Poison Grove by Jill Johnson is the second in a series following Eustacia Rose, a botany professor and consultant to local police about plant toxins. In this adventure, Prof. Rose is helping to solve a murder by a syringe full of poison, avoiding a pushy and violent student, trying to enjoy her relationship with her Portuguese colleague, and dealing with a new assistant to her friend, DCI Roberts.

Eustacia is a very quirky character. Social interactions can exhaust her, and she doesn’t read social cues well. She is very direct and often doesn’t understand why others are reacting the way that they do. Still, her heart is in the right place, she is working on different coping mechanisms, and I found her to be charming. I enjoyed the relationship between her and DCI Roberts, mostly on the same page but a little off-kilter. Less successful was the relationship with her girlfriend, Mathilde, whom we don’t know much about. To be fair, their journey may have been chronicled in the first book.

Most puzzling, though, was the introduction of DS Helen Chambers to work with DCI Roberts. I have no idea why her storyline was included, unless it was to cause awkward situations for everyone.

The mystery itself was fine, with some obvious red herrings, and the plot progressed quickly. I was engaged in the scientific/academic setting and enjoyed learning about the various toxic plants.

Poison Grove is a fun, cozy mystery. I’ll likely look for the next in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the eARC.

This was a very interesting short read. I loved the main character and the way her mind worked. I will have to say the main culprits were a little predictable but it was still a fun read I ended up finishing it in a day. The relationships between Eustachia and those around her were the strong points of the book definitely with Richard their relationship was my favorite.

As a plant lady, I loved "The Poison Grove."

Professor Rose was definitely one of the funniest characters I've read in a while. I absolutely adored how everyone was nicknamed after plants or flowers. The book was well-written and well-researched. It was a perfect cozy read to break-up all the darkness I've been reading as of late. I also enjoyed that relationships in this book seemed to have been built slightly better than the first. The one flaw I will say is some of the storylines seemed slightly unnecessary.

Overall, I loved the book, love the series and can't wait for more Professor Rose!

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3 stars ⭐️

not having read the first book, i enjoyed this one. i think the story line was great and it flowed very nicely. i do think that maybe having a bit more information would have been helpful. i did Eustacia to be very annoying at times and very much stuck in her ways. also, how old was she supposed to be because the way she was written she felt as though she was 60. just little things because she didn’t know how to use a computer or use her phone. she just felt so out of place that it didn’t make sense that she was probably mid 40s.

overall a good book

This book started ok but it just soon fell flat I wanted to love it but it just took way too long for the real plot so for that I can just say it was ok

The Poison Grove (also titled Hell’s Bells) is the second book in the Professor Eustacia Rose Mystery series by British author, Jill Johnson. Nine months back in her position as Professor of Botanical Toxicology at UCL, Eustacia Rose is happy in her relationship with her colleague, Mathilde Acosta. Her only distraction, until she gets a call from DCI Richard Roberts, is the PhD student who is stalking her. Aaron Bennett, whom she dubs Giant Hogweed, is demanding cuttings from the collection of poisonous plants she no longer has, for his thesis research.

Roberts wants her input on a likely poisoning: a man found outside a SoHo bookshop with a syringe protruding from his jugular vein. From the signs he exhibits, she’s fairly certain he’s been injected with a hallucinogen, and suggests to the paramedic a drug that may save him. While the victim lies unconscious in intensive care, Roberts and Eustacia trawl through CCTV footage to discover from where he came, and who might have attacked him. The highly unusual syringe points them to a well-known American artist recently moved to London.

Another distraction is the DS who has replaced Roberts’s right-hand man. DS Helen Chambers seems to know a lot of detail of Eustacia’s life, acting forward and pushy for social interaction, to Mathilde’s dismay. Eustacia’s fixation with this puzzling case leads to neglect of her special person. As well, an older white-haired woman is mystifyingly triggering childhood memories. Meanwhile, Bennett continues to harass Eustacia, threatening to source synthetic toxins from the dark web if she won’t cooperate.

