Meet Prunella ‘Pru’ Parke, an American gardener who digs up murder and mystery wherever she goes.
This Christmas, Pru is determined to serve up the ultimate English feast for two — with not a soggy sprout in sight! She fires up her Aga in her gorgeous country kitchen, hoping to cook up some festive magic for her husband.
Then she meets a mysterious stranger who upsets all her plans.
Alf, a smooth-talking young plant vendor, has a stall at the village Christmas market. His winter blooms are too good to be true. And there’s something strangely familiar about him . . .
Every time Pru feels she’s close to puzzling him out, he makes his excuses and disappears into the foggy December night. But Pru doesn’t give up easily.
Can Pru work out what he’s up to — while she grapples with a turkey big enough to feed the whole village?
Each new door on the advent calendar marks one less day to track Alf down.
USA Today best-selling author Marty Wingate writes The First Edition Library series (Berkley) set in Bath, England, about the curator of a collection of books from the Golden Age of Mystery. Book one, The Bodies in the Library, concerns murder among an Agatha Christie fan-fiction writing group, and in book two, Murder Is a Must (October 2020), an exhibition manager is found dead at the bottom of a spiral staircase. Marty also writes historical fiction: Glamour Girls (Alcove Press, January 2021) follows Spitfire pilot Rosalie Wright through both the physical and emotional dangers of the Second World War. Marty writes two further mystery series: the Potting Shed books (Alibi) feature Pru Parke, a middle-aged American gardener transplanted from Texas to England, and the Birds of a Feather series (Alibi) follows Julia Lanchester, bird lover, who runs a tourist office in a Suffolk village. Marty prefers on-the-ground research whenever possible, and so she and her husband regularly travel to England and Scotland, where she can be found tracing the steps of her characters, stopping for tea and a slice of Victoria sponge in a café, or enjoying a swift half in a pub.
A cozy little novella full of mystery and fun, this has the right amount of everything in it to make me feel warm and fuzzy.
I picked this because I wanted a seasonal read and this sweet little novella got the spot! If you want a read that’s a little over an hour that has cozy Murder mystery written all over it, I recommend this one.
This is what I mean when I say I want a cozy read. This book is everything I need right now. Hopeful and lovely. It was a cover buy, and it definitely paid off for me.
I am so thrilled that these last few books in the Potting Shed Mystery series made its way into audio editions! I started the series with audible purchases and have this compulsive nerdy need to keep all the books in a series in the same format so I was bereft when the audio books stopped at #6. Hooray for recently discovering the last three on audible. I've listened to two now and have the 8th book on preorder.
Absolutely adore this series and Pru is such an appealing heroine. Love her heart for both gardens and people and her nose for a mystery. No murder and very little mayhem in this sweet Christmas novella. Just a heartwarming story of finding family wherever you are -- with a lovely touch of whimsy.
This story was a joy to read. I had just found it this morning as I was reviewing another mystery that I had just read and the book cover caught my eye. Set in England and at Christmas time, with a garden theme, a Christmas market, and a mystery thrown in, what is not to like? Simply joyful and fun dialog, a surprise fun read with a feel good ending, a story to read anytime, not just during the Christmas season.
Here’s a short, clever Christmas mystery with Pru and Christopher, apparently set the December after “Midsummer Mayhem.” There is little gardening except harvesting some winter vegetables and a little shopping for some decorative holiday plants. Pru shares some of her Texan and American holiday traditions with her English family and faces her first solo Christmas dinner preparation (with printed advice from absent Evelyn). She also welcomes some fellow transplants with the spirit of Christmas.
Cute Christmas short novel, with both a garden and dinner theme throughout. They are looking for a mysterious man that they met at a Christmas Market, so they can invite him to Christmas dinner. The ending was abrupt, I would have liked to known more about the man .
This was a most delightful short story, perfect for getting you into the Holiday spirit. I read it in about 30 minutes, I just couldn't put it down. References to the Night before Christmas were sprinkled throughout, good will, cheer and a heart warming cozy story with family and friends in abundance. Very sweet ending. Enjoyable indeed!!⛄⛄🎄🎄🎀🎀🎅🎅
On the whole, I enjoyed this little story.. It's whimsical with a bit of Christmas magic and just right to read before bed. I have to admit, though, that the almost-lines from A VISIT FROM SAINT NICHOLAS were a bit annoying and the references to the absent brother were a bit confusing.
A heartwarming read about Christmas and how holidays not only bring people together but also bring out the best in people. Just when I thought this was going to be magical tale, it instead portrayed the magic of the season itself.
I liked the mystery of who Alf really was and how he appeared when Pru wanted to see him. The descriptions in the story were well written and made you like you were there. I will read more by this author.
It was a cute little short story, although there were several editing errors that were distracting. At times it felt like the reader had been dropped into the middle of another story, and you had to figure it out. Overall, a cute read.