Review: Enjoyable new series
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 6, 2014
I will confess that I am not a gardener and plants do thank me for that as I have a black thumb.  Now that I have said that -I loved this book.  I hope this is the first in a series by Marty Wingate because I would love to read more about Pru Parke and DCI Christopher Pearse.Pru is from Dallas, TX where she was born to an American father and a British mother.  She has moved to London now that her mother has passed away.  She had always dreamed of living and working in England thanks to her mother's stories as she was growing up.  She is a professional gardener who has studied English gardens and knows the historical and contemporary gardens of England.  She is a mature (50+), self-reliant woman who can also be quite stubborn.  She has given herself one year in England to get a permanent job or she has to move back to Texas.  The story begins during her last month in England and she still hasn't obtained a permanent post as a gardener.  She does odd gardening jobs for private home owners; but she's about to run out of money and the return to Texas is looming.  It's at her newest odd job where she stumbles - literally - over a dead body and the mystery begins.The author began each chapter with a rejection letter from a prospective employer that Pru had sent an application to for a job as a gardener. I thought that this was a clever way for me to get to know Pru a little better because of her thoughts and reactions to each letter.  The mystery was well plotted and moved along at a good pace.  Her character development was excellent and I really felt like I knew all of the caracters in the book.  Her romance with DCI Pearse is quite lovely as they take their time getting to know each other.  This made sense to me since both character knew that Pru might have to leave.  The ending made me smile and cheer for Pru as Marty gave us a simple HEA that will hopefully leave the door open for more adventures for Pru with DCI Pearse.I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.