I have discovered that I am a fan of mysteries with characters who are landscapers in the UK (Ireland in this case). Who would have guessed it!?

This one stars slow and took me a while to get into.; But once I was, I enjoyed the relationship between Gilly and Marc , mystery and satisfying ending.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the copy to read and review.

Gillian Townsend’s a landscape gardener, her business is struggling and she’s moved in with her sister. Vanessa’s engaged to Ken, she’s her father's favorite and successful daughter and Gilly needs to find somewhere else to live before the wedding in a few weeks. Her situation improves when she offered a job restoring a two hundred year old limestone walled garden, four months work and it should keep her bank happy. She begins work on the project at Glanesfort House, her assistant Dean doesn’t have a lot of experience and she hopes to finish the job on time.

Marc Fletcher is a property developer, he’s Gilly’s new boss, and she finds him rather intimidating and attractive. He has a sweet little boy Samuel and his nanny Alice is lovely and kind to Gilly. Marc has a secret past, his wife passed away in a car accident two years ago and someone is blackmailing him. Gilly moves into an empty cottage on the estate, she sees a ghost like figure on the lake and in her cottage window.

Some strange things are going on at Glanesfort House, the person behind it is the last person you would expect, and the danger and deception changes Gilly and Marc’s relationship. The Neglected Garden is a story full of secrets, mystery, intrigue and set in a beautiful two hundred year old garden and estate in Ireland. The story has lots of twists and turns, and it keeps you guessing right until the end.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley, a quick read and three stars from me.

The Neglected Garden is a suspenseful romantic story that can be read alone.

Ireland, 2010. Gilly Townsend’s beloved landscaping business doesn’t survive the financial crash. Just when she thinks she’ll have to move back home, a profitable project to restore an inspirational walled garden lands in her lap. But she never expected her wealthy Londoner boss to inspire her in return.

Marc Fletcher just wants an escape for him and his four-year-old son. As he tries to forget a dark past, Gilly’s skills in the garden bring light back into his life. As he and his landscaper become something more, a family shadow threatens everything he holds dear.

Very well written. Quite enjoyable read.

Romantic and full of twists and turns to keep you guessing. This was definitely a surprise read for me. Didn't expect to like it as much as I did. I'm glad I tried it.

My first reading at Netgalley in another language, so it was difficult to adapt, but it is a beautiful and engaging story. In all, it was a positive experience, despite the difficulties I had.  
It is a book that I recommend to anyone who wants a good romance!

One of the best books I've read this year, it's a bit of a gothic romantic type book and I read it in two sittings, I had to know what secret Marc was hiding, where was Sam, who was the bad guy.
I really hope that Suzanne keeps on writing this genre of book
I loved it so much
Thank you netgalley.

This is a book that kept me reading deep into the night and I finished it in almost one sitting. It is a great debut novel that had intriguing mystery, suspense and gentle romance storyline with a variety of good characters. I also loved the setting...rural Ireland and old building and neglected garden that is coming to life when the main female character is hired to do that. Her boss is good to her and they become close but something is bothering him, a secret from his past... after few twists and turns there is one satisfying end. All in all nice summer reading material that by that hint of gothic drama will give you a few gardening information too

Gilly the garden designer is asked to make a bid on a garden redesign for a swanky home. The relatively new owner lives there with his young son, and there are some apartments for tenants on the grounds. It's a beautiful estate in County Kildare, Ireland, but danger and secrets lurk beneath its tranquil surface. A surprising amount of gardening talk takes up valuable story room. Clearly, the author either has a deep understanding of gardens and their designs, or she did a lot of research for this book. I found the level of detail perhaps to be a little too much. I don't know enough about gardens and plants for the minutiae to make much sense to me without a Google search or five. I felt like the scenes at the beginning didn't have enough motion; not enough happened or was revealed. They felt like slice-of-life moments and weren’t terribly interesting, which actually waste time in a story that supposed to have both romantic and suspense elements. I don't feel that the romance was pulled off 100% successfully. I liked both Gilly and Marc as characters, but they just didn't gel for me as a couple. All in all, I felt like it needed more romance and suspense and a little less gardening and day-in-the-life scenes.

