Tilling The Truth is the second book in the Garden Squad Mystery series.

The Garden Squad are back and working on plans for more beautification of Goosebush MA. Lilly Jayne, leader of the Garden Squad is facing the loss of Delia. Delia has been helping Lilly manage her house. Delia has been acting as interim town clerk and has decided to start her college teaching career.

Lilly has been appointed an executor of Harmon Danes estate with the expressed proviso that monies from the estate be used to protect and provide a home for the birds that he loved. Braden and Miranda, Danes’ relatives, are pushing Lilly to advance them funds from the Dane estate while Lilly’s good friend, Tamara, tries to sell the house. But somebody is sabotaging her open house plans.

Tamara finds evidence that Gladys Preston, who lives next door to Dane’s estate, might be responsible for ruining the open houses. Gladys texts Tamara to meet her at the cities dumpsite. But meeting won’t take place, as Gladys is dead and Tamara is found standing over the lifeless body holding the murder weapon. It seems that there are other possible suspects and Lilly and the Garden Squad set off to clear Tamara’s name.

I find this to be a very enjoyable and interesting series. It is well-plotted and written story, with a cast of well-developed and interesting characters. I would love to live in a community like Goosebush and call the residents my friends.

Helpful gardening tips are also included in the book.

I’m eagerly awaiting the next book in this series.

A slow start in the beginning but once you read a little more the plot pace quicken an became a good story. You know who did it once it picked up but still good reading.

This is the second book in the fabulous new "Garden Squad series", I loved the first in series and felt like I was visiting with friends. This series has so much to love, great charcters, beautiful gardens and a well crafted sleuth to please all avid mystery loves. I so very much appreciate the author writing the protagonist and friends as active intelligent active seniors. All of the seniors here in this series are delightful.
Thank you to Net Galley and to the publisher for this opportunity. My review opinions are my own . This is a fun series and I highly recommend this book and series for your reading enjoyment. This book has so many twist and turns I loved it to the very last page. .

In this next in series our wonderful protagonist Lily Jane is revamping a garden bird nesting area at a home that is on the market that is proving difficult as she must work with the real estate agent. The agent is difficult. When a neighbor is found dead and the contentious real estate agent is found holding the murder weapon, everyone but Lily assumes she is guilty. Lilly and the garden squad are on the case "digging" in for the truth behind the murder. Soon she is developing theories and finding clues that are leading her to murder !

I loved this second in series. This is a delightful cozy series with a remarkable well crafted mysterious sleuth and great charcters that you would want as friends. I love the setting, the garden information and that seniors are portrayed here as valuable and worthy of solving crimes, and living life to the fullest. Very well done to the author . I look forward to the next in series.

Tilling the Truth by Julia Henry is the 2nd book in A Garden Squad Mystery series. Lilly Jayne is 65 and retired. Lilly loves gardening along with her senior friends, in the Garden Squad. Tamara, the local realtor, is being sabotaged, with the local grouch, Gladys, leading the way. When Tamara is found standing over Glady's body, Lilly must save her friend and find the truth. I enjoyed this book, but I found it slow at times. I will be reading this author again and looking forward to the next book in the series.

I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and Kensington Publishing. Thank you.

"Tilling the Truth" is the 2nd installment in the "Garden Squad Mystery" series by Julia Henry. I had not read the first book but had no trouble following along so yes it can be read as a standalone. I do recommend reading them in order, this way you really get to know Lilly, Tamara and the rest of the garden squad members. I enjoyed the change to older sleuths instead of the more common younger 20-30 something.

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 . . .

I found the characters to be well rounded, fun and I liked the setting of Goosebush and its small town feel. The mystery was well plotted with plenty of clues and suspects to mull over.

It was an entertaining, easy read and I look forward to reading more about the "Garden Squad" .

