I adored this book. It started of a bit low and it took me a few chapters to get into. But then I read the last 250 pages in a single sitting. I honestly cannot remember another time I stayed up till 3 at night to finish a book.

We follow Lily Adler, who just came back to live in 1815 London. She is a young widow, still in mourning. This gives her a very interesting and refreshing position in the story (compared to other books set in the same time). She doesn't need to be married of and she also doesn't need to worry all too much about her reputation (no chaperones, jeey!) Lily is pretty perfect. She is kind, brave, intelligent... So when she finds a body but the police doesn't even wants to listen to her (she is a fragile woman after all), she decides to solve the case herself.

She doesn't do it all alone though. Enter Jack and Miss Oswald. Jack is an old friend of Lily's husband, and he and Lily are great together. Their's was a great friendship, one I could very much relate to. And if they just stay friends, or it develops into something more... I would be just as happy either way (which says a lot because I generally really don't like romance in my books). Jack is a navy captain, a bit of a rogue, a flirt, a charmer and a gentleman. Miss Oswald is a younger version of Lily, and also new in town. Her mother died in childbirth, and her father has raised her quite liberal. She knows how to run a business, regularly speaks before she thinks, and knows her way around a gun. Both she and Jack are mixed race, which was also a nice detail to the story.

The author really has done her research and built her world very well. She has tried to be historically accurate, which also reflects into the case. The plot is intricate, clever and a lot more complex than it first appears to be. It wasn't a simple murder for money or jealousy, but there were many layers to it and there were several times we thought we knew who had done it, only for it all to become even more complex.

Overall, I loved this book and will definitely be on the lookout for its sequel. I would like to thank Netgalley for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review. The body in the garden comes out on the 7th of April.

Engaging mystery, great historical setting but didn’t really care for the main character Lily. I’m sure the author meant for her to come off strong and independent but to me, she just sounded bitchy and I had a hard time warming up to her. Nonetheless, great story and will look for the next book in the series. Thank you publisher and netgalley for this arc in exchange of an honest review

I managed to read this book, but I didn't love it. I think the main issue was I went in expecting something completely different to what the book actually was. The lead character is someone you want to befriend, but the story dragged at times, which made it difficult to maintain my enthusiasm.

I initially was not a fan of this book - I was judging it against another historical series that I read and felt that things that were happening were off and that the characters were not acting like they should be for that time period. And THEN, Jack [one of the better side-kick characters I have read as of late] mentions that Napoleon had escaped from Elba [and because I am a HUGE Persuasion fan and remembered that happening at the end of the book and movie] and I knew I was mentally in the wrong time period. A quick search led me to realize that the books I was comparing this one to are about 50 years LATER than this [this is 1815], that it is set in Jane Austen's time and suddenly EVERYTHING made sense. And the book became a much better read and why and what the characters were doing made perfect sense. This is what happens folks when you read multiple historical mysteries set in different time periods! :-)

Lily Adler is a widow, back in London after three years of bereavement in the country. She was very much in love with her husband and this time of grief has been extremely difficult on her. She doesn't really want to be in London, but she can no longer stay in the country where she and her late husband resided as it is just too painful. So to London she comes, to start over, to move on.
And while at at party at her best friend's house [Serena - whom I did not like], she sees an inappropriate tet a tete and then overhears and argument and a person being shot. And the game is on. From the moment she realizes the police will be doing nothing about it [and THAT reason will fry you I am sure], she realizes that it is up to her to solve this murder. Because as she says when someone asks her why - "A man was murdered". It really is a simple as that. Too bad the solving isn't simple. Whew, what a ride. And the end - well, lets just say I never saw THAT coming and it was a good one [I thought I knew the why when the reveal happened, but there was more to it than I had realized].

I do have one note of annoyance; it is a library. NOT a book room. A L I B R A R Y. Please. I may have sprained my eyes from the many references to the book room. It was annoying and beneath the readers. We are not stupid, please do not treat us as such.

That said, for a first book, this was a good read. And became an even better one once I got the whole time period things straightened out. And to have only one thing annoy me throughout the whole book may be a record as of late. I will be looking forward to the next one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this title. I read it months ago when I was first approved, but it's stayed with me. The characters, the setting, the mystery - so well done and engaging, intriguing, delightful. I need more!

