Hillary Greene is always an engaging character, and I enjoyed spending time with her again. The glimpses into life on a narrowboat are especially entertaining. This particular mystery was not the most entertaining or believable, but I was still compelled to keep reading.

Having read a previous book (#7) in the series I went into this one optimistically. The other book in the DI Greene series had a slow start which left me a little undecided about the series. As such, I was excited to have a chance to read another in the series. Murder in the Garden has a great start full of tension and potential. Plot points reach back into #8 and #7 but you won't have had to read either to get caught up and move through #9. Many of the points I disliked about #7 (Murder in the Meadow) were softened, edited or absent and the strengths of Faith Martin's writing shone through. I found myself unable to put the book down.

There are two stories going side by side in Murder in the Garden. There is the aforementioned garden murder and then there's a plot that relates back to the 8th book in the series. Although details of that will be discussed early in #9 I don't want to spoil the plot for anyone. I enjoyed the way that the two plots travelled on parallel tracks until their inevitable resolution toward the end of the book. Having the two plots helped resolve the pacing issues I had noticed with book 7. The DI Greene series is definitely more about the investigators than the murders, which is clear after reading two books in the series, but I really enjoyed Martin's development of her characters and am now very eager to read more of the series.

I also like that the books can stand alone. I just think that they are stronger taken as a series.

I really enjoyed reading this, as i always do with Faith Martin. I found this way to read, but with enough plot/twists to keep me engaged.

http://turnthepage17.blogspot.co.uk/2018/03/murder-in-garden-faith-martin.html

I love this series of crime novels. I have read all of them in order (yes, I know!) and cannot get enough of them. I love the character of Hilarry Greene; she is feisty, realistic and normal! All the characters are well drawn with all their quirks and foibles. Even Frank Ross is needed in the ensemble and there has even been a time or two when I have felt sorry for this very unsympathetic character. These stories are just really good books, well written and enjoyable. Now waiting for the next one!

I really like this book. It's entertaining, well written, with interesting plot and characters.
Many thanks to Joffe Books and Netgalley.

This is the ninth book in the best selling series featuring DI Hilary Greene and written by Faith Martin that I have had the pleasure of reading and reviewing. I have loved each and every one of them and ‘Murder In The Garden’ is no different but more about that in a bit.
‘Murder In The Garden’ features a different DI Hilary Greene than we are used to. Not in the physical sense no, but in the mental health sense. The end of the previous book saw the murder of her long time colleague and friend, DCI Philip ‘Mellow’ Mallow, who was killed in front of her in cold blood. It’s obvious that she is still suffering mentally from the after effects of witnessing that tragic incident. I did begin to wonder if she was suffering from ‘PTSD’, not that Hillary would admit to it. DI Greene is a woman with a stressful job, who has to appear as being a strong leader and if she was to admit that she needed help for her mental health, then that might be seen by others as a weakness. Hilary has enough people wanting to see the back of her. One of which is the DS in her team, who has been deputising for her, whilst Hilary has been on compassionate leave. The relatively new DS has a reason to want to see the back of Hilary thanks to Hilary’s crooked husband Ronnie. I won’t go too much into why as that might spoil your enjoyment of the other books. Not only does DI Greene have the DS to contend with but DCI ‘Mellow’ Mallow’s replacement is introduced. Hilary is not happy to learn to learn who Mellow’s replacement is as she has history with him, although we don’t find out what that history is until part way through the book. Will DI Hilary Greene survive professionally? What history is there between DI Greene and the new DCI? Who is the murderer? Well for the answers to those questions an more you are just going to have to read the book for yourselves to find out.
When you pick up a book written by Faith Martin, you are guaranteed one hell of a read. The story in ‘Murder In The Garden’ hits the ground running and maintains the pace throughout. Faith’s writing style is such that I was hooked on the book from the first word on the first page and because I didn’t want to miss a thing, I became addicted to reading it. My sole focus was on the book and ,unusually for me, I was able to block out all other distractions. I was so focused on the story that before I knew it, I had cleared 51% of the book. The pages were turning that quick that it was almost as if they were turning themselves and before I knew it I had finished the book which I was so disappointed about. Reading this book was a bit like riding on an unpredictable rollercoaster ride with lots of twists, turns and moments where you just want to put your hands over your eyes as you genuinely fear what is going to happen next. There were certainly several times where I almost had to read through my fingers as I feared and dreaded what was going to happen to DI Hilary Greene.
In short I absolutely, well and truly loved reading ‘Murder In The Garden’ and I can’t wait to read more from Faith Martin. Here’s hoping that we don’t have to wait too long. I would have no hesitation in recommending Faith Martin and the DI Hilary Greene series to anybody and everybody. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a well deserved 5* out of 5*.

