The Woman in the Garden by Jill Johnson is a thriller-crime novel following Dr Eustacia Rose - a professor of Botanical Toxicology with only her extensive collection of poisonous plants for company. Her life is painfully excruciatingly mundane, but her one other hobby is watching her neighbours through her telescope from her apartment’s well hidden balcony.

Alas, all obsessions have consequences as she gets caught up in a mysterious tangle of mysterious disappearances and crimes, upending her solitary little life.

I really enjoyed The Woman in the Garden. I felt that the prose was elegantly written and the suspense was devious. I enjoyed the diverse range of characters peppered throughout the book, which made it such an exciting read. I even at one point thought there might be mention of vampires (don’t tell anyone). But among all the plot devices, Johnson’s pacing stood out the most to me. Every detail was well placed. The set-up and payoffs were satisfying.

Even though the story was written in first-person, Eustacia’s unhinged obsession with her observation subjects made me feel like we too were watching her. For someone who thrived on routines and monotony, Eustacia’s sudden obsession left her openly vulnerable and unpredictable and I could not help but be frustrated with her humanness that seemed to awaken as the story progressed.

The themes of The Woman in The Garden encompassed solitude and desperation, making Johnson’s commentary on identity that more interesting. Without revealing too much of the story to you, Dr Eustacia Rose struggles with her own androgynous identity after the death of her beloved father - also a professor at a University. Of the overall prose, this line sums it up best, “In the bathroom, I caught my reflection in the mirror and snatched off my glasses. Sometimes it’s easier to exist in a blurred world than to face harsh reality.” I found this incredibly humanising and relevant as a glasses wearer myself.

Overall, The Woman in The Garden is a great mystery read and lovers of botanical science will devour this whole.

I'm not usually one for mysteries or thriller (or suspense for that matter) but the title intrigued me (I'm a gardener) as did the poisonous plants angle. Enjoyable fun read!

The Woman in the Garden refers to Professor Eustacia Rose, a former academic who is not only a recognized expert in the field of toxic plants, she also maintains a unique collection of some of the most deadly species. A bit of a recluse, her hobby is observing her nearby neighbors. When Eustacia becomes particularly interested in one young woman it leads to a complicated murder.

The Woman in the Garden not only has some unique characters, it also has an unusual plot. The story revolves around a number of people and Eustacia gives some of them plant-related nicknames. I found this habit of dual names to be somewhat confusing and at times it was difficult to remember who they were and their relationship to the other characters.

The story is well-developed up to a point but as it moved along, the motives of the various characters became a bit murky. Meanwhile, I didn’t find Eustacia to be a very appealing character. She has many random quirks and her personality is a little off-putting as well.

Finally, the conclusion was not really conclusive and, even though I find this acceptable for some books, I didn’t enjoy this particular uncertainty. Overall, The Woman in the Garden had some good moments. It was well-written, and I like the premise, but it just didn’t resonate with me like I had hoped. NetGalley provided an advance copy.

This book was well written. I love that the police allowed her into the investigation. As a true crime junkie that is my dream. I feel like any time the police can recognize someone's skill and use it to try to solve a crime...it's a win.

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

The Woman in the Garden by Jill Johnson is a captivating murder mystery featuring the quirky and intriguing Eustacia Rose, a former professor of botanical toxicology who lives in London with her rooftop garden filled with dangerous plants. Eustacia, who is neurodivergent, becomes fascinated with her beautiful neighbor, Simone, and the mysterious men who visit her, each of whom she nicknames after a toxic plant. When one of these toxins is used in a murder, Eustacia finds herself drawn into the investigation, determined to protect Simone and solve the crime. Johnson masterfully weaves a tale of obsession and intrigue, exploring the fine line between fascination and fixation as Eustacia navigates her way through a world of secrets and peril. The novel excels in its character development and atmospheric setting, creating a unique and engaging mystery that leaves readers eagerly turning pages, even as some questions remain unanswered.

Professor Eustacia Rose who specializes in poisonous plants sees a neighbor being struck by a visitor in her home. Determined to get to know her neighbor and to provide help, Eustacua begins to follow her neighbor. Eustacia sees her neighbor being forced into a car. Has she been kidnapped? How will Eustacia convince the police to assist in this missing person case of someone she doesn't know.

I read this book in one sitting. I thought it was really good, it held my attention the whole time and it was very enjoyable. I would definitely check this out and I’d rate it a 4/5 stars.

This book was *fun*! The MC was delightfully interesting and experiencing this mystery through her unique perspective was captivating. If you’re a reader of mixed tastes, this is the perfect book to toss in between novels with complex and detailed story and character building. It was an easy read in the very best way, allowing you to immerse yourself into the story without needing to pull out a pen and notebook to simply follow along. The writing style was lovely and the story continued to grab you and entice you along the way - it certainly was not a slow build, with new and interesting details coming at all of the right times.

Thank you Jill Johnson, Poisoned Pen Press, NetGalley and all involved for the opportunity to review this book!

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book just failed to grab my attention. I felt like the main character was just hard for me to connect with and I just felt nothing toward her. I also feel like the plant talk was just too much for me and not something I am interested in.

I hope others love this one but it wasn't for me.

I enjoyed learning about the different toxic plants, but I thought the story could have been enhanced by perhaps including another POV or perhaps timeline jumping

Former Professor Eustacia Rose is something of a recluse. Eccentric and middle-aged, she spends most of her days either in her London apartment or in the attached rooftop garden where she clandestinely cultivates the poisonous plants that once were her academic specialty. When she isn’t tending to her plants, she entertains herself by spying on her neighbors with the help of the powerful telescope she’s carefully hidden from the view of anyone outside of her garden.

