BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE
Potting Shed Mystery #3
Marty Wingate
Random House Alibi
August 4, 2015

Transplanted Texan Pru Parke finds herself in a very different situation after her successful gig at Primrose House (The Red Book of Primrose House). Not only is she inundated with offers, but she has also had a marriage proposal from Chief Inspector Christopher Pearse of the London Met. The two have taken a six-month leave together and decide to get married after Pru's three-month engagement at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Pru has been hired to authenticate a journal attributed to Archibald Menzies, the eighteenth-century botanist and explorer. After arriving in Edinburgh, she finds herself at loggerheads with a colleague who thinks he should have had the job. He also hints that she is not qualified and got the job through shady means. When the colleague turns up dead after an argument with Pru, she is the logical suspect. The situation becomes complicated by wedding plans gone awry and the presence of an old flame from Texas at the Botanic Garden.

The Potting Shed Mysteries are wonderful reads. Not only do I like Pru and Christopher but the gardening lore and the varied locales are extremely well done. The wedding planning is frequently hilarious and provides a  counterpoint to the more serious mystery plot. The only quibble that I have is that the sub-plot about Pru's appointment seemed a bit too convoluted. Otherwise, I find Between a Rock and a Hard Place an almost perfect cozy English mystery and look forward to the next in the series.

Thanks to netgalley.com and Random House Alibi for an advance digital copy in return for an honest review.

RATING= 4 Stars