A delightful start to a historical cozy series! It's 1815 and Lily Adler is still mourning the death of her husband but she attends a party thrown by Lady Walters, her dear friend. Big mistake? No because she finds a new reason to flex her mind and energy when a young man is murdered and it appears the police are not investigating because they've been bribed. Navy Captain Jack Hartley - what a guy! These two have a wonderful back and forth and things get even better when Ofelia Oswald joins them in the hunt for the murderer. You might think there are a lot of suspects but rest assured, everyone is introduced for a reason. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This was a fun read. There's lovely atmospherics, a good story, and delightful characters.

It's no secret to the people around me that I adore the Her Royal Spyness series. I honestly never stop talking about it or recommending it. So when I was told that this book is perfect for fans of Rhys Bowen, I jumped on it. It's probably because of those high expectations I put on it that I came out feeling disappointed. Yes, it is about a member of high up society (not titled, but nearly) solving a murder mystery in a time where women definitely shouldn't be doing it. And yes, there's a slight suggested potential romance that stems from having to begrudgingly work together to figure out clues. There's also a best friend who is aloof and pompous at the best of times, and a character who you don't know if you can trust but you're forced to for the sake of the story. Who turns out to be fine, anyway. The main difference is that The Body in the Garden takes place in 1815, right after the end of the War of 1812 (not that it feels like that in any way shape or form because there's hardly any reference to it). That's fine, but it does mean that the independence of the main character is thwarted exponentially and her reliance on men is astronomical. Not to mention the society-bred misogyny that is the underlayer of 80% of the dialogue between characters. I got a ton of literary whiplash in the treatment of our main character, Lily Adler. One moment she's strong and worth listening to, and the next she's a silly little girl who doesn't know anything. Okay, which is it? Which am I supposed to believe? Lily herself doesn't help matters at all and doesn't present herself as likable much to begin with. She's independent and and unafraid and daring, but she also presents herself as *~different from other girls~* and frankly, it's very irritating and makes it hard to root for her in the first place. She's so uppity and entitled and doesn't really think about others, despite the fact that on the scale of nobility that presents itself in the book, she's actually pretty low on it herself.

Lily Adler has a bit of a tragic backstory to begin with in that her husband was killed in the war, and now she's widowed and alone in the world. And I get it, she misses her dead husband and working constantly with people who knew him can't help matters. But if I have to continually hear about how she misses a man's touch, I might have to hurl. Really, 1815 is just not a great time period to set your book if you want a super independent woman. She can't do a n y t h i n g by herself. Or at all, sometimes. Which is where the main male character comes in, whose name I cannot remember but by all means does not insinuate he is forgettable. He's the one who knew Lily's husband before he died and has apparently taken it upon himself to "protect" her, which he does by suggesting women are weak and also telling her she shouldn't do things, which is a bit of a weird way to get into someone's heart, if you ask me, which is clearly what is supposed to happen. Either they were going to get together at he end, which I hated, or he was going to die and only after he dies would she realise that she's fallen in love with him, which I also hated. I was never going to be pleased with the outcome of their relationship, honestly.

The writing doesn't really support this book, either. It's 1815, not 2020, and certain words just didn't exist back then. You can't tell me that "washroom" was in the common vernacular. And remember that character whiplash I was talking about? Very present throughout the entire book. It hardly even felt like the same character the entire time. I have just as many grudges against Ofelia, who is unnecessarily mysterious and doesn't amount to anything. If you're going to build up to some big reveal, can it at least be something other than she's in love? Not to mention the fact that we don't even get to know her first name until about 3/4 of the way through the book, which is very strange considering how closely Lily considers her a friend (sometimes - other times she is a complete stranger, of course). She's also the token POC (along with the main male character, who has an Indian mother that is mentioned one (1) time in order to tick that box).

You may have noticed that I have yet to mention the actual plot of the story, the actual mystery, the Body in the Garden, as one may say. Well, it is actually quite forgettable and if I may be frank, quite boring. The entire plot revolves around shipping manifests, which is terribly boring. It also is quite difficult to make shipping manifests interesting at all, and the parts that I imagine were supposed to be chapter cliffhangers were just rather disappointing. The mystery is weak and unfortunately, I found the characters struggled to pick up the slack. I may read the next in the series anyway, to see if it improves, but overall, my heart is slumping in a disappointed breeze that means I'm gonna have to go reread Her Royal Spyness to make up for it.

Series: Lily Adler #1
Publication Date: 4/7/20
Number of Pages: 327

This book was an excellent debut for new author Katherine Shellman. The writing was excellent, the research impeccable, the storyline very cohesive, fast-paced, and interesting, and the mystery – well – very mysterious. You’ll think you know who the villain is – but do you? I was up well past my bedtime to finish the read because I just had to know…

Lily Adler was very much in love with her husband, Freddy, and she is still mourning him almost two years later. She’s spent her mourning time with Freddy’s family in the country since Freddy’s death, but they have encouraged her to return to London so she can begin to live her life again – read that as remarry. She’s returned, but she isn’t happy about it – but then she’ll not be happy wherever she is with Freddy. She and Freddy had such plans for their lives – for doing something that would matter to the world – and now he’s gone. She has to find a new path for herself – alone.

