The Skeleton Garden: A Potting Shed Mystery

Marty Wingate

Mar 2016 · Alibi

About this ebook

USA Today bestselling author Marty Wingate’s Potting Shed series continues as expert gardener Pru Parke digs up a Nazi warplane—and a fresh murder.
 
Texas transplant Pru Parke has put down roots in England, but she never dreamed she’d live in a grand place such as Greenoak. When her former employers offer Pru and her new husband, former Detective Chief Inspector Christopher Pearse, the use of their nineteenth-century estate while they’re away for a year, she jumps at the chance. Sweetening the deal is the prospect of further bonding with her long-lost brother, Simon, who happens to be Greenoak’s head gardener. But the majestic manor has at least one skeleton in its closet—or, rather, its garden.
 
Working on renovations to the extensive grounds, siblings Pru and Simon squabble about everything from boxwood to bay hedges. But when the removal of a half-dead tree turns up the wreckage of a World War II–era German fighter plane and a pile of bones, the arguments stop. That is, until a rival from Simon’s past pays a surprise visit and creates even more upheaval. It’s suddenly clear someone is unhappy their secrets have been unearthed. Still, Pru’s not about to sit back and let Simon take the fall for the dirty deed without a fight.
 
Marty Wingate’s captivating mysteries can be enjoyed together or separately, in any order:
 
The Potting Shed series: THE GARDEN PLOT | THE RED BOOK OF PRIMROSE HOUSE | BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE | THE SKELETON GARDEN | THE BLUEBONNET BETRAYAL | BEST-LAID PLANTS
 
The Birds of a Feather series: THE RHYME OF THE MAGPIE | EMPTY NEST | EVERY TRICK IN THE ROOK | FAREWELL, MY CUCKOO

Praise for Marty Wingate
 
“Marty Wingate plants clever clues with a dash of romantic spice to satisfy any hungry mystery reader.”—Mary Daheim, bestselling author of The Alpine Yeoman
 
“Classy, clever, and utterly charming . . . Brew a pot of tea and settle in with this immensely enjoyable mystery.”—Rosemary Harris, author of Pushing Up Daisies and The Bitches of Brooklyn, on The Garden Plot
 
“Put the kettle on and settle into a well-crafted village mystery with a delightful new sleuth.”—Connie Archer, bestselling author of Ladle to the Grave, on The Rhyme of the Magpie

Ratings and reviews

I found this book to be slow, confusing, but definitely a mystery. I found the story to be incredibly slow. We were given a lot of information that I am not sure was warranted or necessary. I would say the first half of the book was just following the ins and outs of Pru’s day. Not quite sure I can say it linked in with the mystery part of the story. I think the extensive detail and information that was provided lent to a lot of my confusion, but I was also confused with timelines. I am not 100% sure what the time period was of the book. At times, I felt it was present time and then times felt it was past time and I had an incredibly difficult time keeping it straight. Aside from those two things, the mystery itself was good. Definitely one that has the wheels spinning and you don’t figure out until the book does (which I love in a mystery story.) There were a lot of “suspects” in the mystery and it was fun to narrow it down. I have to admit, I was quite surprised at who the actual criminal was, and enjoyed reading the mystery part of the book. If you can get past the slowness in the beginning, it really is a great mystery read!

Awesome! I love these books. Keep them coming!

Great read

About the author

USA Today bestselling author Marty Wingate is the author of three previous Potting Shed mysteries—The Garden Plot, The Red Book of Primrose House, and Between a Rock and a Hard Place—and the Birds of a Feather Mystery mysteries: The Rhyme of the Magpie and Empty Nest. Wingate is a regular contributor to Country Gardens and other magazines. She also leads gardening tours throughout England, Scotland, Ireland, France, and North America. More Potting Shed and Birds of a Feather mysteries are planned.