Deadhead and Buried (The English Cottage Garden Mysteries #1)

Phrynne

Rating: really liked it
Poppy inherits a cottage with an old English garden and finds herself living next door to a good looking, single author and a very intelligent ginger cat. All good until she discovers a dead body in the garden.

So begins another new series by H.Y. Hanna who will seriously be the death of me if she keeps writing so many books! At the moment I am part way through The Oxford Tea Room Mysteries (all good books so far), about to start The Barefoot Sleuth series, and wishing I had time to read the Bewitched by Chocolate series. There are more but I am keeping my eyes averted.

Anyway Deadhead and Buried was good fun. Poppy maybe spent a little bit too much time on her own with her overactive imagination, but hopefully in future books she may spend more time with the good looking author.

Onwards now to #2 Silent Bud Deadly (Love these titles!) All this reading is hard work but someone has to do it:)

Brenda

Rating: really liked it
Poppy was unhappy in her job in London and when she received a letter from a solicitor in Oxford to say she’d inherited her grandmother’s cottage, she wasn’t sure what to do. It had a nursery attached and Poppy knew her fingers weren’t green – the will stated she had to reopen the nursery if she was going to live there. Her journey to see her inheritance – after she quit her job – saw her arrive to a tangle of vines, weeds and a ramshackle old cottage. But on her entry, she felt immediately at home.

The discovery of a body in the garden at the back of the house shocked Poppy. But when the Detective told her she couldn’t stay in her cottage because it was a crime scene, she was offered a room next door. Poppy’s time was spent placating the big ginger tom cat, Oren, reading her gran’s gardening books, and trying to solve the mystery of the death in her garden. But could she do it?

Deadhead and Buried is the 1st in the English Cottage Garden Mysteries by Aussie author H.Y. Hanna and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Lots of fun and good entertainment, I loved Oren and his nemesis Einstein (the terrier) as well as Poppy and Nell. I’m looking forward to book 2 soon. Highly recommended.

Nola Arganbright

Rating: really liked it
A 5 star new series

A story set in the beautiful Oxfordshire area of England. The book has great characters plus the added bonus of a large finger Tom car named Oren and a small 5344894 named Einstein.
Like the lead character, Poppy, I don't know much about flowers but picturing the many types presented in the book I am sure to learn.
There is little more beautiful than an English Garden but finding a dead body in it adds confusion and suspense.

Anastasia

Rating: really liked it
Deadhead and Buried by H.Y.Hanna is the first book in the English Cottage Garden mystery series. Poppy Lancaster finds that she has inherited an English Cottage garden nursery from her estranged grandmother, only to stumble across a body on her first night at the cottage. A nice start to the series. Poppy is a likeable character and she has some interesting and quirky neighbours, with Oren the tomcat and a dog Einstein. It was interesting how the garden theme and flowers played a part in the mystery and I loved learning about the flowers with Poppy. A delightful and enjoyable, light cozy mystery.

Cheryl

Rating: really liked it
Another corker of a read and first of a relatively new series by H.Y. Hanna. You know a book is damn good when you decide to stay up all night fighting a psychotropic sedative just to finish it.

Janet

Rating: really liked it
Poppy Lancaster would love nothing more than to quit her job, but she has numerous bills and just can't. Then, out of the blue, a letter shows up that she's inherited a cottage garden nursery in Oxfordshire. It wouldn't hurt her to check out the property her grandmother left her, and see if she can sell it. This is a grandmother who Poppy has never met after all. Deciding to stay at the cottage for the night, she encounters a grumpy neighbor, a demanding cat, and a dead body.

I liked Poppy right away. The setting of this book has a soothing feel to it, and I wish I could have that cottage. Good mystery, although, it seemed to take a backseat to the plot. This author was new to me, and I'm so glad I picked this one to read. Looking forward to reading more and would definitely recommend to readers.

Meg

Rating: really liked it
A great start to this new series. 4.5*

Betty

Rating: really liked it
The first book in the English Garden mysteries. Poppy is working at a thankless job with no chance of advancement when she receives a letter from the lawyer handling her estranged Grandmother's estate. Upon her arrival at the lawyer's office, she takes the keys and goes to see the rundown garden. While there, someone tries to break into the cottage and Poppy finds the handyman buried in a flower bed. She has quirky neighbors. One side is a retired professional teacher and the other is a well-known mystery writer. She meets Oren, yellow-orange tomcat. He has a minor role in the tale. Poppy decides to bring the Garden and back to life. I recommend this book.

Lola

Rating: really liked it
I received a free copy from the author and voluntarily reviewed it.

I was so excited to hear about this new series by HY Hanna and hoped it would be just as good as her other series. Deadhead and Buried was such a fun read, the mystery was well done, the theme was fun and there are a lot of fun and quirky characters. It's an awesome start to this new series and I am looking forward to see where this series goes next.

Deeadhead and Buried starts with main character Poppy having a bad day on her job, her boss doesn't treat her well and she's not enjoying her work. Luckily for Poppy thing are about to change for her. A letter comes informing her that she has inherited her grandmother's cottage. She jumps on the train to check it out, planning to sell it and use the money to follow her dreams, but then she finds a body in the garden and she finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery. And slowly falling in love with the lovely cottage and garden.

