Member Reviews

An excellent read for those who enjoy a good thriller. Main character is well defined and superbly presented offering gardening tips along the way (which I found helpful!). Take the time to embrace this wholesome story of friendships torn apart and secrets being dragged up to through you off the scent!

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Really enjoyed this Audio book it wasn't a murder mystery or a thriller but a good story line with some untold secrets and a gardener trying to prove her innocence I loved "Mouse" the dog

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This book was such as easy read - I loved every page. The characters were larger than life and as rich as anything. And the mystery of who sent the blackmail notes was a tricky one to work out. I really enjoyed the way the story unfolded and found the chapters flying by. Thank you NetGalley and publishers for my free audiobook.- I would totally recommend reading this one.

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This is quite a nice cosy mystery .....note, not cosy murder. The characters are mainly believable and the mystery unfolds well. The wrap-up at the end is well done for one mystery and a bit lacklustre for the other. There is some promising background that could develop nicely, in future books.

Narration is clear, but very slow. I had to put it on 1.5x or I'd have nodded off!

I'll happily listen to the second in the series.

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Was the plot slightly ridiculous. Sure, but the characters were interesting and likable and I enjoyed the horticultural information. It moved at a good pace and was an enjoyable read. 5*

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I liked the pacing of this book - it kept me intrigued and I enjoyed listening to it. Often with audiobooks I zone out but I never felt like I missed anything with this one. The narrator perfectly suited our main character, in my opinion and overall it was exactly what I'm looking for in my cosy mystery audiobooks

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Omg talk about a roller coaster read wow this book kept me on the edge of my seat through out I just couldn't put it down this writer keeps you hooked and once your hooked your not letting go I found this book thrilling the characters were fantastic and well thought out and the little clues all the way threw keep you guessing until the end !

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What a thrillingly wonderfully set cosy mystery. The 1st in a series which gas great promise. Told from pov of main characters the gardener Steph who with her adorable dog Mouse needs to find out who's the blackmailer is in order to kerp her job.
The narrator nailedvit for me. There was emotion in all the right places especially in the interactions with veryone else. High quality aidio. The nice thing was the narrator had confidence when saying long garden plant names. It flowed. Helped by a well written story where facts were dripped in when relevant. I feel in love with mouse and i can definitely see this series being a great success.
A fairly quick listen. Perfect for any cosy mystery or dog lover. A fab 5 star listen.

Thank you net gallery and publisher and narrator and author for mybarc. Highly recommended

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This book had a good premise, but ultimately fell short. I did not feel invested in the storyline as I listened, the narrator seemed bored therefore I did also. It was easy to guess where the story was going and it didn’t feel like I was reading a new book, it felt like many I’ve already read with no real unique selling point.

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This was a nice, easy read. Following Steph The Gardener and her lovable dog, Mouse. I can't say I was too invested in the characters (or even the plot, to be honest), but it kept my attention and I listened til the end. I'll give it 4 stars as I liked the overall storyline and the cover but wasn't a fan of the audiobook narrator.

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The audio version of the book is a place to relax and contemplate life, mixed in with a nicely written crime mystery. This is a wonderfully tended story with colourful characters and layers of depth that are slowly revealed as we spend time with Steph. She has a lot of hurt in her life, which she is trying to leave behind in her new, perfect, job. A small cottage, a number of large gardens to look after and her dog. She’d be happy to be left alone, but the lives and secrets of her rich clients and their families just keep getting dumped on her whither she wants or not. Can she find a way through this deep dark compost heap and find a way to produce a fine healing and enriching mulch. I really look forward to more books in this series. Thank you to Bonnier UK Audio and NetGalley for the audio ARC. The views expressed are all mine freely given.

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This was pretty good- i liked the premise of the story, and LOVED all the Mouse content 😭😭 he was a gem and 100% my favourite character!

The narrator was brilliant; all the different character voices, accents, and the tone definitely elevated the story!! She cOMMITTED to the story and I ate it up!!

