by Kathleen Costa

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win either an ebook or print copy of Trowel and Error, and a link to purchase it from Amazon. We also have a fun guest post by Kathleen about gardening.

Trowel and Error: English Cottage Garden Mystery By H.Y. Hanna

Green Thumb in Training!
Poppy Lancaster has not looked back after leaving London and moving to Bunnington, a small village in the Oxfordshire countryside, to take possession of her inheritance, Hollyhock Cottage and a cottage garden nursery, but since her grandmother’s illness and passing, it has fallen into disrepair. She’s got to have the Lancaster green thumb somewhere in her, so she’s cleaning, weeding, and working hard to reenergize the garden and greenhouse into something of which her grandmother would have been proud. Joining Poppy is friend and surrogate mother Nell Hopkins, cleaning woman by trade, who had been made redundant in London and now is a housemate. There is also handyman Joe Fabbri, an invaluable mentor on all things gardening, neighbor Nick Forrester, a handsome crime-thriller author, another neighbor Dr. Bertram “Bertie” Noble, Nick’s estranged father, former Oxford professor, and eccentric inventor, DI Suzanne Whittaker, friend and confidant, and Oren, a demanding ginger tom, who despite being adopted by Nick, is often found at Hollyhock Cottage receiving special “treat”ment. But, it’s not all perennials, seedlings, and floral displays, Poppy has happened upon too many suspicious deaths running afoul of DS Amory Lee. Life in the English countryside can be unpredictably entertaining!

English Cottage Garden Mystery
Deadhead and Buried (2019)
Silent Bud Deadly (2019)
Doom and Bloom (2019)
Trowel and Error (2020)

Trowel and Error earns 5+/5 Swarms of Mystery…Engaging Entertainment!
Poppy’s “slimy” cousin Hubert Leach, a property agent, has been a bittersweet part in her life, but she thought the “quid pro quo” agreement she’d made would turn out to be simple and easy to fulfill. He had given Nell a lucrative cleaning contract, and Poppy promised a return “favor,” and being his date at an invitation-only cocktail party seemed a small price to pay. Until the “quo” was more than her “quid” could handle. I’m your who? My name is what? The only good side is Poppy gets an introduction to billionaire David Nowak who owns the Ró?a Garden Centres chain and is a candidate for Parliament. David and his wife Lena are hosting a “vintage attire” cocktail party to show off his renovated orangery and maybe a bit of fundraising on the side. But, the evening doesn’t go as planned. Rick Zova, a party crasher from David’s past, is found dead…covered in wasp stings!

David, Geoff Healey, and Rick Zova were mates who had been in a band thirty years ago, but like most bands, egos, creative differences, and greed caused many a break-up. Rick’s uninvited appearance, in true flamboyant fashion, seems just a friendly surprise, but Poppy overhears a conversation, talks to another party crashes, and witnesses a disturbing outburst. When Rick is later found by an old tree housing a vicious swarm of wasps. Poppy is shocked to learn Oxfordshire CID uses circumstantial evidence implicating Joe Fabini in the crime as a reason to hold him. To everyone’s dismay, Poppy is adamant that Joe is innocent and she’s going to prove it!

“Orange you glad you…” H.Y. Hanna is an all-time favorite author for her clever mystery, descriptive language, and an entertaining banter, and this fourth book in her English Cottage Garden Mystery is another excellent adventure. I may not be an active gardener, but I greatly enjoy the idea of a nursery, gardening, and all the flowers talk. The murder mystery was well-developed from the victim selection and a plethora of folks connected to the victim to reasonable motives and interesting secrets exposed, and all ending with a final reveal excited by a bit of personal peril. I had the killer on my radar, but cleverly Hanna’s story had me dismiss that idea when something better came along…and Joe? He had reason; I wondered if Poppy just had it wrong. I love it when I get stumped. Readers also get a little more about Poppy’s late mother and the father she never knew…fascinating side story! Hanna’s English Cottage Garden main characters are delightful, realistic, and varied in age to meet any cozy fan’s preferences, and the additional characters do well to support their personalities, class, and education. Several suspects had the opportunity and slowly several motives are exposed as Poppy uses her informal queries, Bertie’s newest invention CLARA, and an “in” at the police station; my inner Sherlock was on overdrive. I loved it all.

