I would like to thank Netgalley and Joffe Books for a review copy of Murder in the Garden, the ninth police procedural to feature DI Hillary Greene of Thames Valley police.

Hillary is returning to work after two months compassionate leave and is not in the mood to take prisoners but before she can sort out her team she is called out to a murder scene, keen gardener Eddie Philpott has been killed with his own spade. With little to go on the case is difficult even without the distraction of having to babysit the increasingly volatile and pregnant Janine Mallow and deal with the malevolent Superintendent Brian Vane.

I thoroughly enjoyed Murder in the Garden which is another undemanding but very pleasant read. Eddie Philpott's murder is not the main focus of the novel and is rather lacklustre, both in terms of plotting and investigation. In fact I guessed most of it almost from the start. The main focus is on Janine and the investigation into her husband's death. She is convinced that Clive Myers is responsible (see Murder in a Mansion) and that the task force is getting nowhere so starts taking more on herself, relying on Hillary to help her. This part of the novel is gripping, exciting and very well done.

Much of the pleasure in this series comes from the ongoing saga of the protagonists' lives. Hillary has changed since the death of her old friend, Mel Mallow, and is harder and less worried about the consequences of her actions, not that she doesn't cover the bases politically before opening her mouth. I love this new outspokenness and the way things fall into place for her and I adored her first real conversation with Gemma, her underhand sergeant. What a masterclass in oneupmanship! I'm desperate to find out about her history with Superintendent Vane as they obviously don't get on. Janine is another well drawn character in this novel. Her instability and volatility are made very understandable.

Murder in the Garden is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

I love how the characters and situations evolve from one book to the next, so I really recommend reading this series in order. But is my favourite DI close to retiring? I hope not, but I do hope she will finally find a true love.one of these days.

Having read all of the earlier books in this series, I know that I will enjoy reading this book.

I like the characters and the use of settings in and around Oxford add a sense of reality to Faith Martin's books.

Well worth reading if you like a traditional murder mystery. These books are good on there own. However if you read them in order, there is an additional back story about DI Hillary Green's police career developing.

My thanks go to Netgalley and Joffe Books for a copy in exchange for this review.

Edward Philpott is killed in his garden the day DI Hillary Greene comes back to work after 2 months off. Her friend was murdered right in front of her and though they think they know who it is they have not been able to arrest him yet. Mr. Philpott is killed in his garden while his daughter is taking her children to school. No one saw anything and he was well liked. His daughter is dying of cancer and only has months to live so who would take care of her children now. The story weaves around this murder and the murderer of Mel Mallow. His widow who is very much pregnant cannot stay away from the investigation and draws Hillary in when she is unable to cope. Can Hillary concentrate on one murder at a time.? She is concerned about that. It will keep you wondering.

DI Hillary Greene is known for her ability to focus on details others miss, her skill in leading her team and the mentoring she provides to her younger colleagues. Murder in the Garden does not begin on a good day for Hillary. Two months have passed since her close friend Mel was murdered and while the police believe they know the identity of the killer, without evidence connecting him to the crime, many fear this will become an unsolved cold case. Hillary is grief-stricken and her usual razor-sharp focus wavers as she attempts to solve her current assignment while trying to assist Mel's pregnant widow, who is determined to unmask her husband's killer even if the police cannot.
Hillary and her team are tasked with investigating the murder of an elderly gentleman in his garden. He seemingly has no real enemies and yet he was killed by a blow to his head with his own shovel. Figuring out the killer's identity is normally what DI Greene does best, however she has returned from leave full of self-doubt and is afraid that she has lost the ability to lead her team and solve this crime. The story alternates between the movements of Clive Myers, the man believed to have killed Superintendent Philip “Mellow” Mallow(Mel) and the current murder of Edward Philpott. Hillary is constantly drawn away from her case as Janine, Mel's widow continues to disregard instructions to stay out of the Myers investigation. Will there be justice for Mel as well as for Edward?The answers to those questions are what propel the story along and I have to say I was rooting for both murderers to be exposed as well as for DI Greene to find some peace.
This is the second book in this series that I have read and DI Greene's character continues to grow on me. Sometimes I am in the mood for a superman or woman type detective, and sometimes I am enamored by a flawed human being who is good with people and cares about those around her. That to me, is Hillary, a good detective, and a good person. I am looking forward to spending more quality time with her as there are more books in this series.
Thank you, Faith Martin, Joffe Books and NetGalley for the digital copy to read and review.