Romance, suspense and several wonderful relationships make this book an enjoyable read.
The Neglected Garden is a pageturner. It manages to keep the reader engrossed with the suspense of it all. The characters are well-written and thought of. Some of them are annoying and some endearing. Who wouldn't fall in love with someone like Sam! And Gilly garden's comes to life in the text. One can easily imagine the whole garden just by reading through this book. The suspense was well thought about and written in a succinctly interesting manner.

One of my new favorite books! This author has such a way with words the pages flew by in no time! I can’t wait to see the next work by this author! This was such a joy to read!

This book had a good story and kept the mystery going. However, the romance between the two main characters lacked development, short changing the reader.

Very enjoyable story. Interesting plotlines. As someone who enjoys gardening, the plants and garden came to life in my imagination, and I could understand the attraction to her job.
I liked how the different aspects weaved their way in and around daily life. We are not responsible for our parents behaviour

I never really got into the story in this one. The female characters were unlikable and the males were predictable. The plot was interesting, but slow paced. I had trouble getting through this book and found myself skipping pages.

A romantic, sweet story centered on a walled garden. I loved it though I found the main character difficult to relate to at first.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

The Neglected Garden is a very good romantic suspense. I enjoyed the plot, setting and the writing. I recommend this book to fans of suspense.

This book was such a joy to read making it impossible for me to put it down. I loved the front cover and the description made me want to read it. I hoped that the book would match up to it’s front cover and it really did. The book is also a standalone which is appealing for lots of people.


The book is based in 2010’s Ireland after the big financial crash. Which has affected much bigger landscaping businesses than Gilly Townsend’s small landscape business. She has already given up her flat and is living with her sister in trying to keep her business afloat, but her sister is organising her wedding and Gilly knows that she will soon have to move out and more than likely go back to living at home with her parents.

Just as the despair is about to set in, she gets the opportunity to restore an old walled garden to it former glory to an old home. For the new owner Marc Fletcher, who is a wealthy property developer from London. Giving her the much needed cash to keep her business afloat.

Marc Fletcher has his own hidden past, that he wants to forget and he finds his escape at his new home Glanesford, outside of Dublin. This is where he and his son can relax and be safe. Or so he thought. Someone has started to blackmail him and is threatening to share his family secrets with the world. Secrets that Marc is desperate to keep in the past.

As Gilly and Marc, start to become a bit more than boss and employee. The blackmailer starts to get bolder and has now started to threat his son’s safety, and has also told him that he must keep well away from Gilly if he knows whats good for him.

Marc is starting to wonder exactly who he can and can’t trust. He trusts Gilly as she has no idea about him being blackmailed and it started before she came along. Then his son goes missing!!! Is there someone closer to Marc that is responsible for the kidnapping of his son and the blackmail. Will he even find his son? What will all of this do to the only just blossoming romance between him and Gilly?

With lots of twists and turns, this book will keep you wanting more. It’s a romance with blackmail and suspense, with the lovely backdrop of Ireland. A really enjoyable read.

A beautifully writtwn drama, sure to tug on your heartstrings and make you appreciate your relationships more . Will definitely read more book by this author.

Overall I liked this book. It had some good twists and turns. The premise was really good but occasionally I wondered if the protagonist had a brain. A good example of this is when she is trapped and (trying not to have a spoiler here) she pulls out her cell phone and threatens to call someone for help. She was WAY past that idea. She could have possibly had a way to reach out for help had she not given her only secret away.
The main character is Gilly who is a landscape designer. The story of her falling in love with the homeowner she is working for (Marc) who also happens to be a rich and handsome widower with a young child is a little rote, but the story is still well-written and has a lot of other good characters added that make the story a good read.
As I said earlier, there are also some good twists in the book. I think that most of the characters are well developed and likable. There are naturally a few villains thrown in also, but they serve their purposes and the story is rather clever in the end. .
I would recommend this book as a good solid read.

The cover is beautiful and the description made me want to read this book. I love stories set in Ireland. The countryside and the characters are always so charming. This book, however, started out very slow, and I really didn't like Gilly at first. She seemed very young and immature and not very well fleshed out and I struggle with stories where I can't connect to the main character/s.
Once the romance and the mystery started, I began to enjoy the book. The mystery and the adventure were fun and the story ended nicely.

*Thank you to Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

Interesting and unusual tale set mostly in rural Ireland. A neglected garden and a mysterious owner with secrets. A big twist and a few red herrings.