I requested and received an Advanced Readers Copy from Kensington Books and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Lilly Jayne is busy fulfilling her role as executor to her late friend Harmon's will but there are problems. Harmon's relatives, Braden and Miranda, are cash poor and are pressuring Lilly to release some much-needed funds. Harmon's wishes to use the beachfront surrounding his home as a bird sanctuary is getting push back from his former neighbors and some locals. And Lilly's best friend, real estate business owner Tamara O’Connor has been facing challenges in trying to show and sell Harmon's beachside property. Next door neighbor Gladys Preston is a major pain in Tamara's side until she is found stabbed dead at the town's recycling junkyard with Tamara found standing over her body with a bloody weapon in her hand.

As rumours begin to fly that Tamara is the prime murder suspect, Lilly and the Garden Squad gang set out to find the real killer.

This was a quick fun read and the quirky characters of Goosebush, Massachusetts are delightful.

I received an eARC from Netgalley and Kensington with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.

When a Goosebush, Massachusetts resident is found dead at the town dump, Lilly Jayne and her friends need to work together to discover who killed cranky Gladys and why. Add to the mix an annoying real estate agent trying to sabotage Lilly's bestie, greedy relatives of her recently deceased friend, and some possibly shady development deals happening in this quaint New England town, and Lilly's got her hands full! Julia Henry's much anticipated second Garden Squad mystery, Tilling the Truth, was a joy to read and the storytelling, characters, and mystery were all very nicely woven into a lovely and quite cozy story. A+++

This series isn't a one book winner. With the second entry we get another great mystery - no sophomore slump, I'm happy to say. While it can be read as a stand alone, reading them in order is the best way to get to know Lilly, Tamara and the rest of this wonderful group of older sleuths. It's refreshing to spend time with characters who are not 20 something or even 30 something.
Lilly and the Garden Squad are doing some Summer beautification to their town of Goosebush, Massachusetts but there are tensions growing. When Lilly is named executor of the estate of her friend, Harmon, those tensions come to a boil. His house is up for sale and somebody is playing nasty. Harmon's neighbor, Gladys, has become a thorn in the side of Tamara as she tries to sell the beachfront house. Tamara may have been seen very publicly arguing with Gladys but to think that it would end in murder and with Tamara standing over her dead body - well Lilly is certain that she must go all out to clear her friends name. Tamara is not a killer but that means one is out there, possibly planning to strike again?
Besides enjoying the characters, I found the the mystery and final reveal to be very well crafted. This new series has earned its place on my must read list.

It is summer in Gooseberry, Massachusetts in the 2nd book in the Garden Squad Series. Lilly Jayne is responsible for carrying out plans for a bird nesting area. Tamara O'Connor is a real estate agent who has the listing to the house that has many restrictions that are applied to the house. Gladys Preston, a neighbor is found MURDERED and Tamara is standing over Gladys with bloody knife in her hand. Tamara is arrested for the murder and the Garden Squad feel the police are wrong. The squad sets out to find the real killer. Will they succeed? I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK AND SERIES.

Disclosure: Thanks to Kensington Books for a copy through NetGalley. The opinions expressed are my own.

Tilling the Truth
(A Garden Squad Mystery #2)
by Julia Henry 

Paperback, 298 pages
Expected publication: August 27th 2019 by Kensington Publishing Corporation



Goodreads synopsis:
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 . . 


***

3.75 Stars

This is the second book in the Garden Squad Mystery series by Julia Henry.

It seems like the retiree vibe is big in cozy mysteries right now. The book I read before this had a similar theme. There was a bit of a garden concept going on in that one as well. Comparing this one to that, I felt the previous book did the mystery part of they story better. But I felt like this one did the friendships and the relationships better. That isn’t to say the mystery was bad. It wasn’t. It was a pretty good one. This is my first time reading a book in this series so I wasn’t as familiar with everything that was going on per say. I wasn’t sure who the permanent residents were as opposed to the people who were only here for this particular storyline. Not knowing made the mystery a bit harder to figure out. So, maybe not knowing was a good thing.

Basic premise: A group of ladies is meeting in order to organize what seemed to me was a dump site. A very organized dump site. Sort of half dump half recycled area. Donations everywhere but there is a method to their madness. One of the ladies, Tamara, came earlier and found the dead body of another in their group, Gladys. Gladys had been at odds with some people trying to sell off a specific beachfront property. And this kerfuffle lead to murder.