The favorite subject of her voyeurism is a beautiful young woman she nicknames Psychotria Elata, or Psycho for short. After she accidentally witnesses a man assaulting Psycho, Eustacia begins taking notes, with the fuzzy idea of being able to either protect the younger woman or back up her testimony should the need arise:

QUOTE
She wasn’t at home much during the day but often had visitors in the evening–all men–so after the attack, I decided to stop observing the other neighbors and only record these appearances, jotting down the time of arrival, the duration of stay, and a brief description of their activity. I also made a detailed study of each man. This I did scientifically, as if cataloguing the taxonomy, morphology, and toxicity of a plant, attributing a classification to each of them and giving them the common name of a poisonous plant. I knew I was not a good judge of character, but I did know plants, and one thing was increasingly obvious: these men were toxic.
END QUOTE

Eustacia is well aware of her own limitations: she’s never really understood other people and much prefers the company of her greenery. Meticulously recording the comings and goings of Psycho’s visitors gives her a sense of doing something concrete to help the younger woman, who clearly needs a friend. When the opportunity arises to actually meet Psycho in person, Eustacia takes it, nurturing their blossoming relationship as carefully as she would any rare cutting she was cultivating for her poison garden.

But then Psycho disappears. Even more disastrously in Eustacia’s eyes, her rooftop garden is stolen from and vandalized. Eustacia reports both the disappearance and the vandalism to the proper authorities, but when someone close to Psycho is poisoned with what may have been plants from Eustacia’s garden, the police seem to consider Eustacia their prime suspect. Eustacia tries to protest her innocence but her motivations are, unfortunately, muddled by her undeniable attraction to Psycho:

QUOTE
But as time went by, I wondered what had changed, because I knew with certainty that I wanted to be drawn into Psycho’s life. I wanted it very much. Perhaps I felt a responsibility to protect her, to call the police if Castor attacked her again. Perhaps it was because the telescope had brought her so close that I felt a connection with her. Or maybe it was something simpler, baser. Behind my closed eyes, I pictured her putting her fingers into her mouth–her full, bloodied lips tightening around them–and groaned.
END QUOTE

Will Eustacia be able to cut through all the distractions in order to get to the truth? It might not be only her name and freedom on the line, after all, but the very life of someone who could potentially be more than just a friend.

I was as surprised as anyone to find myself coming around to rooting for a narrator who too often lands on the creepy side of socially awkward. For all that Eustacia really shouldn’t be invading the privacy of others, she’s also trying very hard to do the right thing, even when no one else will believe her. Her journey to rescue Psycho, while also coming to terms with all the demons of the past that have brought her to this pass, is compelling and sympathetic.

And while Eustacia might be better at plants than at people, Jill Johnson balances both effectively, sprinkling her tale with just the right amount of detail on various plants and their effects on humankind. I was so genuinely pleased when I learned that this will be the first novel in a series. Between the fascinating botanical information and the plucky characters, I can’t wait to read more!

4/5✨

Well, if you get nothing else from this book, you will at least learn all about which plants kill people, ha.

I like the idea of this book and the overall story but there was a lot going on and names to remember. The main character was interesting in a peculiar way…I can’t tell if I liked them or not.

I wish there was a clearer ending and not of “well it could have been this person or that person”. Would I recommend it? Maybe.

I am a little late on reviewing this, but here I am nontheless.

This was such a fun and different read, I loved Professor Rose as an unlikely detective and the research that must have gone on behind this book did pay off in all of the plants mentioning.
It is a lovely twist in the detective novel and surely I will recommend this as it is a quick read, but also with an interesting spin on te classical detective story.

This book ended up being such a fun little time! I vaguely remember when reading about it/starting it that I imagined it being a bit darker, but the cozy mystery vibes hooked me with miss Eustacia Rose!

I really enjoyed all the characters, I barely understood any of the plant names, and I’d highly recommend this one overall! The only thing that kept me at a 3.75 rather than a 4 star is that the ending felt a little drawn out, but that’s a minor critique in the sum of a really cute and fun book! I can’t wait for the sequel to publish here in the US so I can snatch that one up as well!

Some books are meant for a certain niche of people. This one wasn’t for me. This was a fun, heavily plant themed, murder/mystery. I liked the idea of this story and maybe had it not been so heavily plant related, I may have liked it more? It was not a bad book by any means, it just wasn’t the one for me.

My google search engine is now FILLED with scientific plant names LOL! S/o to this author for how extensive she must have researched for this book.

If you love plants, are a botanist, love a good murder/mystery, this one is for you! Also for fans of “the Thursday murder club” this one reminded me a lot of that!

I love that this book has a protagonist who is neurodivergent. I also love the poisonous plants. This was a great book. Thank you for the ARC.

Thank you to Poisoned Press and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book for me was not something that I would normally read. I wanted to like it but I just could not get into the book. I did however appreciate all the knowledge on the plants and found that I really enjoyed learning about that.

I do firmly believe that everyone should read the books for themselves and get their own opinions.

What a unique mystery! I loved the smart and quirky main character, all the plant talk, and the fast pace!

The Women in the Garden got off to a slow start but eventually picked up speed. By the end, I was a fan.

Professor Eustacia Rose has a garden of poisonous plants. She’s also infatuated with her neighbor whom she is spying on. When a series of disturbing events occur, her life is thrown into a tailspin. First her garden is vandalized and poisonous plants are stolen. Then she sees the neighbor abducted by a man on the street. When a man Eustacia used to know is murdered by poison, Eustacia finds herself as the prime suspect.

I found the beginning of this book uneventful and hard to get into. The book eventually took a gratifying turn and held my interest from that point on. I enjoyed the mystery and twists. The main character grew on me and I felt my annoyance with her disappear. I would definitely read the next book in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press and the author, Jill Johnson, for this DRC in exchange for my honest review.