Seeds of Murder, the first in the Gardener Mystery series by Rosie Sandler, was published in 2023. Murder Takes Root was published in 2024.
Our Sleuth: Steph Williams, 31, is starting over in a new career as a live-in gardener after a shattering divorce. Her sidekick is a large, shaggy and highly opinionated black dog named Mouse.
Our Setting: We’re in Beaulieu Heights, an exclusive gated community of five luxury homes north of London, present-day.
The Premise: We catch up with Steph some time after she’s weathered a series of personal crises. There’s the humiliating betrayals by her ex-husband that have left her nearly penniless. Then there’s her decision to seek out her birth parents, which has alienated her adoptive mom, who’s refusing to speak with her. So she’s changed her name and gone back to school to become a gardener, taking on live-in gardening jobs to replenish her bank balance. The first book opens with Steph’s first days in her new gardener’s cottage at Beaulieu Heights.
My Take: One of the delights of good cozy mysteries is that they’re realistic enough to give a sense of the protagonist’s occupation – bookseller, barista, baker or, in this case, gardener. Steph is tall, sturdy and equipped with power tools that she uses with gusto. This is less weed pulling and more tree chopping, the kind of physical labor that leaves Steph sore as she tends to the neglected grounds that come with her new job. I really enjoyed the author’s horticultural knowledge here, as Steph tackles a myriad of plant-related issues.
But even if gardening isn’t a particular interest, I found both books in this series to be engaging reads. Steph is a contract gardener, meaning she changes assignments as she brings her landscapes up to snuff and the setting in book two was equally interesting in its look at England’s modern monied classes (if you’re hiring a live-in gardener, you likely also have a live-in butler, cook, etc.). Of course, there’s also Steph’s own personal growth, as she navigates away from her grasping ex-husband and struggles to soothe her adoptive mom’s pain as Steph tries to connect with her birth family.
First Lines:
It is cold in the paddock. The two Shetland ponies have taken shelter in their shed. The small and expensively dressed group of mourners huddles together against the wind as the coffin is lowered into the grave. One of the group, a woman, is sobbing hard. Now and then, she leans towards a man who is standing slightly apart, his face closed and inscrutable. He has his arm around a girl of about ten, who stares at the coffin with big eyes. When the priest finishes the service, the man takes the girl by her gloved hand and they walk quickly away, across the rough grass towards the far gate.
Heads Up: As with most cozy mysteries, no real trigger warnings here. I do find British cozies to be more realistic — and therefore sometimes a bit tougher — than their American counterparts.
Etc.: Author Rosie Sandler also co-writes the Agatha Oddly series for kids. The Gardener Mysteries are her first adult series; book three, Murder In Bloom, is scheduled for release in January 2025.
FemaleSleuths.com 