Dollycas's Thoughts

The Garden Squad has been doing good works all over Goosebush, Massachusetts. They are also helping with Recycling Day, a fundraiser for the high school sports teams. Folks donate gently used home goods and furniture that the students clean, fix, and refurbish as part of their shop classes. The items are then sold in a huge rummage sale later in the year. Lily has also been named executor of a long-time friend's estate which means dealing with his family and making sure his wishes are carried out. The town beautification committee is also having meetings to vote and coordinate upcoming projects.

Squad members and volunteers start to arrive at the dump for Recycling Day. Board member and Lily's best friend Tamara O’Connor must already be there because the gate is unlocked.  Lily, Delia, and Warwick arrive and hear a bloodcurdling scream. They take off running to find Tamara standing over the body of Gladys Preston. A cantankerous woman who has been a thorn in Tamara's side.

Past experiences and being the one to find the body plants Tamara firmly at the top of the suspect list. This puts Lilly Jayne and the Garden Squad on high alert. Digging up clues and hunting down suspects all in trying to prove Tamara is innocent before the killer strikes again.

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I really enjoyed meeting Ms. Henry's characters in Pruning the Dead and couldn't wait to visit them again. In Tilling the Truth we get to know them better and meet some new characters as well. Harmon Dane, sadly deceased when the book began appears to have been a man with a huge heart and a love of birds. In his will, he took care of his family in different ways but a bird sanctuary near his home was the prime beneficiary. Cousins Miranda and Braden Dane were not happy with their uncle's will and are hoping Lilly will see it their needs must be met instead of giving the money to the birds. We also meet Regan Holland, a new realtor in town doing her best to put Tamara out of business. Contactor Lenny Andrus has decided to move his renovation business toward more new construction with some very creative financing. And we meet Gladys Preston who owned a house near Harmon, was not happy about the bird sanctuary, and according to Lily, "one of the most miserable people in Goosebush" who "looked at life through a prism of gloom".  She is also the victim of this mystery. I have to say this author crafts her characters so well. I love that most of them are close to my age or older and still living vibrant lives. Maybe that is why I like them so much.

The mystery included a large garden of suspects for the Garden Squad to weed through. Clues were dropped at a perfect pace and I enjoyed the well-placed twists and turns. There were really a lot of things happening in this story and Ms. Henry did an excellent job of entangling it all together to make a very entertaining read. The way the ending was set up was sooooo gooood! I was delighted by the way everything played out.

I am late to the party for this series and I am sorry for that. That being said I am enjoying every minute of it. Tilling the Truth checks every cozy box, an interesting small town, diverse and engaging characters, and mysteries that really keep those pages flipping. I can't wait to read book 3, Digging Up The Remains.

Book 2 in a wonderful mystery series. Lilly and her group of friends are at it again. Echos book 1 a bit, as the evil ones are the victim and the killer. If this keeps up the town will lose a lot of people! Still though, fun to follow the clues and see how it ends. Would highly recommend this series and author.

This is the second book in the Garden Squad Mystery series, and I enjoyed it a bit more than the last one. In this outing, Lilly's friend and real estate agent, Tamara, is having a hard time selling a beachside property. Every showing and open house is sabotaged with smells, rodents and insects. She is sure that grumpy Gladys who is a neighbour, is behind it. After having an argument about the property, Gladys ends up dead and Tamara is the one who finds the body. Of course, Tamara is the prime suspect, so Lilly and her friends in the Garden Squad work on finding out who killed Tamara and why? Throw in a ruthless real estate agent who wants to open her own agency, questions surrounding her friend Harmon's death and greedy relatives and Lilly has more on her plate than most people. Thank goodness for the garden squad, as they are ready to help.