Murder in the Garden is book nine in the DI Hillary Greene series.

But this book is more than just a continuation of a familiar story line. Well crafted and well written this English gem is easily consumed all on its own - previous experience with the series isn't necessary to enjoy this book.

The story follows DI Hillary Greene who has just returned from compassionate leave after her friend was shot by a sniper only a few feet in front of her. Now she must move on with her life, her career while solving a new murder and trying to keep a widow out of the investigation of her husband's murdered.

Excellent read! We can expect more great books from Faith Martin.

This book is set 2 months after the tragic end of the last book, with DI Green returning to work after slowly getting over the death of her boss, the much loved Mel.  Hilary is then thrown straight into the deep end of a murder investigation when a man is found dead in his back garden.

This book is a brilliant one based around two completely different investigations, on the one hand you have a murder story based around a flower show, with all the drama and vicious back stabbing that goes with it, and the other story is the investigation into who killed Mel, whilst stopping his heavily pregnant widow also trying to find out what happened and turning into a vigilante.

The main plot is great, where we are taken into the dark underground of flower shows and trying to find the killer through all of this was a great read, I really didn't work out who the killer was throughout until the massive reveal on the last couple of pages.  This was almost overshadowed by the shocking conclusion of the other investigation involving Mel, which was a very apt if unexpected ending.

After reading this book I can't wait for the next one, which if Joffe and Faith continue as previous then it should be a couple of weeks

PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A REVISED EDITION OF A BOOK FIRST PUBLISHED AS “ACROSS THE NARROW BLUE LINE.”

DI Hilary Greene is back .. but she's not the same feisty, strong, justice-driven, female detective that she's always been in the past. She's been on a 2-month compassionate leave because someone she's been close to for many years was murdered. The killer has never been caught.

She is determined that she will get whoever the killer is, even though her supervisors have warned her against getting involved. There's only one person who is more determined than Greene .... the very pregnant widow.

As Greene tries to get her emotions under control and keep the widow out of trouble, she's called in on her first day back to investigate the murder of an elderly man. It looks like he was gardening when someone knocked him in the head with a shovel.

Plowing through family and friends is like swimming in concrete. No clues, no apparent motive. Who would want this senior citizen dead?

As I have found with the first 8 books in this series, this is a well-written crime mystery. Hilary and her team have matured over time, some are now gone but replaced by credible others. There always seems to be a touch of realism to her cases. I like that she's older, experienced, and willing to share those experiences with the younger ones coming up the ladder.

Many thanks to the author / Joffee Books / Netgalley for the advance digital copy. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

Not one of the better instalments in this series. The plot is divided between Hillary (being uncharacteristically alternately angry and disinterested) investigating the murder of an elderly man in his garden, and the attempt by the outside investigating team to prove Clive Myers murdered Mel. Hillary is dragged into the latter by her attempts to prevent the widowed Janine from interfering. I have read each of the previous instalments, so I'm not sure how well this novel would stand on its own, but I have my doubts...

The murder plot was fairly uninteresting and the solution underwhelming. The Myers story was more interesting, but we kept being torn away from it. I'm glad Hillary confronted Gemma about the dirty money. I need Keith to ditch his hideous boyfriend already. One of the attractions of this series for me is that Hillary is unapologetically good at her job, so her faltering here - what an error of judgment in the way she treated Ross, for example - was disappointing.

Still, I will keep going.

Thank you Netgalley and Joffe Books for the eARC.
The 9th in this fantastic series is my favorite so far and that's saying something!
DI Hillary Greene is still grieving after a 2-month leave for the murder of her best and oldest friend and definitely not at all at the top of her game. Not only is she leading the investigation into the killing of a grandfather, she is also trying to rein in the widow, Janine who, heartbroken and pregnant, is determined to catch the man who robbed her of her husband.
The murdered grandfather leaves behind a fatally ill daughter and her 2 children. Who will look after her kids now that her father is gone and she is dying?
Towards the end of the book the tension is almost unbearable, wow...it was impossible to put the book down!
This book was previously published under the title Across the Narrow Blue Line and I love that Joffe Books has re-published
the series. Can't wait for no. 10 and 11 - may they be available soon.