Bonus! The idea of an orangery brought to mind one of my favorite compliments to scones and muffins…marmalade. Here is an excellent resource for some unique homemade marmalades from Kimberly, a designer at Evermine: evermine: Blog—5 Unique Marmalade Recipes.

Be a Big H.Y. Hanna Fan!
USA Today bestselling author H.Y. Hanna is the author of my all-time favorite series; the now ten-book Oxford Tearoom Mystery always added a little treat for me to bring a proper English tearoom into my home. Another top favorite is the six-book Bewitched by Chocolate series, which sprinkles a bit of magic to the delectable descriptions of all kinds of chocolate. I am thrilled that she has given me another favorite with the entertaining four-book English Cottage Garden Mystery planting wonderful characters and a clever mystery along with a bit of humor. All of her series are in print and eBook, but several are also in audio format giving readers a little extra with the delightful voice artistry of narrator Pearl Hewitt who enriches the already engaging story with varied accents, dialects, emotions, and tone. I always say “Murder is better with an English accent.”

Facebook – H.Y. Hanna Books
Website – H.Y. Hanna
Twitter At @_HYHanna

Gardening for the Family
By Kathleen Costa

H.Y. Hanna’s story sure does spark an interest in gardening, and whether you have an allotment plot, backyard, patio, or kitchen window, you can grow your favorite flowers, herbs, fruits, and vegetables. It’s also a great family activity and learning experience during this “stay at home” time. Hey, kids! Let’s build a garden!

There are several resources to produce or improve your “green thumb.” Start by deciding what kind of garden you’d like to create: a retreat filled with flowers, a garden of veggies you can ensure are grown without pesticides, or your favorite herbs to support your inner chef.

Website Garden Therapy: Better Living Through Plants—This is a great site by Stephanie Rose that includes a Blog, Shop, and Events including tips on growing, feeding, and managing a garden along with recipes for an herb salad, instructions for a relaxing foot scrub, and a way to sooth summer skin. Sign up for her newsletter.

Garden Therapy—Tomatoes: How to Grow Tomatoes: Top Tomato Growing Tips From an Expert—This May 15 blog is an excellent resource with expert advice from Joe Lamp’l’s (aka joe gardener®) in preparation of growing tomatoes with additional information on Edible Gardens, Heirloom Tomatoes, Tomatoes, and Vegetables Gardening.

HGTV—Family Gardening—Home & Garden TV has some great ways to foster an interest in gardening along with an understanding of how things grow, efforts needed to maintain a garden, and the fun in eating the results. Make gardening fun for the whole family with these easy projects: Gardening Fun for the Whole Family, Kid-friendly Gardening Videos, All Kids Love Fairy Gardens, Kid-friendly Gardening Projects, Easy Plants for Kids to Grow, Create an Outdoor Gardening Studio for Kids, and many more fascinating projects and articles.

How to: Culinary Indoor Herb Garden: This website offer “10 Tips For A Successful Indoor Herb Garden” with additional resources on Kitchen Herb Gardens, Herb Garden Ideas, and Growing Herbs. There is an opportunity through Botanical Interests to download a Free Garden Journal. Check this out if interested: Botanical Interests—Garden Journal.

Evermine Blog: DIY Painted Garden Rocks—Once you get your garden growing, the family may have fun decorating with these painted garden rocks by Lindsay, writer/blogger.

To enter to win an ebook or print copy of Trowel and Error, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “trowel,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen May 30, 2020. U.S. residents only and you must be 18 or older to enter. You can read our privacy statement here if you like. MAKE SURE TO STATE IF YOU WANT PRINT OR EBOOK.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. Be sure to check out our new mystery podcast too with mystery short stories, and first chapters read by local actors. A new episode goes up next week.

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Kathleen Costa is a long-time resident of the Central Valley, and although born in Idaho, she considers herself a “California Girl.” Graduating from CSU-Sacramento, she is a 35+ year veteran teacher having taught in grades 1-8 in schools from Sacramento to Los Angeles to Stockton to Lodi. Currently Kathleen is enjoying her retirement revitalizing hobbies along with exploring writing, reading for pleasure, and spending 24/7 with her husband.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.