This mystery has a lot going on and Lilly is kept hopping. She is smart and has a lot of friends, so is able to get some help as well as having people talk to her. If you have not read the previous book in this series, Lilly Jane is an older sleuth, a widow and a lifelong Goosebush native. The secondary characters are her friends and neighbours, who share her curiosity and need for the truth. The addition of Lilly Jane's new neighbor, Roddy, adds a small bit of romance and another interesting characters. The murder has a lot of suspects and clues were dropped along the way. I thought I knew who the culprit was and I had some of it right, but not all. This was a relatively fast moving story and it was nice to get to know some of the other characters a bit better. I am looking forward to seeing what is next for The Gardening Squad.

This was my first Garden Squad Mystery book and I know that it will not be the last. In addition to the wonderful gardening tips found at the concludsion of the story, you get a well developed cast of characters and an engaging plot. I tend to gravitate towards younger heroines but I must say that Lilly, a slightly more mature lady, can certainly hold her own. Between her white canvas sneakers and her Vespa, I completely agree that not only are her shoes fairly hip but so is she. In addition to Lilly there is her BFF Tamara who is the real estate maven for Goosebush. She is also the lead suspect in the murder of the local sourpuss Gladys. Lilly and her gang of Midnight Gardners care about their town as much as they care about each other. Which means that the beautiful landscape will not be marred. I love the idea of a group going around and sprucing up areas on the sly. It certainly helps them to be crack slueths as they solve this case of murder, open house mayhem, and historic dumping grounds. Needless to say you do not need to read the first book to understand what is going on in the second book or to be able to relate to or remember the characters as you are reading. Looking forward to the next book and more gardening tips!

Title: Tilling the Truth

Series :garden squad mystery #2

Author:Julia Henry

Genre: cozy mystery

Rating:5







It’s August in Goosebush, Massachusetts, and go-getter retiree Lilly Jayne and her youthful senior pals show no sign of slowing down during the lazy days of summer. But when murder mows over a pesky local, could a Garden Squad member be nurturing a deadly second act?

While Lilly digs into a town beautification project, her friend Tamara O’Connor has greater concerns than well-pruned geraniums. The real-estate firm owner hasn’t been shy about blaming perennial grouch Gladys Preston for thwarting her many attempts to sell off a beautiful beachside property. But accusations fly when Gladys is suddenly found dead—and Tamara is caught standing over the body with a bloody weapon in her hand . . .

As Tamara becomes the prime murder suspect, Lilly and the Garden Squad ladies set out to prove that someone planted the evidence. With a potpourri of alarming clues scattered around Goosebush, cracking this case means confronting a calculating culprit with a penchant for cutting down anyone who gets in the way . . .





My thoughts:

Would I recommend it? Yes

Would I read more of this series? Yes

Would I read more by this author? Yes

Once again the author has done it with this cute and adorable cozy mystery even if it is the second book in a series. It's fun loving and shows the closeness of friendships, and the love of their small town,and when a murder happened, nothing is going to stop these friends in proving their friend innocent. And mixed into all of this are twist and turns, lies, and truths , secrets and dreams that are big or small, and of course don't forget about the murders , that right you've read it right because this makes you ask yourself the question has two different murders happen or is it actually one ,and if it's two was it done by the same person or by some one different and why. So with that out there I'm going to go and say thank you to NetGalley as well as the Publishers for letting me read and review it. and I can't wait for the next book

This second book in the series is just as good as the first. I enjoy the characters and the "garden squad" is a lot of fun to read about. I am looking forward to the next book.

Tilling the Truth

by Julia Henry

When I met the Garden Squad in Pruning the Dead, I was charmed by this group of Goosebush denizens who anonymously take on gardening projects and accomplish them at night for the good of the community. In Julia Henry’s sequel Tilling the Truth, the Garden Squad which is led by Lily, a prominent senior citizen in Goosebush, gets involved in solving murders and uncovering shady real estate deals. At the same time, Lily is acting as the executor of a friend’s estate which includes a controversial bird sanctuary.

The main characters do not appeal to me. They seem cliquish and concerned with their own prominence. They love to eat and a lot of the book’s activity centers around food as much as gardening.