The reason this didn’t get as high a rating as I expected to give it was because I didn’t really care about the scandal? The huge part of this was the small gated community drama/gossip and all the unsavoury things they did secretly, but because I wasn’t really invested in the characters, I didn’t really care about their goings on 😭😭 It ended up being tedious and the story definitely could have been edited down, it felt wayyy too long, and was super convoluted at times- I didn’t really get why the characters did what they did, and I know they’re not meant to be NICE but they were just… they weren’t even interesting criminals lol

It was a fun read, but overall it fell short :(

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I loved the premise of this book; gardening and cosy crime = perfect!

Although primarily a mystery, there was also a fascinating insight into the wealthy residents of Beaulieu Heights, who all have secrets and, frankly, think they're more important than anyone else! Steph and her gorgeous dog, Mouse, are great characters and overall, I enjoyed Rosie Sandler's writing.

As the story progressed, clues and details were slowly drip fed to the reader, increasing the tension and intrigue.. Steph herself also has secrets and her amateur sleuthing means that she also has to come clean about her past, adding another layer of mystery.

What somewhat spoiled it for me, was the narration of the audiobook. At 1.0 speed, the narrator sounded monotone and bored. At 1.5 speed, she made Steph sound whiny on occasion, and I don't feel Steph was a whiny character. I would be interested to continue with this series, perhaps with a different narrator.

3 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Rosie Sandler and Bonnier for an ARC in return for an honest review.

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Book one of a cozy new mystery series introduces us to Steph on the brink of her new live in job as gardener at Beauly Heights - the landscape is written as beautifully as it is tended by Steph.
However, it doesn’t take long for malicious letters to start arriving and with the finger pointed firmly at her and her job on the line, Steph had best get to work solving the mystery.

I loved this. Perfect to curl up with on an autumn evening the writing is lovely, the narration perfect. An easy 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bonnier UK Audio got the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in return for an honest review.

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I really enjoyed how the book was written, the characters were very well written and the way they behaved made you question everyone and everything.
My favourite was Mouse of course! He was the goodest dog ever and went through so much ! Very brave pooch!
The main character was very likeable with is sometimes hard to do, due to the nature of the mystery books.
I liked the twists and turns of the story, it made me seat at the edge of a seat in some parts !
Loved the ending ! Hoping to see more books in this series soon! I will definitely grab them and put them on my TBR list!


.

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🎧Audio Book Review🎧

Seeds of Murder
Rosie Sandler

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This is the first time I've read a book by this author and it was such a brilliant cosy mystery with a unique twist - I loved it!

We meet Steph as she starts her new job as head grounds keeper/gardener of a gated community in Beaulieu.
At first it sounded idyllic, but gradually we meet all the residents and apart from dealing with them and their quirks, Steph hetsbdrawn into their personal lives and realises that there's maybe something a little fishy going on here.

There were so many characters to get to grips with - each with their crazy lives and varying personalities - some really lovely to hear, and others who really did put themselves above "the staff"!!

I loved the dynamics at play throughout the book, with the residents themselves and between the families, but also how each treated Steph too.

Although there were many characters, it was actually quite easy to keep track of who was who and what part they were playing in the ever darkening and complex storyline.
This again, although complex, was surprisingly easy to keep track of.

I'm saying no more about the plot as I hate spoilers and I'd honestly not do it justice anyway - but suffice to say that it was really quite clever the way all the different storylines were woven around each other and then the way they all came together at the end.

I loved Steph and of course also her dog, Mouse! She really couldn't let things go and had to keep investigating.
Every single character played their part brilliantly, every one important - so keep your focus.

What made this really refreshing was the inclusion of all the gardening information and tips. Some of the information was quite technical but it really added that bit extra to the book.

I absolutely loved this and will definitely look out for more books by this author in the future.
I'm really hoping that there'll be a sequel and we can follow Steph and her gardening business on her next adventure too.




💕Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my ARC copy - this is my honest review 💕

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A nice read for a lover of gardening and dogs, particularly the references to Vita Sackville-West’s White garden.
However, I think the book was a little too formulaic and was longer than it needed to be. The culprit was obvious too, sadly.

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Listening to Seeds of Murder is akin to meandering your way along a lengthy winding path through a variety of gardens owned by a bunch of entitled soap opera characters, none of whom are endearing, or even nice.

Deserving of the title 'cosy', this one is worth getting yourself, and your furry friend if you have one, all snuggled on the sofa as an escape from the everyday.

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