I'm enjoying the Hillary Greene series, especially as they are set in the Oxford area, where I live. I particularly like following the back stories of the police officers involved. In this book a man is found dead in his garden. Hillary is struggling to come to terms with the death of a close friend and colleague, and feels that this is affecting her ability in her job. I enjoyed the book but I felt that the denouement was rather contrived. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

Murder in the garden was a fantastic read and kept me on the edge of my seat. I love when a book pulls you in and won't let you put it down until it is finished. The emotions of both Hillary and Janine were very raw and brought tears to my eyes. The multiple storylines kept me engaged and interested until the very end.

This is a well written book, but it went off on too many tangents. I usually like having a few mysteries to solve that are centered around the main, but I figured out the whodunit fairly quick. After that it was just Hillary making sure her bereaved and pregnant Sergeant didn't do anything stupid. She did. Other problem taken care of...ta da! Look how smart and brilliant Hillary is. Honestly, it wasn't as bad as I make it sound, and the location was pretty. I even liked the characters enough to download the next book in the series. We'll see how that one goes. My thanks to Joffe/Netgalley.

I found this book to be very muddled, possibly because I had not read any of the previous titles featuring the 'feisty' Hillary. I was at least two thirds in, before the story became focussed and the pace stepped up several gears. Up till then, the story was slow and plodding. There were confusing paragraphs where some attempt was made to give Hillary's subordinates a back story. E.g. Her sergeant's 'wealthy, blind, famous musician lover.' Her male side kick was agonising over his male lover's father's serious fraud trial, taking place in London during the murder investigation. Both of these incidental relationships and their description, went nowhere, and added absolutely nothing to the story, as they were not referred to again. Why were they in the book at all?
The investigation as conducted by Hillary did not ring true - she assumed it was an old man who had been murdered, solely due to his grey hair, visible on his badly injured head as he lay face down. He was 65 years, which is hardly considered 'old' in today's world! Hillary did not strike me as a supremely confident and competent investigating officer, quite the reverse in fact., she seemed to be floundering spectacularly. This was even more evident with the way she dealt with her erstwhile colleague, the widow of her murdered colleague. I found it hard to believe that a senior officer would be so unprofessional. Some study and research of police procedures might be useful for the author, to make future stories more believable.

Another book in this totally brilliant series. I really loved this book! Excellent story with brilliant main characters. I would recommend this book so very much.

Another rousing success in the Hillary Greene series, she is faced with such inner torment and sadness, along with lots of sleepless nights, but she still held it together on her job. With a new murder to solve and her ex-DI Janine to keep in check, since the death of her new husband Mel and Greene ‘s friend and Supervisor who was shot by a sniper two months ago. It was a task to keep to volatile and fully pregnant Janine at bay, she wanted justice and in her point of view, they were taking too long to arrest the one whom they knew did it. He spoiled everything for her and made her unborn child fatherless and for that, he had to pay, she was determined he would pay somehow, in her pregnant state she couldn’t see she was losing control but Hilary did and took care of things if you know what I mean. Hillary is tired and stress, not being able to sleep properly does that to a person, she kept wondering if she could have done more to aid Mel with the rape case that another DI botched in his hastiness. With Janine putting herself at risk not just with her job but the baby, Hillary had no choice but to aid her the best way she can. One of the culprits involved in the rape case, the one who actually perpetrated the act was found buried in a forest in Wales, which convinces Janine even more that, the father of the victim was the one, she was like a bloodhound and refuse to step back, in her mind she had already lost everything and getting the bugger who took it all away was her main focus. For Hillary solving the murder of a very likable old gent took her back twenty years to find the answer. I have to say these books are never boring, filled with intrigue and suspense, the thrill factor is very gripping, heck I couldn’t put the book down, with every new addition to the series Faith Martin creativity shines brighter, great work of art and yes writing is art.

