| Pruning
the Dead is the first of a new mystery series: Garden
Squad Mysteries. It introduces readers to Lilly Jayne who
recently lost her husband and is slowly adjusting to life
without him. She was asked by some of the other members of
a small town called Goosebush to help beautify it to how it
used to be back in the day. On the first day of a park clean-up,
Lilly’s ex-husband’s third wife is found dead.
The list of suspects is long and the one policeman in town
is a very green cop. Can Lilly and the other members of the
Garden Squad figure out whodunit before another tragedy happens?
As
the first in a new mystery series, Pruning the Dead spends
a lot of time describing the town of Goosebush. A little too
much time in this reader’s opinion. The small-town feel
is very important to this mystery and is well established.
The lineup of characters and descriptions adds to the small
town feel and establishes a list of likely suspects. Lilly
Jayne’s character is strong and readers get a good sense
of what role she played in her community and what she slowly
starts to become again after grieving for her late husband.
Even
though this reader predicted who the killer was, the way that
it was played out was well created. It kinda reminded this
reader of Agatha Christie novels. This reader looks forward
to reading more Garden Squad Mysteries and learning more about
the residents of Goosebush.
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