When Fiona Knox travels to Scotland to claim her godfather's inheritance, she finds a body in the cottage's magical garden. The body turns out to be Alistair Croft, her grandfather's lawyer. Chief Inspector Neil Craig focuses on her godfather's longtime friend Hamish MacGregor as a suspect. Fiona knows Ian MacCallister would not have trusted Hamish if he'd been capable of murder, so she sets out to assist in the investigation. The more she learns about Alistair Croft, the more she realizes his death must lie in his real estate dealings. Set in a village near the coast south of Aberdeen, most locals don't really welcome an American outsider. An Indian couple is an exception to this. Fiona must question motives of everyone she's met if she's to succeed in keeping Hamish out of jail. I found the magical garden a little odd, but otherwise the mystery was fun. It seemed to come together a bit too quickly in the end, and I felt the author missed out on an opportunity to create a little more tension to make it a bit more satisfying. It's a good beginning to a series. ( )

I really liked this book. I did live in Aberdeen for a year, and I spent time exploring Aberdeenshire, so sometimes I felt the descriptions and the stereotypes cringy. But if you ignore that part, the book is good fun and ideal for a cosy weekend. ( )

First in the series Flowers and Foul Play is a wonderful read. The main characters are very likable and I feel romance in the air. There's a light magic to story no talking animals just perfect. The plot is in Scotland picturesque town with a coast to the North Sea, cobblestone street and village shops. I can almost smell the fresh air. Fiona inherited a magical garden from her godfather and now she's the new garden keeper. With a body found inside the garden she helps tall and handsome Chief Inspector Craig find the killer. ( )

Fiona Knox has had a lot of sadness in her life recently. Her fiance dumped her. She was forced to close her florist business. And her much loved Uncle Ian has died. As she tries to pick up the broken pieces of her life, she learns that Uncle Ian left her his home, Duncreigan, in Scotland. Remembering wonderful visits with him there over the years, she travels to Scotland with a heavy heart, wondering if she will ever be happy again. She's greeted by the caretaker, Hamish, who tells her a story about the cottage and its magical garden. Hamish says that the garden has been dying ever since Ian MacCallister was killed in Afghanistan, but it will come back to life because she has come to Scotland to tend to it. There's a bit more going on in the garden than magic though. Hamish and Fiona find a dead man in the garden. Turns out several people in the nearby village of Bellewick might have wanted local attorney Alaistair Croft dead. But which one killed him? And how does the death tie in with Duncreigan cottage and the magic garden?

I absolutely loved this book! The story is a nice mix of magic and mystery. Fiona is a likable main character. Her life has pretty much imploded, and just when it seems things might be getting better, she finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery. But she is too intelligent and resilient to give up. She decides to investigate instead! :) I love Hamish and his pet squirrel Duncan. Quirky, magical characters to go with the magical garden. The mystery kept my attention from beginning to end. The story moved at a nice pace and there were plenty of motives and suspects. All in all, a totally enjoyable, magical and entertaining cozy mystery. Great start to a new series!

Amanda Flower's books never fail to entertain me. She writes several cozy series including the Magical Bookshop and the Living History Museum series.

**I voluntarily read an advance readers copy of this book from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.** ( )

Fiona Knox is heartbroken at learning that her godfather, whom she called Uncle Ian, has just died. She's just arrived in Scotland because she's discovered that he's left her everything he owns, including his small cottage and the walled garden behind it.

When she arrives at the cottage the elderly caretaker, Hamish MacGregor, meets her and takes her to the garden. She's dismayed that the garden is apparently dead, but Hamish informs her that now that she's here, the garden will live again. Looking around, Fiona thinks him deluded. Looking around even more, she sees a yellow rose twining around a stone, and Hamish tells her that it's beginning to show signs of life once more...but maybe not so much as she soon sees a boot..a foot...and a dead body.

When it's determined that the dead man is Alistair Croft, her godfather's solicitor, everyone is wondering how he got into the garden since it's kept locked and Hamish tells Fiona that he gave her the only key. But when all signs point to the fact that Hamish might be guilty of the crime, Fiona decides that Chief Inspector Neil Craig has the wrong person, and she's going to find the right one before Hamish is arrested for a crime he didn't commit...

I really liked the premise of this book - a magical garden in Scotland - which is why I wanted to read it. I did think at first that it had a rocky beginning; I understood about her fiancé dumping her and Fiona wanting to abruptly leave; but I really didn't find it believable that a flower shop would open right across the street from another one. Why would you actually set out to put someone out of business, especially in a large city like Nashville where there must have been plenty of locations they could have opened in?

Nevertheless, I kept reading, and I have to say that I enjoyed the rest of the book. I found only a few errata that should have been caught by the publisher (unfortunately, I notice details): using phased instead of fazed, mantle instead of mantel; and in the same chapter Fiona says, ..."or took it from her after he was dead" when it was most obviously supposed to be him. I imagine this particular chapter was proofread by a newbie, but hey...

I'm still on the fence about Fiona, though: on the one hand she seems to be levelheaded and her questioning isn't really invasive; she knows when to pull back and not harass people (except for one instance where she deliberately corners Seth) to the point that they sidestep around if they see her coming; but I also didn't care for the fact that she's trying so hard to be defensive to Inspector Craig. She keeps insisting she doesn't need help (she sometimes does), and for some odd reason she gets upset when he actually holds a door open for her. What idiotic woman would get upset that a man wants to treat her like a lady?

Although I was clued in quite quickly on something that never actually came to fruition in this book, but I imagine it will be touched upon in the next: After hearing about the letter Fiona was supposed to receive but didn't, I knew right away why Ian left her everything and why the garden came to life for her after her godfather died. You'd have to be pretty dense not to figure it out, especially after she questioned Hamish about her Uncle Ian being in love and his response was "Choices were made." At least it wasn't a cliffhanger, because I absolutely detest them. I call it 'holding the reader hostage'.

Anyway, for the most part, the mystery was done very well, with enough suspects and a few red herrings thrown about here and there. I really did like how the garden tied in to everything that was happening around Fiona, but how she, quite rightly, didn't want to accept the power it had over her; and how, throughout the book she began to accept the fact that everything Hamish told her was the truth. I also liked how the people in the village respected Ian and transferred that to her and were willing to accept her into their tight-knit community - all with the exception of the local minister, but I found it odd why he never explained his reasons for not liking her nor Ian.

All in all, when the murderer was discovered and the reasons behind it, it came as a surprise, yet it all came together nicely and I enjoyed the ending very well. This is the first book in the series, an easy read, and I will read the next, hoping to discover if my suspicions are correct (and maybe also find out why the minister hates her while never having seen her before she appeared in their little village). Recommended. ( )