Setting is very important in this book, and the author describes the individual locations quite well. Unfortunately, the locations of the houses in relation to each other, to various businesses, and to the town center is not defined adequately, and that is a distraction for me in trying to picture the action.

Although there are many potential suspects, the investigative path is not terribly complex and not very surprising. The action scene that reveals the murderer is well-written and satisfying.

I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Kensington Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 3/5

Category: Mystery

Notes: 1. #2 in the Garden Squad Mystery Series
2. There is an addendum of interesting gardening notes.


Publication: August 27, 2019—Kensington

Memorable Lines:

“She is such a miserable woman. Honestly, when she comes into my store the flowers wilt.”

“Braden was born on third base and acts like the world owes him a home run.”

But hosting a fundraiser? That felt like the seventh circle of hell closing in.

Lily is named the executor of a friend's will after his sudden death. Her friend Tamara is hired to sell the man's beachfront home, but she is met with obstacles at every turn. When the owner of a neighboring home is found dead, Lily and her friends suspect more is going on than meets the eye. This is the first book I have read in the series, but I had no trouble following along. I loved the Garden Squad group of characters and will definitely be reading more in this series.

Lilly Jayne did a bang up job as an amateur sleuth in the first book in this series, Pruning the Dead. Now that she has another project - and another murder, Lilly is keen to sort things out. With her friend Tamara as the primary suspect, Lilly works feverishly to discover the killer's identity.

This cute cozy mystery has a few secrets, deviousness and more. Having already seen Lilly at work previously, I did enjoy her way of working on this. This book takes a while to gain traction, but remained an enjoyable read.

I love Lilly, her friends, with the moniker The Garden Squad, are all adorable elders. The intrigue is light-wight and the danger isn't off-putting, thus making this a enjoyable little cozy mystery.

Many thanks to Kensington and to NetGalley for this ARC to review. This is my honest opinion.

This is book 2 in A Garden Squad Mystery series and I think I might have enjoyed the story a little more if I had read book 1, Pruning the Dead. Lilly Jayne is the executor of her friend Harmon's estate. He left money for a bird sanctuary and his relatives are not happy. When his neighbor Gladys is found dead the town is suddenly worried about a killer. Lilly's friend Tamara is the main suspect and Lilly and her fellow gardeners must investigate and find the true killer. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was a great story. I'm really enjoying the main character in this new series. It's nice to have an older woman as the main character. She's very smart, active, and very likeable. It's a nice change from most cozy mysteries where the main character is a woman in her late 20s who is fueding (but attracted) with the sheriff in town. I enjoy reading about the main character's daily life and how she thinks. Plus, the cozy mysteries are interesting. I can't wait for the next in the series!

Im so glad that I got to read this book. This is a new author for me. I liked the writing style. The story flowed well. It was a quick, light, read.

Nice feel good book. It flowed very well. was easy to read. Nice characters. Good storyline. What’s not to love.

Tilling the Truth is the second installment in the Garden Squad mystery series. The characters and the story are fine. The mystery was ok and I solved it pretty quickly. The gardening themes are perfect for this nice cozy mystery. I will read more in the series. Thank you net galley and Kensington Publishing for the gift of the arc. The opinions are my own.

Tilling the Truth by Julia Henry is the second A Garden Squad Mystery. Lilly Jayne lives in Goosebush, Massachusetts where she keeps herself busy with beautification projects plus as executor of Harmon Dane’s estate. Tamara O’Connor, a local realtor, is up in arms because her open houses keep getting sabotaged (dozens of mice and black goo backing up drains). On the town recycling day, Lilly finds Tamara standing over Gladys Preston with a bloody faucet in her hand. It is evident that Tamara has been set up. Lilly Jayne and the Garden Squad set out to root out the real culprit. Tilling the Truth can be read alone for those who did not read Pruning the Dead. However, I recommend reading the series in order, so you are familiar with the characters. It helps to know the players when it comes to solving the mystery. We are introduced to Goosebush, Massachusetts as well as a host of its residents. Gardening is a passion for several of the townspeople including Lilly Jayne. Lilly Jayne and a group of her friends called the Garden Squad work under cover of darkness to fix up neglected areas of the town. This same group also helps Lilly Jayne to solve Gladys murder. Gladys was not well liked which gives us multiple suspects. There is plenty of gossip to discern and a few clues as well. You will need to weed through the suspects to find the killer. To me the killer was a red rose stuck in the middle of a bouquet of white roses (easy to spot). There are cozy moments as the group drinks tea or wine, has a nosh, and chats. Gardening is a hot topic and there are gardening tips at the end of the book. Tilling the Truth is a character driven cozy mystery and this author has provided a lively set of characters. Tilling the Truth is a charming cozy mystery with floral fanatics, avaricious heirs, stinky smells, runaway roses, and a sly saboteur.

