Deadhead and Buried: English Cottage Garden Mysteries, Book 1

Who knew a mean boss, a corner flower ornament se!!er and a rash decision could change my buy life. A lawyers phone call and being kicked out of my apartment could all up happen in one weeks time.

I recently found H.Y. Hanna and she has fast become one of my favorites!Deadhead and Buried is my most recent foray into Hanna's worlds and it does not disappoint! The characters all have backgrounds you can't wait to delve into and the mystery keeps you interested until the end. I can't wait to read the next in the series.Do yourself a favor and start any of her series, you won't be disappointed.

H. Y. Hanna got a new fan when I bought one of the books in the English Cottage Garden Mystery series...I immediately bought the other two to catch up and follow the fun and informative book series by Hanna.First, it had a cat on the front...and I was excited to meet the cat character--who belongs to a neighbor and a dog character who belongs to another neighbor...both natural enemies (or are they?) are constantly fighting. Both are a joy to watch as they are constantly included throughout the book!What I really enjoyed, though, was how informative the book was regarding the flowers that could be used in the Cottage Garden. As many know, I'm always looking for new additions to my yard...and was grateful for this excellent exploration of plants and flowers...Hanna begins her new series with Poppy Lancaster, the main character, working in a dead-end job but soon has a wonderful surprise when a solicitor contacted her about her grandmother dying and her being her only heir. Sadly, Poppy's mother had left home before Poppy was born, so she had never known anything about her relatives, if she had any. She had been told that her mother was rather wild in her teen years and, as a groupie, had become pregnant...by one of the guys in the band...Now she had inherited an English cottage, which also had a huge garden. Only one thing...in order to get her inheritance, she had to live and take over the family cottage garden and bring it back to life. Thinking she would sell it, she still decided to visit the cottage, mainly because she did't have the money for an overnight stay. She was thrilled that the inside of the cottage was not in bad shape, even though the garden had become overgrown and full of weeds. But as she settled inside, she decided to check out the garden--and found to her delight that many of the flowers were peeking out of hidden places...But when Oren screamed out further away, "Noo-oww!" (Yes, Poppy decided that the cat's meow sounds like Now--and even How, sometimes! The entire dialogue between the two of them is delightful play on Oren's vocal statements. Poppy and I were both delighted.) But when she followed the meow, she found...a hand...attached to a body...with lots of flowers dragged and falling around the area.Yes, a Cozy Mystery that is cat oriented...My favorites for at least 30 years back to when Lillian Braun was still writing...And I've never been disappointed with how the storyline is woven around the cat character to the amateur investigator...Great beginning and on to the second in series...

Well concocted story with more than one protagonist. A fun read for thriller fans. Makes you want to buy a sailboat!

Poppy was unhappy in her job in London and when she received a letter from a solicitor in Oxford to say she’d inherited her grandmother’s cottage, she wasn’t sure what to do. It had a nursery attached and Poppy knew her fingers weren’t green – the will stated she had to reopen the nursery if she was going to live there. Her journey to see her inheritance – after she quit her job – saw her arrive to a tangle of vines, weeds and a ramshackle old cottage. But on her entry, she felt immediately at home.The discovery of a body in the garden at the back of the house shocked Poppy. But when the Detective told her she couldn’t stay in her cottage because it was a crime scene, she was offered a room next door. Poppy’s time was spent placating the big ginger tom cat, Oren, reading her gran’s gardening books, and trying to solve the mystery of the death in her garden. But could she do it?Deadhead and Buried is the 1st in the English Cottage Garden Mysteries by Aussie author H.Y. Hanna and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Lots of fun and good entertainment, I loved Oren and his nemesis Einstein (the terrier) as well as Poppy and Nell. I’m looking forward to book 2 soon. Highly recommended.

I kept putting off reading this book because the first couple of chapters were slow. I’m glad I picked it up and finished it. There are disjointed meanderings throughout this book but it finally ties up the knots.

This was a fun easy read, good story, likeable characters. I don't usually figure out whodunit, or even try, but I thought it was pretty obvious fairly early on even tho some circumstances seemed to point away from him. But, that didn't bother me, it was a good story & group of folks. I hope the others come down in price since I won't pay a lot for these. I'd like to see what else Poppy is up to.

Poppy inherits a country cottage and gardens from a grandmother she never knew due to dubious circumstances surrounding her birth. Her first thought is to sell up and pay off her debts with the hefty cash sum she will get for the property but she is so enchanted with the cottage and village life that she decides to stay and as she must under the terms of the will, run the cottage garden business despite knowing nothing about gardening or plants. At no time are we told how broke and jobless Poppy pays the bills associated with home ownership and this annoyed me more than her bumbling attempts to solve the murder of the man whose body she stumbled over on her first night at the cottage. Easy, pleasant reading but nothing special or particularly believable. Great if you're into flowers.how does she manage to pay the electricity bill for light and greenhouse heat?

The Oxford Tearoom series by H. Y. Hanna is at the very top of the cosy murder mysteries I have read, and now she has started another series which is just as good. I don't read her 'Bewitched by Chocolate' series, because its not my 'thing', but the English Cottage Garden Mysteries series - I have now read the first two books - is superb; in fact, I don't think she is capable of writing anything that isn't! This book sets the scene and introduces the characters quickly, and then gets into the main story. Without giving too much away, Poppy Lancaster inherits an old cottage with a neglected garden centre business in the Cotswolds. She then finds a body in the over-run garden, and sets out to find out who did it. Excellent storyline, great characters.

New to this author.I don't know why but I looked at the cover and I thought it was going to be a witch inherited a cottage and garden etc (I read a lot of supernatural as well as small town love storys) this showed up in unlimited recommendation.no supernatural but a love for flowers.I can't even say a love story as the guy was out of town most of it she had a relationship with his cat? I guess it can be slow burn maybe later? This storyline was her getting to know the small town funding out who she can trust and the main thing was the dead body she found in her garden a hour after being there....who did it Nancy drew?

The English Cottage Garden series is HY Hanna's latest series and just like Oxford Tearooms Mysteries and Bewitched by Chocolate series this one does not disappoint. Poppy Lancaster inherits her grandmother's cottage and garden nursery business and after she resigns from her job that she hates and then discovers that she has to move out of her accommodation she decides to move into the cottage whilst she deliberates on whether or not to sell it along with the business. Once she arrives at the cottage she finds that the garden nursery is somewhat neglected to say the least and she herself has no gardening experience whatsoever. We soon meet her neigbours' animals Oren the ginger tom cat belonging to Nick the author and former detective and Einstein the terrier belonging to the wacky professor. The morning after she moves in she discovers a body buried in the garden and sets about trying to identify the killer. I thoroughly enjoyed this first book in the series and have also read the second one and look forward to many more.

I really enjoy the Oxford Tea Room mysteries so decided to read the first in this new set. I'm not enraptured. I found the heroine silly and a tad dim and the portrayal of the police somewhat disparaging. Poppy claims not to have any money yet spends as if it's going out of fashion. And how will she run a business. Maybe the answer is in the second book.....