Tamara was found mere minutes after she found the body of Gladys holding onto an old rusted sink. The only reason the weapon was bloody as it says in the above synopsis was because she dropped the sink in the bloody pool around Gladys. This was after all the women found her standing over the body.

The normal gossip and innuendo surrounded much of the latter half of the book. This was merely to introduce us to all the players in the drama. I have to admit that I did get a tad confused from time to time remembering who was who. Maybe it was retiree brain. Two of these types of books in a row gave me what my Dad calls the CRS syndrome (can’t remember shit.). He blames this on being old. Not sure what my excuse is.

Overall this felt more like a good visit with a bunch of ladies you see at church every week and less like a mystery. The mystery was fine. Not bad at all in retrospect. But I think the winning part of this was the town and the feeling of how they interacted with one another. This alone is what will make people return to this series. Mysteries come and go but family and friends are forever. If you love hometown cozy mysteries with normal, regular people, this series is the butter to your homemade bread.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

This is a great second book in the series. I really enjoy the characters, who have life in them, even if they are seniors! Lilly and friends embark on figuring out what is going on in their community because strange things are happening and when one of the Garden Squad finds a woman murdered and is a suspect, they are on the case. Lots of dinners together and time spent chasing clues leads to the murderer. A good story, great characters and a well developed plot gives this book five stars!

I am really enjoying this series - the first one impressed me and this one was even better - I like the characters [Lily especially] and how they all love the town they live in and how they all strive to work together to keep the town a wonderful place to live and love. I really enjoy that there is no romance [as of yet], love triangles, friends being accused of murder, or everyone thinking the police chief is a moron and doing his job for him. It is NOT your typical cozy and I am truly enjoying them. And the reveal was VERY surprising. I love that.

This one was tougher to read as it is a ARC and the formatting was a bear, but even though it took me longer than it would normally to read, I enjoyed every minute I had it open. I pray that the finished book has better formatting than the ARC did.

I am so looking forward to the next one in this series - I can see all sorts of things happening.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lilly Jayne is not your normal protagonist. A senior who is always on the go is now trying to figure out who killed the town troublemaker to get her close friend off the hook. I enjoyed the original plot and the large, diverse group of characters. Although it would have been easier to follow if the cast of characters was a bit smaller.

I had an entertaining time with the Garden Squad gang in Goosebush, Massachusetts. Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for an ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

Real Estate Troubles and Murder
This is the second book in this series. I have read both books in the series. I think this book could stand alone. I also know that the reader will get more enjoyment from reading the books in order. There are all sorts of vandalism occurring across town and most real estate sales are causing arguments at Town Hall meeting. The plot of this book is busy and well planned. It is a fun read with no extra padding with menus, recipes or fashion. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

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 . . .

This was a quick, enjoyable read.

Tilling the Truth is the 2nd installment in the Garden Squad mystery. Lilly is named executor of the estate of Harmon Dane and must deal with greedy relatives(Miranda and Braeden) and the sabotage of every open house Tamara has had on Harmon’s house. Harmon owned one of three identical houses on an exclusive section called Swallow Point in Goosebush. Could the sabotage be that of a greedy rival real estate agent new to town or Alex Marston the next door neighbor who wants to buy the house at low price. When Tamara finds evidence that Glady’s Preston (Harmon’s other neighbor) might be the one behind the latest sabotage reaches out to confront her. Glady’s responds with a text and offers to meet Tamara at the town dump (annual event that day) Lilly, Ernie, Delia and Warwick all arrive at the dump at the same time just to hear Tamara screaming. They find Tamara over Glady’s dead body. Soon the gossip is that Tamara has something to do with Glady’s death. Lilly and the rest of the Garden Squad begin work to clear Tamara’s name. In the process, Lilly begins to suspect that Harmon’s death was not natural. This was a good mystery and I love the Garden Squad . Looking forward to the next installment. Highly Recommend.

