Steph Williams has her first proper gardening position, the head gardener of Beaulieu Heights, but all is not sweetness and light in the domain of the wealthy. Gardens full of potential, beautiful houses… and all the secrets that money attracts. As Steph and her faithful dog, Mouse, get settled in, it becomes clear that a blackmailer is at work in the community – and as it only started when she got there, the spotlight of suspicion is pointed squarely at her.

Dealing with her own problems at the same time – her estranged parents and her ex-husband reappearing – Steph finds herself working against the clock to prove her innocence and save her career…

So I met Rosie Sandler at Stockport Noir this year – she wasn’t speaking, but we were chatting about cosy mysteries and she let slip that she wrote them too. I think she was worried when I referred to one that I didn’t like involving gardening that it was one of hers – it wasn’t – so I thought it was only fair to give one of her books a go.

And… well, I’m a bit divided on this one.

I’ll be honest, I really enjoyed Steph, Mouse and her story. She’s a strong, confident lead with enough backstory to intrigue, and Rosie makes a good choice not to blow it all in the first book. There are, to date, four books in the series with another coming in May and there are certainly strands leading into the next book. I was a little unclear about where her ex-husband disappeared to halfway through, but I’m presuming it’s into Book Two.

So, it’s a very well-written, absorbing book. I was constantly reading a bit to see what was happening next – and to read more about Mouse, to be honest.

You can feel the “but” coming, can’t you?

OK, first of all, don’t hang around waiting for the Seeds Of Murder to blossom into an actual murder. There’s… sort of one… but, rarely for the genre, this is entirely about blackmail. I guess Seeds Of Blackmail wouldn’t sell as well…

And despite addressing some serious issues within, and I’m guessing when we find more about Steph’s marriage, in the upcoming books, this is structured very much like the US cosy books, namely Steph keeps asking people things until they basically tell her their secrets and who the blackmailer is. There’s not a lot of deduction here, just Steph bothering/sweet-talking people into telling her stuff.

This won’t bother a lot of my readers, and if you can overlook this, it’s a very enjoyable read. I really liked the characters and am curious where it’s going next in Murder Takes Root – which does have a definite murder in it – and I’ll probably take a look at it in the future.