Navy Captain Jack Hartley is in London while his ship is in for repairs. He’s not happy about that because Napoleon is on the loose and he’d much rather be in the thick of things. However, his time in London will give him the opportunity to catch up with and offer any assistance he can to the widow of his best friend, Freddy Adler. He and Freddy had grown up together and had always remained closer than brothers. He is also filled with guilt because he was unable to be at Freddy’s funeral services because of the war.

As Lily reconnects with old friends and begins to attend the societal events, she realizes that she doesn’t enjoy those activities as much as she did before she married. Imagine her shock – and dismay – when, on her very first day back in London, she discovered the body of a murdered man in the gardens at her best friend’s ball. She even heard the shots.

When Bow Street decides not to pursue the case, Lily cannot stand to just let it go. There must be some justice for the poor, unidentified young man who had his life taken from him. As Lily investigates, she draws Jack into her investigation, and she also draws a new friend, Miss Ofelia Oswald, in as well.

Who is the young man who was murdered? Why was he, an uninvited guest, in that garden? With whom was he arguing? Why is Bow Street dropping the case? So many questions, so few answers. Can her friend or her husband be involved? As suspects mount, clues are investigated and more bodies added to the count, Lily and company are in the thick of the investigation.

This could have easily been a 5-star read for me. The story was compelling, the pacing was perfect, the historical details were spot on, etc. However, I just had a hard time warming up to Lily and Jack often annoyed me. I’m not sure why, but so many authors who want to write strong, independent female characters think that they have to make them angry, acerbic, domineering, selfish, etc. and that they have to pair them with milksop male characters. Lily and Jack were those characters. Jack, a war hero, a Naval Captain, was always apologizing to Lily and bowing and scraping to her. Why couldn’t they form a partnership as two equals who worked together, respected each other, and were on equal footing? Toward the end, I saw a slight glimmer of perhaps her softening somewhat, so I’ll certainly try the next book to see where it will go. As it stands, if I were to meet Lily in person, I would not like her and we certainly wouldn’t become friends – so I certainly can’t like her in a book. I’ll look forward to seeing where she goes from here.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this series debut that follows recently widowed Lily Adler's return to London society during the Napoleonic era. First time author Katharine Schellman offers a plot that is more complex than many historical cozies and a diverse cast of characters. She also scores some philosophical points about privilege and society's need for equal justice. My only qualm was Lily's sometimes abrasive behavior. Her friend and potential love interest Captain Hartley more often than not bears the brunt of her sharp tongue. His continued interactions with her were somewhat surprising given the dressing down she gives him at nearly every encounter. I hope the author keeps Lily's independent spirit but allows her to learn to permit the men in her life to keep their dignity (and their manhood!).

I'm looking forward to the second book in this series.

Full Disclosure--NetGalley and the publisher provided me with a digital ARC of this book. This is my honest review.

Lily Adler, widowed two years ago, returns to London at the behest of her mother-in-law, who feels Lily needs to return to society instead of moldering away in the country. During her first outing, at a dear friend's ball, Lily overhears two men arguing and then one of them is shot. No one knows the dead man, but soon Lily witnesses her friend's husband bribing a Bow Street Runner to drop the case. Lily is afraid he might be involved which would break her friend's heart. Lily teams up with a young woman from the Caribbean, who is making her debut in English society and her late husband's close friend, Captain Jack Adler. An amusing look at Victorian society and its strictures on women's behavior. Very entertaining read for those who like Tasha Alexander

1815. Widow Lily Adler finally decides its time to return to London society, and is eager to re-engage with friends, especially with Lady Serena Walter. To this end she accepts an invitation to a ball given by the Walters. While taking the air in the garden she oversees a disagreement, overhears an argument and then a gunshot. A few moments later with the help of acquaintance Captain Jack Hartley they discover a body. When the magistrate decides not to investigate, Lily undertakes the task.
It was an enjoyable mystery, but unfortunately I just didn't take to the character of Lily. Not an endearing character to me. Though a good solid start to a new series.

Lily Adler is a young widow who has returned to London to try to decided what to do with her life now that the plans she and her husband made have been derailed by his death. She is deeply grieving the loss of the man she loved.