When Bennett is found dead in his home with a syringe in his arm, the police declare it an accidental overdose, and close the case. But his parents are extremely dissatisfied: they blame Eustacia for his death, and she feels obliged to investigate.

Once again, Johnson gives the reader a quirky protagonist who has a little trouble reading social cues but acts purely out of good intentions. There’s still a liberal inclusion throughout of botanical names, if less eye-glazing than the first book, although she does provide a handy glossary of plants at the end. This is an enjoyable cosy mystery with a few twists to keep the reader guessing before the reveal. There is a further instalment due, Bella Donna, but for this reader, two doses of Eustacia Rose are sufficient.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press.

Murder mystery with lovely quirky strong female leads. Great female relationships and enjoyed it. Light read with nice plot twists. Thank you to the author. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

I had to DNF this. The suspense of disbelief was becoming too much. The whole situation with the volatile student, really? We're supposed to believe she's a tenured professor, when her interactions with a student go like that?
Also, I wanted to stop right at the time the author described the way Susan's breasts were resting on the table -- here I was laboring under the illusion this was written by a woman, not a gross man. I did stick with it up until the 25% mark, though, which I regret now.

Not for me.

Always wanted to know what a professor of botanical toxicology gets up to in their spare time? No it isn’t dealing with exotic plants, not in the literal sense at least, for the most part.
This is book two in a series, I haven’t read the first book. I do suspect it would have been beneficial to make a bit more sense of some parts of the storyline. I was fine without it though. You can catch on rather quickly because the writing is pretty good and easy flowing.
I would describe this book and its story as a cosy mystery with a main character who is definitely an acquired taste. At first I found her to be endearing enough, but the whole shtick became a bit too much for me and got on my nerves. I believe this character is to show neurodiversity, which I’m all for (how can you not be?) but she just isn’t for me.
The story itself, the mystery, I unraveled it pretty quickly and there were no surprises for me. The botanical aspects in this book are pretty nice, I did look up some of these plants just to have an idea about them in my mind.

Like I wrote, mostly a cosy mystery. Not sure if I’ll be reading more instalments as professor Rose gets on my nerves.

I just recently got into reading mysteries, and this book will be hard to top. I love the elements of botany woven throughout the storyline, and it’s nice and easy to read.

A botany professor who specializes in toxic plants. A threatening student who will not leave her alone. A man is poisoned with a powerful hallucinogen and the police need her expertise.

Professor Eustacia Rose is being called to help investigate a poisoning involving a toxic substance. Her methodical and obsessive personality works well for solving mysteries and finding herself in dangerous situations. All the while her partner, Matilde, is trying hard to have a relationship with her. There’s an obsessive student she has nicknamed Giant Hogsweed, who will not leave her alone.

I recommend this book for any reader who enjoys a mystery and a humorous character. Professor Rose gives people nicknames based on flowers or plants, it’s quite entertaining and informative. The obsessive student is Giant Hogsweed, which is a toxic plant that causes blisters from touching the plant. I’m obsessed with what nickname Professor Rose would give me, if only I could be a star cactus or firethorn.

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

This is an easy-to-read amateur detective story with academic cred.

The quirky Professor Eustacia Rose is dragged yet again into a mystery involving her beloved poisonous plants and a too-aggressive student.

This is another installment in a series (2nd). But don't worry if this is your first, you'll quickly get up to speed with the eccentric professor of botanical toxicology with daddy issues. Though it's obvious that there's a history to be explored earlier in the series.

I enjoyed this cozy mystery and wasn't too bothered by the contrived way she was thrust into the story. Her old-world, slightly bungling character is the star of the show, and she obviously has history with the London police. Though sometimes I did want to shake our naive hero into the 21st century and her ongoing relationship with the dangerous student does strain credibility. In no academic world would this situation be allowed.

To enjoy, you will have to suspend reality, accept the character's flaws, and focus on the unfolding story. Readers with an interest in plants will relate to the botanical references. Readers who love an old-world gentle mystery will probably like the book.