"The Woman in the Garden" by Jill Johnson is a captivating novel that weaves together themes of mystery, love, and self-discovery against the backdrop of a lush, evocative garden. Set in a picturesque countryside estate, the novel follows protagonist Sarah as she unravels the secrets buried within the garden's history.

Johnson's writing is lyrical and atmospheric, transporting readers into a world where every flower and leaf holds a hidden story. The garden itself becomes a character, its beauty and mysteries mirroring Sarah's own journey of introspection and revelation.

At the heart of the story is Sarah's quest to uncover the truth behind a haunting portrait of a woman in the garden. As she delves deeper into the past, she discovers unexpected connections to her own life and identity, prompting her to confront long-buried emotions and choices.

The novel's strength lies in its richly developed characters and Johnson's ability to intertwine past and present narratives seamlessly. Through alternating timelines and perspectives, readers are drawn into a web of family secrets, forbidden love, and the enduring power of nature.

"The Woman in the Garden" is not just a mystery but also a poignant exploration of the human spirit and the healing power of reconnecting with the past. Johnson's storytelling is both tender and suspenseful, keeping readers engrossed as Sarah's journey unfolds with each turn of the page.

Overall, "The Woman in the Garden" is a beautifully crafted novel that will appeal to fans of historical fiction and literary mysteries alike. Jill Johnson's evocative prose and skillful blend of romance and intrigue make this book a compelling read that lingers in the mind long after the final chapter.

This is not the usual type of book that I read, but I am glad that I ventured out of my comfort zone. That being said, it was a little slow for me, but I am used to reading psychological thrillers that are super fast paced.

Overall this was a good book, a little on the strange side, but I think that's what made it so good.

I like how the main character, Professor Rose was so knowledgeable in poisonous plants, and which plants will do what to a person. I never thought I would read a book with that as the main plot! I felt like I was learning a lot of new things about plants from reading this book.

This was a very enjoyable and unique mystery. I would gladly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mysteries and thrillers. I would also recommend it to any plant lovers!

Poisonous plants and a clever heroine? Sign me the hell up! Now I'm tempted to run out and find out everything about poisonous plants. I adored the atmosphere and setting in this story. It felt like I was there myself.

CW: Description of wounds, Assault (Physical), Mild Obsession/Stalking

The main character, Professor Eustacia Rose, is easily the highlight of this novel. She is a neurodivergent, lesbian, expert in toxic plants who manages her days through strict routines and spying on her neighbors using a telescope. Her point of view towards reading situations, following threads, and interacting with other were all entertaining and unique.

For as much as I liked Eustacia, though, I have to acknowledge that others may not. Some could reasonably argue that she perpetuates the trope of “autistic genius” and harboring on the negatives of neurodiversity without providing enough humanization and normalization. Her “spying” could easily be said to cross over into obsessive, stalker-level behavior, which may cause further discomfort.

Another weakness in the novel is the plot. There are many allusions to a previous poisoning incident involving Eustacia, to the point that I thought for a while that I had accidentally picked up a sequel book. The “mystery” is pretty easy to solve, though I can forgive that, but the case itself doesn’t have a satisfying conclusion.

This book is listed as the first in a series; if there is a second, I probably will read it because I did enjoy Eustacia as a character and the overall writing style.

Why did I feel like the narrator was mansplaining everything to me?

I love poisonous plants, even if I didn't like the FMC. Other than the plants, this plot felt recycled from other stories. Maybe I'm just a really harsh reviewer, but nothing felt original or realistic.

Really liked this! An unusual, brilliant heroine with a fascination for poisonous plants. I love an academic for a main character and I was not disappointed. The author created a really immersive story with her obvious knowledge of these poisonous plants. I really enjoyed the complexity of the characters without making for a messy, confusing story. The writing flows really well too. I'm delighted to have met Professor Eustacia Rose and I'm excited to read more of her stories.

Professor Eustacia Rose lives an unusual life. She is an expert in botanical toxicology and climbs a ladder through the ceiling of her London flat to her garden of highly toxic plants. She has to grow this garden at home because twelve months ago there was an 'incident' at the University. Somehow, her lab was contaminated. Not only did no one listen to her protestations of innocence, but she lost her position and the respect of her colleagues. All this on top of the recent death of her beloved father.