When her best friend encourages her to take up the social reel again, she doesn't expect to overhear an argument and a gunshot and find herself in the middle of a mystery. When her friend's powerful husband pays off the Bow Street Runners to make the potential scandal go away, Lily feels that it is up to her to solve the crime.

Lily is assisted in her endeavors by Navy Captain Jack Hartley and West India heiress Ofelia Oswald. Jack is a childhood friend of Lily's husband who was away when he died. Miss Oswald is connected to the body found in the garden and is a bright young woman sent to England to find a husband.

After some misunderstandings with Jack who assumes Lily is a typical society lightweight, he becomes a good friend to her. His initial suspicions about Miss Oswald who is definitely keeping secrets adds some additional tension to the story.

In fact, there is a lot of tension as the murderer definitely doesn't appreciate Lily's investigation into the murder of the young man. There are two additional murders and a couple of attempts on Lily's life before the story comes to a satisfying conclusion.

I enjoyed the story very much and liked the depths of the characters and the Regency setting.

It appears I am starting another good series! I love mysteries set in Regency London and this one was very good.

The main character, Lily Adler, is a young, independent widow who is very intelligent, a little bit in the manner of Sherlock Holmes. When she accidentally discovers a murder and finds that the Bow Street Runners have been paid not to look into it she decides to solve the crime herself.

The atmosphere of London and of society at that time is well done and the mystery is clever. I guessed the murderer but not until right at the end.

Very enjoyable and I recommend it to others who like this genre.

Witty and well written at times it was redundant but over all the plot was solid. It definitely stands out against other historical mysteries. I enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to others!

When recently widowed Lily Adler returns to London from Hertfordshire she’s hoping to reconnect with old friends and ease herself back into social circles. At one of old friend Serena’s parties she’s taking a break from the crowd in the garden when she overhears two men having an argument, followed by a gunshot. The next day when Lily visits the police station to give a statement on she’s told the case has already been closed due to lack of evidence. Taking matters into her own hands she teams up with one of her husband’s old friends Jack and a friend of the victim, Miss Oswald to try and solve the mystery.

I ended up enjoying this a lot more than I expected to, from the blurb I thought this was going to be a middle of the road historical mystery but I was very pleasantly surprised; while it was easy to read there were plenty of twists and turns while avoiding a few cliches. The plot/motive got a lot deeper and more complex than I thought it was going to and it did keep me guessing as to who had committed the crime, annoying at one point I guessed correctly only to be persuaded otherwise!

There’s also a lot in here around the perception of women during the early 1800s, Lily has to rely on Jack a lot as her going around asking questions or visiting certain places alone would be considered ‘incorrect’; although at times this does work in her favour as she not considered to be suspicious and when trying to sneak around other’s homes can claim she got lost on the way to the powder room to correct her hairpins.

I got the impression that this is going to be the first in a series and I really hope it is, I’d definitely want to read more from these characters.

Thanks to #crookedlanebooks and #netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book , publication date 4/7/2020
Lady Lily Adler, a widow, finally returns to London to try to begin living her life again.
But when she witnesses a murder at her friend's soiree, and the police refuse to investigate, she feels she has to find the murderer. There is a lot of social encumbrances and restrictions in this time period, so they seem so frivolous when reading the story. Otherwise it was a nice story.

London 1815. Though newly-widowed Lily Adler is returning to a society that frowns on independent women, she is determined to create a meaningful life for herself even without a husband. She's no stranger to the glittering world of London's upper crust. At a ball thrown by her oldest friend, Lady Walter, she expects the scandal, gossip, and secrets. What she doesn't expect is the dead body in Lady Walter's garden.

Lily overheard the man just minutes before he was shot: young, desperate, and attempting blackmail. But she's willing to leave the matter to the local constables--until Lord Walter bribes the investigating magistrate to drop the case. Stunned and confused, Lily realizes she's the only one with the key to catching the killer.

Aided by a roguish navy captain and a mysterious heiress from the West Indies, Lily sets out to discover whether her friend's husband is mixed up in blackmail and murder. The unlikely team tries to conceal their investigation behind the whirl of London's social season, but the dead man knew secrets about people with power. Secrets that they would kill to keep hidden. Now, Lily will have to uncover the truth, before she becomes the murderer's next target.
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<i>The Body in the Garden</i> is the first book in the Lily Adler Mystery series and is Katharine Schellman's debut novel.

