island. He hasn't been back since he graduated high school and his family disowned him when he told them he was gay. He is surprised when his aunt dies and leaves him her house and antique business and decides to go back to Vancouver and list everything for sale. When an aggressive stranger appears at his aunts door arguing his aunt had something of his, Luke ends up throwing him off his front porch. The following day Luke discovers the stranger murdered in his back garden and immediately becomes the main suspect. Luke decides to use his investigative skills to try and clear his name. This book had a good plot and plenty of red herrings that kept me guessing til the end. Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the advance readers copy.

I enjoyed getting to know Luke in this new cozy mystery by Mark Waddell.
Luke returns to his aunt's home after her tragic death, hoping to sell her home and business quickly, so he can get back to his life.
Going back to Crescent Cove is difficult for Luke since his family abandoned him when they discovered he was gay.
When his aunt rejected him, it nearly crushed him.
Unfortunately for Luke things don't go as planned, and he finds himself a suspect in a homicide investigation.

I'm looking forward to reading more in this series.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read this book.