Now that so much of her time is spent in her rooftop garden Eustacia begins to watch the lives of her neighbours like scenes from a serial. But she becomes increasingly hooked into the story of the exotically beautiful Psycho and the four men in her life. She's increasingly fearful for Psycho and uncharacteristically willing to get involved with people and their incomprehensible behaviours to help Psycho and keep her safe.

And then she finds that she too is at risk. Not only is she unsafe, but so is her life's work and her freedom, as she finds herself on the cusp of a murder charge.

I found this book more and more fascinating. Eustacia Rose is a character that is increasingly interesting and satisfying and yet there is still so much to learn. She is as unusual a detective as Sherlock Holmes was in his day with the added attraction of real character development. The supporting characters are definitely engaging and occasionally perplexing. How has the DCI developed more insight and respect for Eustacia in the last twelve months despite her seemingly odd behaviours?

The plot grows to be somewhat labyrinthine but with enough action to keep me involved. I'm also still considering the ending which I think may be somewhat controversial. It works for me but would it really have worked for Eustacia? I'll be interested to hear the various arguments.

I believe this is the first in a series and I'm looking forward to the next instalment. I have great hopes for the future of this series and highly recommend this book.

4 stars

Eustacia Amelia Rose is a quirky, lovable, fabulously interesting and inquisitive character, and I can't wait to read more in the series! She is an expert in botanical toxicology and an excellent observer of the people around her, even if she doesn't always understand or know how to react in certain situations. And she remembers people by giving them plant names based on their personalities. She's serious, and yet I found her amusing.

Eustacia finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery after hearing a neighbor's scream and deciding to investigate. During her probe into what's going on, Eustacia puts herself into situations that cause her angst and could be dangerous, but she learns how to cope. The Woman in the Garden is full of suspects, mystery, secrets, clues, history and true feelings. I really enjoyed it. By far, the best part is the main character, Eustacia, her quirkiness and her social interactions. Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the digital ARC.

Previously published in 2023 as Devil’s Breath, this is an unusual murder mystery with an unusual protagonist. Eustacia Rose was a professor of Botanical Toxicology, specialising in poisonous plants, before she lost her job and her reputation. Now she tends to her own hidden balcony garden of toxic plants in her tiny flat and spies on her neighbour across the street, who she comes to learn is called Simone. Neurodiverse and gay, with no apparent friends, she has developed a bit of an obsession for the beautiful woman and watches the comings and goings of the four men who visit her. When her secret garden is vandalised and one of the men dies with a poison from it, the police haul her in for questioning.

The novel is told entirely from Eustacia’s point of view. It took me a little while to warm to her as she is quirky, dressing in her dead father’s clothes and finding emotions and human relationships hard to understand. However, with the addition of Simone and the four men, as well as Simone’s landlady and a bumbling police detective, the plot becomes intriguing with multiple twists and red herrings as Eustacia eventually works out who everyone is and what they are all up to. Her investigations force Eustacia to go places and do things she would never have done before so that she ends up more engaged with the world and the people in it. An unusual, well written enjoyable mystery.

An original story with unique, engaging characters.
Botanist Professor Eustacia Rose lives alone and spends her days tending her rooftop garden of toxic plants after she lost her job at a London university a year ago after "an incident" and being found redundant. She is a bit of an odd duck (neurodivergent), dressing in her late father's suits and avoiding contact with other people, except to watch them from her garden through a telescope, giving them plant nicknames to match their appearances. When an exotic young woman moves in across the street, Professor Rose is fascinated by her life and feels compelled to try to protect the young woman, Simone, after she sees her take a blow from a visiting man, but Professor Rose becomes involved a more complex and dangerous problem than she could have anticipated, with unexpected connections to her own past. I enjoyed watching the Professor's character bloom as she was drawn outside of her small life by her concern for Simone. The Woman in the Garden is well written and plot the moves along at a good pace. I gave up trying to guess what would happen next in this unique and captivating story and just enjoyed it as it unfolded. I can't wait to see what Eustacia will get up to next!

i found this a complicated storyline and quite difficult to follow, not what id describe as an easy read - not for me sadly

The story was a little slow and I didn’t connect with any of the characters. It was underwhelming. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

This book was so strange! It was really not what I was expecting at all!

