by Julie, enjoying the 40 degree heatwave in Somerville
Drum roll, please! I am delighted to share the cover for Garden Squad #5, The Plot Thickets, with all of you!

Another fabulous cover in this series! Here’s the blurb about the book:
The ever-quintessential New England town of Goosebush, Massachusetts truly shines in springtime, but when an underhanded undertaker digs herself an early grave, it’s up to sixty-something gardening sleuth Lilly Jayne—and her fellow Garden Squad members of course— to unearth the cryptic killer…
With spring’s arrival in Goosebush, Lilly and the Beautification Committee turn their eyes to new projects. A cleanup of the historic Goosebush Cemetery may be in order, after Lilly and Delia find the plots there sorely neglected and inexplicably rearranged. Lilly soon discovers that Whitney Dunne-Bradford snapped up custodianship of the graveyard once she inherited Bradford Funeral Homes. But before Lilly can get to the bottom of the tombstone tampering, she stumbles upon Whitney’s body at the Jayne family mausoleum…
Though at first it appears Whitney died by suicide, Lilly has doubts, and apparently, so does Chief of Police Bash Haywood, who quickly opens a murder investigation. Plenty of folks in town had bones to pick with Whitney, including her stepdaughter, Sasha, and funeral home employee, Dewey Marsh—all three recently charged with illegal business practices. But when the homicide inquiry suddenly targets an old friend, Lilly and the Garden Squad must rally to exhume the truth before the real killer buries it forever…
Chronologically, in Goosebush time, this book takes place a year after Pruning the Dead. and several months after Wreathing Havoc. It will be released on October 25, 2022, and I can’t wait for you all to read it!
You can pre-order it from your favorite bookstore, Bookshop.org, Amazon or Barnes&Noble!
Readers, I want you to be able to comment, but I don’t want to make this too taxing, so how about this–how much do you love this cover? To celebrate, I’m giving away 3 copies of Wreathing Havoc to a commenter!
Beautiful cover and nice word play! Congratulations, Julie!
Thank you so much!
I love the country cemetery scene and the pink flowers really sets off the gray of the mausoleum and gravestones! Very serene feel to it. Great plot as well!
Thank you! I love the colors as well, especially against the gray of the crypt.
Love the cover and the title. Can’t wait to read it.
Thank you! I’m looking forward to it getting out in the world.
Fabulous cover, title, and plot, Julie! I’m so excited for the next installment in the series.
Thank you, Edith!
Julie, I love the cover of the new book. Combining the beautiful view with the graveyard setting is a nice twist.
I didn’t make it easy for the cover artist, did I? Love what they did.
Love it alot. So cool.
Thank you!
I DO love the cover! Congratulations! 🙂
Thank you, Karen!
So pretty! I love the flowers and the pop of color, and the cemetery beyond gives it that subtly ominous, mystery vibe.
I agree. A delicate balance.
I love the color.
I love the cover
Thank you, Dru!
The cover is great! I love the flowers, and the scene is peaceful.
It is peaceful, isn’t it?
I love this cover! The blue is very eye catching. Plus, this is a great series and I can’t wait to read about the new adventures of the Garden Squad!
Thank you so much for your kind words!
It’s very pretty, Julie. I love the church and the rhododendrons.
Thank you, Liz!
It is a beautiful cover. I wish spring was here!
So do I, Kathy! Though it’s going to be 50 here today during the day, so I’m going to ignore the snow and pretend.
The covers for your series have been extraordinary! I love it and can’t wait to read it!
Thank you, my friend!
Love the cover! The colors really are eye catching! Congratulations on the book! Excited to read it!
Thank you!
Love everything about this cover from the country scene showing the Jayne family mausoleum in the historic Goosebush Cemetery to the pop of color with the flowers and the blue skies. Love that the amateur sleuth is a senior citizen too. Can’t wait to dive in reading and it’s most definitely on my TBR list now.
Thank you for the opportunity to win a copy of “Wreathing Havoc”. I would be thrilled to read and review it.
2clowns at arkansas dot net
Thank you, Kay! It’s such a fun series to write.