Death has once again come to Goosebush and the Garden squad bands together to help find the culprit. After the death of her dear friend Harmon Dane, Lily learns she is the executor of his estate, which means she must find a way to make sure the bird sanctuary he wants created near his home becomes a reality. Meanwhile Delia is moving out of Lily's home in pursuit of a teaching career and Tamara, Goosebush's favorite real estate agent finds herself facing a slump just when a hot shot new agent comes to town threatening to steal her listings if something doesn't sell soon. When a neighbor of Harmon's is killed, the garden squad quickly realizes that something larger is afoot and that perhaps Harmon's death was caused by something other than natural causes. When Tamara becomes the lead suspect, the garden squad knows they must act quickly to clear her name and find the true killer.
This series is quickly becoming one of my new favorites. Mrs. Henry is a whiz at creating a small town vibe that readers are quickly drawn to. I love the diversity in ages of the members of the garden squad, which gives this series a broad appeal. The mysteries are always well plotted with plenty of easy to follow clues and suspects to toss around. I am greatly looking forward to the next adventure featuring the intrepid garden squad.

Lilly is coping with a lot- she's trying to settle the estate of her friend Harmon, her friend Delia is moving, and then Tamara is accused of murdering Gladys, a loathsome person. Turns out there might be more to Harmon's death than originally met the eye. Lilly, however, is going to investigate it all. Real estate in small towns like Goosebush can be so difficult and development even worse. Is that the issue here? Or is it something else? Lilly is a retiree who moved to town after the death of her husband and she's settled in nicely, developing a group of friends known as the Garden Squad. They are smart and they are determined. They also work nicely with Chief Bash, which is not always the case in cozys. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This has some nice twists and red herrings but it's the characters that shine through.

Tilling the Truth is the second installment in the A Garden Squad Mystery series set in Goosebush, MA and featuring widowed retiree Lilly Jayne. Lilly has been named as the executor of her friend Harmon Dane's estate after his recent passing and she is valiantly trying to see that his wishes for a bird sanctuary adjacent to his oceanside home are carried out while trying to fend off demands for money from his cousin Miranda and nephew Braden who felt they should have been left more of the man's estate.

Lilly's roommate and friend Delia is preparing to move to Burlington to pursue her teaching career but before she leaves she's working to set things in order with the town archives and to catalog the artifacts that are being dug up in Alden Park. Lilly's best friend Tamara is facing a real estate slump and a new agent in town is threatening to take over her existing listings if she can't start moving some properties including the home of Harmon Dane.

Lilly and her friends soon begin to realize that perhaps Harmon's death wasn't due to natural causes and after the murder of one of his neighbors, they think there is some type of real estate/investment scam making its way into Goosebush. When Tamara is fingered as the prime suspect in Gladys Preston's murder, Lilly jumps into action alongside Chief Bash Haywood and teaming up with her friends sets out to track down a killer.

A fast paced plot with twists and turns that will have you guessing the true killer until the end. The author does a good job of weaving in sub plots that continue throughout the series. A likable cast of characters with well developed friendships and relationships. While this book can be read as a stand alone, I highly recommend starting from the beginning of the series to better understand the dynamics between the main cast of characters.

I received an advanced copy of Tilling the Truth from NetGalley via Kensington Publishing. While not required to write a review I am happy to offer my honest opinion.

Senior Sleuthing Cozy
Harmon Dane named Lily Jayne executor of his estate. His death surprised her ...she thought he was in good health. His heirs were unhappy and tried to get her to do things their way, but as he knew she would she stuck to his plans.
Tamara O'Connor, the realtor trying to sell the estate house was having trouble and knew it was on purpose....but who. We are offered plenty of suspects, more than a bit of dissension and plenty of lovely people to round out the characters.
When another person dies, and it comes to light Harmon didn't die of natural causes, the friends and neighbors double down in their efforts to help Bash, the Chief of Police solve the crimes.
It's a brainy bunch and they take us through the clues before they set out to trip the killer up. I love how the senior citizens worked with the younger people in the group to gather info, collate it and put forth theories until finding the most likely.
I don't remember reading Ms. Henry before I read the blurb on NetGalley, but am definitely adding her to my TBR author list.
I requested the ARC for this book from NetGalley and offer my opinion freely.