Goosebush,
Massachusetts is a charming small town with its very own Garden
Squad. The Fall Festival Fundraiser is a 10K run this year
but from the beginning, the preparation is more complicated
than Lilly Jayne planned on. Alden Park neighbor Cole Bosworth
tries to lay claim to the path that his house abuts, so the
Beautification Committee decided that path would be used for
part of the 10K to prove that the town still used it.
Meanwhile, annoying reporter Tyler Crane is doing his best
to dig up dirt and stir up the townspeople’s emotions.
On the morning of the big event, Lilly, her friends Delia
and Roddy go to give the path a final clean up. Sure enough,
there were new leaves on the path so they get to work. Roddy
is sweeping away when he finds Tyler Crane under the leaves.
Tyler’s dead! Lilly and her Garden Squad are determined
to find out what happened in time to save the Fall Festival.
I have not read the first two books in this series, and I
think I would have liked this one, even more, had I done so.
However, it held its own as a standalone read and I enjoyed
reading about Lilly and her friends and neighbors, and I liked
visiting Goosebush.
Julia Henry did a great job of bringing town history into
the present and showing the effect of social media on the
past and present at the same time. She struck the right balance,
which I don’t think was easy to do.
I plan to go back and read the first two books (“Pruning
the Dead” and “Tilling the Truth”) and will
look forward to the next installment.
This would make a fun fall read for anyone who loves a good
cozy with a solid mystery and relatable characters living
in a history-rich New England town.
Reviews of other titles in
this series
Pruning
the Dead
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