Congratulations on another wonderful book! The cover is beautiful and I love those flowers. Thanks for the chance to win Wreathing.
Thank you!
CONGRATULATIONS on your 5th Garden Squad Mystery dear Julie!!!! The cover is very impressive, and even if I had been hiding in a cave for years and did not know about you and your FUN-tastic books, I would get the book and read it. The colors are so festive, and the cemetery scene is enticing rather than “scary”. Thank you for sharing your writing talents with us happy readers!!! luis at ole dot travel
Thank you for your kind words!
I love this cover and am envious of the rhododendrons. Just gorgeous!
I do love rhododendrons. This year they feel so far away…
I’m so looking forward to the latest book in this series. I just love it! I also love old cemeteries and this one is very inviting. All the flowers are so appropriate for the Garden Squad.
Thank you! They captured the feeling of the series so well.
What exciting news!!! And, the cover is outstanding and pulls the reader into the scene beautifully. We learned when we lived in the Southeastern part of the country that some cemeteries are called “churchyards” if they are attached or very close by the church itself. I believe it is a hold over from the British Anglican Church early settlers who started their churches here which later became Episcopal Churches for the most part. I can’t wait to read about the Garden Squad and look forward to being with them each one in The Plot Thickens. I have read all four of the previous books, so please don’t enter me in the contest. I am so very happy for you!
Thank you so much, Judy! I did research on cemeteries, graveyards and church yards. SO interesting. Of course, I made a lot of it up to work in the book.
This series has the BEST covers. I have loved every one of them.
Thanks, Barb. I’m so fortunate!
I LOVE the cover!!! It’s definitely a eye catching cover!!! Congratulations!!!
Thank you!!
Love the cover. Looking forward to reading the book. (And, obviously, don’t include me in the giveaway since I’ve already read the book.)
Thank you, Mark!
It’s charming! I like how everything but the building bursting with color.
Thank you so much!
I think the colors used are beautiful. I like the mausoleum and the cemetery “plots” used for The Plot Thickens. I find it makes me curious to see what secrets the mausoleum holds and what it has witnessed. If it could only talk. But with some evidence you might find if you look REALLY close maybe in its own way it can tell us a lot more than we realize. Okay, now I have to read this. I’ve got my own sleuthing juices flowing now. I want to get inside that mausoleum and see what take it can tell about this murder.
Congratulations on the new book! Sounds like a real winner. I predict huge success will follow this book along its way.
Thank you so much! In the book, there’s a lot of discussion about the carvings on the outside. And there’s some time spent on the inside…
So love this cover! It fits in so well with the whole series. Can’t wait to read this one! Congratulations!!
Thank you so much!
Great cover and title! It will definitely make me pick it up to read the synopsis of the book. Looking forward to reading the book when it’s released.
Thank you!
Congratulations Julie! I love the cover, I love the flower on it and the colors of it , it is a Great cover! It really stands out and it goes perfect with the Title. Have a great day and stay safe.
Thank you!
I like the cover. It’s eye catching but definitely says mystery
Thank you! I agree–fits the genre really well.
I love the cover and interesting with a cemetary and it is appealing. I enjoy books by Julia Henry and have not read the book that is given away.
Thank you!
Love the book cover, book title and excerpt. sounds fun, intriguing, suspenseful, engaging and a page turner.
I love your creativeness and wordplay on title.
Would love to read & review book in print format. Love books like this
Thank you!
Love the cover with the lovely rhododendrons in the front and tulips on the graves. I was out in my garden the other day since it was warmer but I was disappointed to find no bulbs coming up yet. Congratulations on the new book!
Thanks so much!
Love the flowers.
Aren’t they lovely?
It is a great cover and do I spy peonies?
The artist packed a lot of flowers into one cover, so perhaps you do.
I love the cover. The colors are stunning. The detail is awesome. Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you.
Thank you!
Love the cover. Flowers are beautiful.
LOVE the series and the cover! I feel as if I’ve either been to this cemetary — or should find it today!!
It is way good! One of the best that I have seen in a while.
That is a lovely cover! I loved the play on words in the title.
Love the purple flowers!