The mystery was well done, while it starts a bit later in the book as there is a bit of introduction first, it was still worked out very well. I liked trying to figure out who was the murderer and I liked the reveal when we find out who did it. I hadn't expects that person to be the murderer and I liked being surprised. It did make sense, even tough there are only a few hints in that direction, but mostly it's that I didn't realize those things were clues, it's great when things fall on it's place and how much sense it makes. There are enough suspects and not many clues at first, which made for an interesting situation. It also felt realistic how Poppy slowly got into solving the mystery, she just wanted to figure things out and defend her new friend and slowly ends up solving it when she finds the right clue.

I liked Poppy, she seemed friendly and curious. Her situation is so typical for a cozy mystery with an inheritance sending her on a different road, but the way the plot was worked out still made it feel fresh. Poppy was a likable main character who just want to follow her dreams and get out of her dreary job and I love seeing her find her place. I admit I am not a fan of the plot lines where a character is set on selling a place, while you know they're going to stay. But as here the focus wasn't too much on it and it got resolved by the end of the book I didn't mind as much and it did make sense that Poppy was planning to sell it first. I liked following Poppy's story and seeing her grow attached to the town, cottage and people here.

There is a great cast of quirky side characters, from the elusive crime author to the quirky elderly inventor who lives next door. Then there is an orange tom cat called Oren and a terrier. And there is the friendly lawyer who helps her out, her rude cousin, some friendly villagers and a female detective who seems to know what she is doing. And there is even a potential love interest for Poppy, but we'll see how that goes in future books. I liked getting to know these side characters a bit and I am looking forward to see more of them in future books.

I also liked the gardening/ plant theme, it's infused in the book with enough about the plants and gardening, but also done in a way that makes sense. I don't know as much about plants, but I do like plants and enjoyed reading about them. I also think it's quite the unique theme for a cozie as I can't remember seeing too many books with a similar theme. It's also clear the author knows her plants with the many plant names and also the bits of information dropped throughout the book.

To summarize: Deadhead and Buried is an awesome start to this new series. Poppy is a fun main character and I was happy to see her luck turn around and see her slowly find her place in this new town and the cottage she inherited. The mystery was well done, it kept me guessing and surprised me with the murderer, but there are enough clues that looking back it makes sense. There is a fun cast of interesting and quirky side characters, among which an elderly inventor, a reclusive crime author and an orange tom cat and a terrier. The gardening and plant theme was a fun touch and well done. The author seems to know a lot about plants with the plant names and bits of information dropped throughout the book. All in all I had a lot of fun reading this one and can't wait for book 2!

John Presler

Rating: really liked it
With very little education or self- confidence, Poppy Lancaster doesn't think much in her future. She has to work extra long hours, but gets no overtime pay. She can barely pay her part of the rent and utilities and minimum payments on the credit card debt left when her mother died. What little is left goes to pay for food.

After receiving a letter from Charles Mannering, an attorney, Poppy takes a day off to meet with him. It turns out to be a good choice, as she discovers that she has inherited the Hollyhock Cottage Garden Nursery from her grandmother, Mary Lancaster.

After moving into the cottage, she realizes she has her work cut out for her. The gardens are completely overgrown with weeds and vines except for one area. This area looks to be dug up recently. Things get interesting when Poppy trips and falls in the freshly turned soil. She finds a body and things just seems to go from bad to worse.

Who was the person buried in the garden? How long has the body been there? Will Poppy sell the Nursery or try to make a go of it? Will the corpse affect the decision to keep or sell?

H.Y. Hanna puts so much into her books that you can find it really hard to put them down. Deadhead and Buried kept me up at night and I loved it. I am looking forward to reading more books in this series.

Trish

Rating: really liked it
I really liked this, especially the gardening aspect.

Tammy

Rating: really liked it
Quote: Heather symbolizes transformative change- from the mundane to the extraordinary. Flower crime and flower messages were interesting. A young lady alone in the world receives a possible inheritance, a dead body, friendly cat, and dog neighbors, in a small English village full of fun characters. A fast-paced cozy mystery.

Jennifer

Rating: really liked it
I just adore these author's cozies. They never fail to cheer me up, which is quite odd since someone always dies in them! Nevertheless, I think this series might even top the Oxford Tearoom series. I love to garden and look forward to seeing how and when the heroine's garden is restored to its former glory. :)

As to the mystery itself, the identity of the perpetrator was a bit easy to guess. I still enjoyed the story anyway and am looking forward to what's to come.

Sharon Hamilton

Rating: really liked it
Floralific

I am glad that I decided to read this series. A little bit challenging with all of the Latin flower names but still intriguing. I think it was fun that Oren's responses sounded like answers to questions. I suppose there will be a bit of romance co.ing up. Can't wait to see how the garden grows.

Amber

Rating: really liked it
So much fun and really well written and engaging. I look forward to reading more from this author.