Lily Adler, our main character, has a strong personality that was both likable and a bit much at times. This made her feel like a very real and human character, even if she did seem a tad modern for her times. Ofelia Oswald, an heiress, and Jack Hartley, a navy captain, become her investigative partners, which didn't always run smoothly for them. Despite their bickering and keeping secrets from one another, I really appreciated that there was a team of three investigating in this book, while also relying on the help of those around them on a few occasions. It was a nice change of pace to see a deviation from the usual investigsting duo. And it felt more believable that a larger team like this would be able to solve this mystery.

I loved that there were PoC characters in this book, and not only as background characters! PoC characters are often few and far between in the historical genre and sub-genres, so it was lovely and refreshing to see some representation in this wonderful mystery.

At the onset of the book, I did feel that it tended toward being a bit wordy at times, which sometimes made it feel like things were dragging along a bit. But considering this is the first a series, introducing us to our main characters whilst setting up a mystery, this slow pace wasn't completely unexpected and so this wasn't really a sticking point for me.

Without spoiling anything, I will simply say that I really liked the way everything played out during the conclusion of the mystery. It was just twisty-turny enough that it was perfect. There was a good and believable amount of danger and there were several red herrings along the way so that it wasn't obvious too early as to who our villian was. I did still determine the villian before the reveal, but only shortly before.

I look forward to seeing where further installments in this series will take us. I will be continuing on to read the next book when it becomes available and on the lookout for other mystery books from Katharine Schellman in the future. I recommend <i>The Body in the Garden</i> to fans of the historical mystery genre.
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I would like to thank NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for sharing a copy of <i>The Body in the Garden</i> by Katharine Schellman with me for reviewing purposes. This is my honest review.

The reader is easily transported to London in the early 1800s. Katharine Schellman's glittering description of the party at the Walters gives us a crash course in decor, fashion and etiquette. There’s just enough information to make place the reader in the right mindframe, but not too much that it feels like information overload.

While there were a few moments when Lily’s righteousness and stubbornness were a bit annoying, for the most part, she is a lovely character. She’s very aware of her place in society, but at the same time she has her own mind, has a bit of a rebellious streak and wants to live on her own terms.

Lily stumbles upon the murder when she accidentally overhears a young man blackmailing someone. As she tries to slip away unnoticed, she hears a gunshot and then finds the dead body. At first, Lily is almost convinced to let the police handle it, but when she inadvertently finds out that Lord Walter has paid the police to look the other way, she refuses to let the case drop. The victim is a young man from the West Indies who has come to London looking for an heiress, Ofelia Oswald.

As Lily continues her investigations, she’s assisted by several interesting characters:
- Captain Jack Hartley – a charming captain who is of mixed-race (his father is English, his mother is Indian) and was Freddy’s childhood best friend
- Ofelia Oswald – a rich heiress, also of mixed-race (her father is English, her mother is from the West Indies)
- Simon Pace – a Bow Street Runner (policeman)

There’s also Lily’s loyal and protective servants, Mr. and Mrs. Carstairs (butler and housekeeper) and Anna, Lily’s maid. On top of that, there’s a TON of minor characters throughout the story (I had to take notes to keep track and I still got confused!

Of all supporting characters, Captain Jack is definitely the most interesting. As Freddy’s old friend, he’s naturally protective of Lily, but I sense that there may be something more in the future. I really like him as a character – he’s supportive of Lily but also a bit frustrated with her independent streak. He also might have some competition for Lily’s future affections from Simon, but we’ll see what happens in future books!

The mystery is well plotted and Lily makes a great amateur investigator. While she does a great job pursuing leads and working out problems, she does have some flaws, like being stubborn and trying to do everything by herself.

At times, the pacing was a bit slow, but I kind of liked it that way. It felt right for a period mystery and gave this historical mystery a nice, cozy feel. I’m really looking forward to the next book in this series. It will be great to find out how these characters develop and see how they handle their next adventure.

*** Thank you to the publisher, Crooked Lane Books, for providing me with an advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Overall I enjoyed this book. I had trouble keeping the characters straight because they had very similar names (Harper, Harlowe, Hartley). I really enjoyed the main character Lily, as well as her friend Miss Oswald. I will be interested in reading more about their adventures.

Historical mysteries are not my favorite mystery subgenre, to be honest, but if I'm going to read one it helps if the mystery is engaging and the "detective" makes sense given the times. Lily's life in Regency England is one of some privilege, yet she doesn't have a happy family life (husband recently dead, birth family estranged, in-laws supportive but wanting to marry her off). Returning to London she finds friends from school and more recently ready to welcome her, as well as a dead body she feels obliged to investigate.

A decent start to a series that those who love Regency-based novels and historical mysteries will enjoy.

eARC provided by publisher.