The Woman in the Garden by Jill Johnson is a beautifully written and compelling novel that weaves mystery and emotion seamlessly. The plot is full of twists, keeping you on the edge of your seat, while the characters are rich and well-developed. The pacing is perfect, and the setting adds an atmospheric depth to the story. It’s a thought-provoking read with a perfect balance of suspense and heart. A solid 4.5 stars—gripping, emotional, and incredibly well-crafted.

I loved the premise of this! Similar to the woman across the street, in terms of a nosy neighbor sees something heinous and must figure out what to do next.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of The Woman in the Garden by Jill Johnson!

The Woman in the Garden by Jill Johnson is an intriguing mystery book featuring a former professor of botanical toxicology with a big fascination for poisonous plants. I felt like the amount of information about toxins added an additional layer to the story, making it a bit mysterious and eerie. The premise of the book was fascinating and intriguing but the ending was missing something to it. The writing was quite good and the characters well developed. I really enjoyed this story and cannot wait to see if there'll be more of Eustacia in the future.

Jill Johnson’s The Woman in the Garden is an intriguing mystery featuring a truly unique protagonist, Eustacia Rose—a former professor of botanical toxicology with a fascination for poisonous plants and an equally sharp eye for her neighbors’ daily lives.

Eustacia is undeniably quirky, living in an apartment as eccentric as she is, complete with a secret room dedicated to her dangerous plant collection. While I found her nosiness a bit much at times, there was something compelling about her character that made the book hard to put down. Her knowledge of toxins adds an unusual and fascinating layer to the story, though it often feels like child’s play to her rather than a real source of danger.

The mystery itself is relatively straightforward: through her telescope, Eustacia observes her neighbors, until one day, she witnesses a kidnapping—one that no one else seems to have noticed. Drawn into the mystery, she becomes determined to uncover the truth. While the premise is intriguing, I felt the ending left some loose ends that weren’t fully addressed, which was slightly frustrating.

Despite my initial reservations about Eustacia’s personality, I found myself warming up to her by the end. The book had a decent cast of characters, and though the mystery was a bit simplistic, the writing kept me engaged. Overall, this was an enjoyable read, and I’d be curious to see more of Eustacia in future books!

Thank you Netgalley, Poisoned Pen Press & Jill Johnson for the arc!

This was definitely different and I always enjoy a nosey neighbor. I was impressed with the knowledge supplied by the author. It was a good read!

The Woman in the Garden is an intriguing, atmospheric mystery with a hauntingly beautiful setting. Johnson weaves a compelling story full of secrets and twists that keeps you hooked.

This book was a refreshingly unique take on the mystery genre. The dark, eerie atmosphere created by the garden of poisonous plants was both intriguing and fitting for the story’s tone. It’s clear that the author either had extensive prior knowledge of plants or conducted thorough research, which added an extra layer of authenticity.

The plot centers around a woman who becomes fascinated with a neighbor she spies on, observing a series of mysterious men coming and going. When the neighbor is kidnapped, she takes it upon herself to uncover the truth.

The writing was smooth and engaging, making the story easy to follow. However, I found the protagonist’s relationship with the police to be a bit frustrating. Having the police draw a civilian into an investigation felt unprofessional and unrealistic. While I can appreciate when characters independently pursue answers, involving law enforcement in such a way strained credibility for me.

That said, the story itself was compelling, with all the puzzle pieces coming together in a satisfying way by the end. Despite some minor issues, it was an engaging and thought-provoking read overall.

The Woman In The Garden, previously published as Devil’s Breath, is the first book in the Professor Eustacia Rose Mystery series by British author, Jill Johnson. In the year since the incident at her lab that saw her made redundant, former Professor of Botanical Toxicology at UCL, Eustacia Rose has remained a recluse. She lost her beloved father around the same time, and still wears his suit, fob watch and hairstyle.

Instead of teaching, she carefully tends her rooftop garden: fifty-two highly poisonous specimens that require very special handling. Also on the rooftop, her high-resolution telescope which, on cloudy days, is aimed at her neighbours’ windows: observing that most puzzling aspect of life, human behaviour. Each person gets labelled with an appropriate botanical name according to what Eustacia sees of them from her perch.

She worries about one particularly attractive neighbour, a woman regularly visited by four very different men, one of whom she is dismayed to recognise, while another seems violent. Her concern sees her stalking the woman, apparently called Simone, about whom she learns a little more in a chance encounter. Then she witnesses Simone being abducted from the street.

The police are useless, but Simone’s elderly neighbour proves very resourceful. But then, her precious garden is thoroughly vandalised and some of her specimens are stolen, and when there’s a death by plant poison, Eustacia once again comes to the notice of DCI Richard Roberts: her access to these plants, and her history with the victim, make her his prime suspect.

Johnson gives the reader a quirky protagonist who has a little trouble reading social cues but acts purely out of good intentions. The liberal inclusion throughout of botanical names and the symptoms those plants cause will have the eyes of many readers glazing over, although she does provide a handy glossary of plants at the end. An enjoyable cosy mystery with a few twists to keep the reader guessing before the reveal, and it will be interesting to see what Eustacia gets up to in book two, Hell’s Bells.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press.

This dragged so so much for me. I was not a fan of any of the characters, and the pacing just felt off. I could not make it through it all.

This was an incredibly good read! The story was beautifully written and the characters were flushed out really well! Definitely worth the read!