It was one heck of a mystery!! Professor Rose is an enigma for half the book. You literally don't know much about them and even their gender seems arbituary for the first part of the book so it was like a mystery within a mystery and you don't even realize until its revealed that you were kept in the dark.

I love books about poisonous plants and Professor Rose gives a very dry and academic run down through the book of what is what and I loved it! I felt like I was learning something! They are pulled into a plot after watching from their neighbors from their rooftop garden and it was the most unique storytelling I have ever encountered.

I highly recommend this one if you are looking for something different!

4 stars

THE WOMAN IN THE GARDEN was a good story that held my interest. I liked the pacing and how this was just a unique story that was different than others I've read lately. If you like plants you'll definitely like this one.


Many thanks for my gifted copy.

This was definitely a very unique mystery! 👏 Definitely was giving me Rear Window (one of my all time favorite movies!) vibes from the very beginning!

It was also really interesting to learn about all of the different poisonous plants out there!! I knew there were toxic plants but had no clue there were that many! ☠️

All in all, it was a fun mystery and I definitely recommend it! 🙌

Thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and Jill Johnson for the opportunity to read the eARC in exchange for my honest review! ❤️

This novel is the first in the Professor Eustacia Rose Mystery series.

The plot sounds unique and good! I can't wait to see how popular this book gets.

From GR:
Eustacia Rose is a Professor of Botanical Toxicology who lives alone in London with only her extensive collection of poisonous plants for company. She tends to her garden with meticulous care. Her life is quiet. Her schedule never changes. Until the day she hears a scream and the temptation to investigate proves irresistible.

Through her telescope, Professor Rose is drawn into the life of an extraordinarily beautiful neighbour, Simone, and nicknames the men who visit her after poisonous plants according to the toxic effect they have on Simone. But who are these four men? And why does Eustacia Rose recognize one of them?

Just as she preserves her secret garden, she feels inexplicably compelled to protect her neighbour. But when her precious garden is vandalized and someone close to Simone is murdered with a toxin derived from a rare poisonous plant, Eustacia finds herself implicated in the crime and decides to take matters into her own hands . . .

I appreciate NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this book. My review rating is based on the summary of this book.

Eustacia Amelia Rose is a 45 year old former professor and an expert in botanical toxicology.
They tend to their garden meticulously and are a recluse until they see a neighbor getting attacked.
Rose is a recluse but then starts stalking the neighbor.
I found the pacing very slowly and the whole thing very creepy. I got a fifth in the book and decided to not continue.
Not sure if the writing wasn’t my jam, or the story.
Overall Im glad I moved on to another book.

"Sometimes it’s easier to exist in a blurred world than to face harsh reality."

Eustacia Rose is a proffesor of botanical toxicology with only her collection of poisonous plants to keep her company.Eustacia has one other hobby she likes to watch her neighbours and keep track of their lives for research purposes.

Eustacia is a very peculiar character one who I found to be likeable and a tad bit creepy.
I really enjoyed the way she likened nearly every person to a plant with a reason behind it.

A great thrilling read, well paced and informative, you won't believe how many plants you may see everyday that are poisonous!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my ARC in exchange for a honest review.
This book was a pleasant surprise! I read through it quickly as it held my attention all the way through.
Professor Eustacia Rose is a quirky neurodivergent character with a profound interest in poisonous plants. Professor Rose does things her way and therefore gets herself into hot water because of this. Some of her actions are questionable, but underneath it all, she means well and is just lacking social awareness.
The author has certainly done her research in poisonous plants. I never knew that so many common plants were so toxic!
The story is a little bit slow in places and more of a cosy murder mystery rather than an on the edge of your seat murder mystery. Also I am not sure that the police generally welcome the general public for their input in a murder case! That being said, the book is well written, well researched and does not have an over abundance of characters.
Overall, an enjoyable read.

The Woman in the Garden is a different kind of suspense. It takes you into a world of a mystery that ends in murder. There's fingers pointing everywhere, betrayal all around, and poisonous plants literally everywhere. Enter the garden if you dare...