I received this ARC from Netgalley and Kensington Books, in return for an honest review. It was a pleasure to return to Goosebush, MA, for the second book in this series. Lilly Jayne, and a group of fellow mature gardening aficionados aka 'The Garden Squad', run afoul of local town curmudgeon, Gladys Preston. Lilly is the executor of an old friend's beachfront home, perched on a cliff and one of three homes on the lane. Gladys' resists all efforts by Lilly and Tamara O'Connor, the local real estate agent, to sell the home and satisfy the conditions of the will, Instead, she actively disrupts Tamara's sales plans. When Gladys' body is found with Tamara standing over her, things don't look good. Lilly and the Garden Squad are convinced that there's more to the mystery and start digging in to solve it. I enjoy the characters; the writing is solid; the murder is well-crafted. This is a solid cosy mystery to enjoy. I look forward to the next in the series.

I found this cozy mystery to be slow going. Real estate developers are descending on Goosebush and the townspeople are not sure all the growth is a good thing. When Tamara, a local real estate agent finds a body Lily and her friends set out to solve the mystery. The book is short but it still took me awhile to finish it and the beginning dragged for me. For such a short book there was a lot of repetition. Each time a character appeared the description of them was often repeated. The mystery was OK and it was easy to solve. I did like the characters and the gardening background. There are gardening tips in the back.

Tilling the Truth by Julia Henry is a pleasant little cozy mystery with a retired lady who is now the executor of her friend Harmon's estate. He had died unexpectedly a short while ago and Lily Jayne was now expected to mediate between his wishes, his nephew's wishes, and his cousin Miranda's wishes. Both of the latter wanted as much money as possible, as soon as possible. Lily Jayne wanted to sell Harmon's house to a buyer who would love it as he had and honor his wishes for a bird sanctuary on the edge of the property which he was funding). People were interested in the house, but apparently not for the right reasons, both of his neighbors were interested as well. Lily Jayne was not certain of their reasons at the present.

This is an appalling tale of greed and hatred for reasons we might all be faced with. Lily Jayne lived with he deceased husband for years and she sometimes hears his voice reminding her of things she should know. It has been very helpful. She has a small cadre of good friends, including her husband's research assistant, Delia, who has bee living with her but is due to leave soon for a better job. Delia has amazing skills and resources and proves to be very helpful in this dance of deceit that has to be unraveled. Tilling the truth is a very readable book with a decent mystery to boot. I recommend it.

I received a free ARC of Tilling the Truth. All opinions and interpretations herein are solely my own. #netgalley #tillingthetruth

Tilling the Truth was so much fun to read. I am not a gardener, but I can appreciate the work that goes into having beautiful gardens. Lilly and her friends go around town at night and do work on gardens that have been neglected for one reason or another. I get such a kick out of the cozies featuring senior citizens. They are always such characters. I loved how Lilly and her friends get together for dinners and make a board with all the clues. I haven't read the first book in the series, but I didn't feel lost. I will be reading it and also cannot wait for the next in the series! Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington for the copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was a fun, cute cozy mystery! I love the theme throughout, and I will definitely be continuing with the series. Julia Henry is one of my favorite cozy authors.