Eustacia, the protagonist of Jill Johnson's The Woman in the Garden, spends her days in self-imposed isolation in her rooftop garden tending to her poisonous plants and her evenings spying on her neighbors through her telescope, especially her beautiful new neighbor whom she has nicknamed Psycho after one of her plants. Eustacia is a brilliant former professor but being on the spectrum has always made life challenging for her. Up until a year ago, she had her father, who was also a brilliant professor, to help her navigate life, but when he passes away, Eustacia doesn't know how to cope, and then her life completely falls apart after an accident rips her from her beloved university lab and places her in the police's crosshairs.

Now she guards her secret garden ferociously and tends to it meticulously, memorizing every leaf on every vine. She becomes just as fanatical about Psycho who is visited by four men, one of whom Eustacia recognizes in despair from her own past. Richard Wainwright has already ruined her life once before, stealing her only true love away from her, so Eustacia convinces herself that she must protect Psycho from Wainwright.

Eustacia has to begin engaging with people again in order to triumph, but when a horrible crime is committed, her actions place her again under suspicion from the very same detective who investigated her after her lab accident, and when she is reintroduced to her former love, she has to ponder the age old question if you can ever go back.

Although recommended, the reader has to be willing to extend their disbelief for an uncanny number of coincidences. Overall a fast-paced, enjoyable thriller.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was an excellent domestic thriller with natural horror themes, a true unique take on the genre. It was a pretty quick read with deep character development. The mysterious aspects of the plot make the reader want more, the true testament of a well written story.

This was quite an interesting read and premise, but it stayed mainly middle of the road for me. I enjoyed the setup and the information and intrigue about the plants, and enjoyed the beginning of it. Eventually though, midway through, the adrenaline with the story and the mystery stayed stagnant and didn't give the aha moments that I was expecting. I'm not a fan of slow burns, and I didn't think this was one, but then it geared toward that the more I got into the book. Overall, this was simply just ok for me.

I do, however, like the author's writing style, just hoping the pacing was a bit better. I want to read her other books to come since this was a debut. The subject was just so fascinating and well researched with the poisonous plants and I was just so giddy learning about what I could. Unfortunately I'm one of those who don't ever retain anything. I liked that the MC characterized people as different plants when she met them, which made it fun and easy to remember. But with that great of a character, I was bummed at eventually I wasn't so attached to the storyline by the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

The Woman in the Garden by Jill Johnson

This story was well written but I feel like it lacked somethjng ... Not really my cup of tea

If you are not into gardening, don't read this. Just didn't care about the gardening and botany. Not the story for me.

Pick this up if you like: Slow burns, quirky characters, and stories with botanical themes.

Though this story had a promising setup, the execution felt scattered. Much of the book is spent on Eustacia’s inner thoughts and descriptions of plants, which makes for a slower pace without much dialogue to break it up. While the author clearly did extensive research on poisonous plants, the details often felt heavy-handed and didn’t always move the plot forward.

The plot itself left much to be desired. Key questions were left unresolved, and the story sometimes veered into confusing territory—such as when Eustacia is attacked by Andreas, only to inexplicably join him for a drink afterward. The mystery aspect was somewhat predictable, yet parts of it were still left unanswered. As for the ending, Eustacia’s sudden date with a character named Matilde felt completely out of left field, raising even more questions than it answered.

On the plus side, the book is fast-paced and an easy read. I appreciated that Eustacia’s neurodivergence was subtly woven into her character without it becoming a central theme. However, the lack of character engagement and clarity in the plot ultimately made this book feel like a missed opportunity.

For readers looking for an unusual character with an intriguing hobby, The Woman in the Garden has some appeal. But those expecting a tightly woven mystery may find themselves frustrated by the loose ends and lack of satisfying resolution.

The Woman in the Garden is an intriguing mystery that builds a haunting atmosphere, but it doesn’t fully capitalize on its potential. The novel's premise—an old estate hiding dark secrets—draws readers in, and the setting is richly detailed, with the garden itself almost becoming a character. However, the plot unravels at a slower pace than expected, which might frustrate readers looking for a more gripping mystery.

The characters are compelling, especially the enigmatic woman at the heart of the story, but at times they feel underdeveloped, leaving their motivations somewhat unclear. The twists, while interesting, can be predictable, and the conclusion feels rushed compared to the slow buildup.

For fans of atmospheric, gothic-style mysteries, The Woman in the Garden provides an enjoyable escape, but it might not satisfy those seeking a tightly woven, suspenseful plot. It’s an atmospheric read, with moments of tension, but ultimately falls short of delivering a truly unforgettable mystery.

A captivating blend of mystery and botanical machination. I found Eustacia to be a fascinating character and i loved the detailed descriptions of her garden and the toxic plants. The mystery unfolded at a steady pace with several twists and turns that kept me guessing.
Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

The mystery was what drew me in, loved the idea of a rooftop garden. But I got lost in all the “plant talk”, lessons about botany, Latin names of plants, about growing plants, and about toxic and poisonous plants, the toxicity of plants …so many details about these topics. Not topics I normally find myself enjoying, so I was a bit lost, and found myself skimming along over sections. For this reason, I feel like I wasn’t able to fully connect with our MC Eustacia, or the other characters as much as I would have liked. There is mystery, and intrigue, but there was so much “extra” information (to show how eccentric she was), that I wasn’t able to enjoy it as much as I had hoped. If you are someone who enjoys gardening as a hobby, or someone who enjoys going on walks in the woods and is curious about the plants and flowers you encounter, this would be a great read.