I was looking for a "nice" book after bailing on a dystopian novel by a favorite author. This fit the bill, except that it was too nice, at least for me. ( )

Gentle, character-based women's fiction, as I've come to expect with Marcia Willett. El and Will are the new main characters, both bereaved, gradually getting to know each other and exploring some mysterious text messages found on El's late father's phone.

However it's not a mystery for the reader, as the recipient of the messages has her own chapters of the book, so we know what she is doing too. So there's not a whole lot of plot.

There are, however, plenty of scenes involving characters from previous novels by this author, in particular the close friends Kate and Cass - it's not necessary to have read earlier books about them, but makes it all the more enjoyable.

Recommended if you like warm, undemanding women's fiction.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2022/06/the-garden-house-by-marcia-willett.... ( )

A sweet book about family and secrets in a beautiful English countryside. ( )