Another fantastic case for DI Green! Unexpected ending, full of surprises. Can’t wait for the next book.

I love the style of writing from this author, the story flows really well and the characters are believable. Hilary doesn't mind bending the rules a bit but will she get away with it this time ?

This is the 9th in series of the Detective Hillary Green series and my first in the series. Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for introducing me to this amazing writer ! I am soon to follow up with all the preceding books.
I love this series for the whip smart protagonist Hillary Green, the location of the gardens and the well crafted sleuth. This book kept me reading into the night unable to part until the end.
I will not give away the plot but I will suggest that you read the entire series as the writing is masterful and so well drawn to the location, murder investigation and characters A wonderful series and a delight.

Yet another fantastic read from Faith Martin, I love this series its brilliant. Full of action and twists it kept me engaged the whole way through. I really like the characters in this series, Hillary is great. Awesome read well deserving of 5 stars.

I have not read previous books in the series which put me at a loss. I recommend reading previous books first. I did enjoy the author’s writing style and the setting.

5 stars

It’s been two months since the shooting death of Superintendent Mel Mallow and DI Hillary Greene is returning to work. His killer still has not been caught, and that only adds to the tension in the department.

Hillary and her team get a call out to a man who has been bludgeoned to death in his garden. He is sixty-five years old and lived with his daughter Rachel Warner and her two children. His name was Edward Philpott. When Hillary meets the daughter, she is struck by how ill she looks. DS Gemma Fordham and DS Frank Ross have begun interviewing the neighbors.

It seems that Eddie and a man from a neighboring village named Thomas Cleaves are rivals at the local flower show. Cleaves accused the judges of being biased. Upon interviewing Cleaves, Hillary and DC Keith Barrington learn that while Cleaves freely admits to not liking Eddie, he denies killing him.

Meanwhile, with the new Superintendent Brian Vane in the office, the reader learns that he and Hillary have a history – and it’s not good. She approaches her bosses Chief Donleavy and Paul Danvers to get DS Frank Ross to retire. She’s had enough of him, as have all the force at the Kidlington station. Hillary also confronts DS Gemma Fordham with her knowledge that she knows what Gemma is up to and that she had an affair with her now dead, no good husband.

Clive Myers is the suspect for shooting Mel, but no evidence has yet come to light. The reader of this story gets to learn the identity of the killer early on in the book.

Martha Hepton had plenty of reason to murder Eddie. His lover of twenty years was to be turned out of her (free) home which belonged to Eddie’s family so that he could sell it to raise capital for his daughter and grandchildren. Thus, she had no place to go. She equivocates, hems and haws around and outright lies to the police. But Hillary and her team are on to her.

Meanwhile, the situation with Clive Myers comes to a head. DI Janine Mallow gets too involved.

Hillary has another epiphany. She can’t believe she didn’t see it before. The identity of the killer comes as a surprise. The reasoning behind the murder is somewhat understandable, but very sad.

This is another very well written and plotted novel in this series. Faith Martin keeps getting better and better. We have two major cases going on in this story and the tension increases and decreases as the stories unfold. I like Hillary and her little narrowboat and Puff the Tragic Wagon. She is a very good boss, understanding when she needs to be, but she can be hard as well. Well done, Ms. Martin!

I want to thank NetGalley and Joffe Books for forwarding to me a copy of this book for me to read and enjoy.

Definitely the best one in the series yet! I love the fluidity of the books, how they mesh into one another. This was a great storyline, taking up from book 8. Finding a cop killer and solving the murder of a nice, neighborhood resident. Lots of twists and turns, and purple that don't necessarily like each other working together.

I can't wait for the next book in the series, I love DI Hillary Greene!

*Thank you to the author/publisher/Netgalley For the opportunity of reading this book in exchange for a fair and honest review*

Thank you Net Galley. A big thank you to Net Galley for introducing me to Faith Martin and DI Greene. I enjoy the series very much. Several trips to Amazon have netted me some of the books in their original issue form. I love those too. This installment fills a gap between two books for me, so I enjoyed it even more. Highly recommended.