The Lost Gardens: An English Garden Mystery

This is one of three of Anthony Englin's books that I have read, it was an enjoyable book to read with plenty of things going on to keep the plot going plus being a gardener I tend to find the garden mysteries interesting-if you like mysteries of this kind you should enjoy this book.

The Lost Gardens, the second in a (hopefully) on-going series by Anthony Eglin picks up the story of Professor Lawrence Kingston following the murder and intrigue surrounding the discovery and theft of a unique blue rose, the Holy Grail of gardeners. This story is recounted in "The Blue Rose" and my review can be found in this previous post. In this new story, Kingston is hired to restore a huge manor garden to its former glory after the property is inherited, unexpectedly and unexplainably, by a young, American woman. When a dis-used chapel is found on the property, complete with a skeleton in its well, Kingston is again involved in detective work, archeological mysteries and murder. While not quite as action-packed as the first book, The lost Gardens is a grand combination of gardening lore, history, mystery and action-adventure. Kingston become even more likable than before, less curmudgeonly and might even be falling in love again. Eglin gives a charming feel to the English countryside, despite the untoward events that occur and leads the reader down a wandering garden path to an exciting and satisfying conclusion. I look forward to more books in this series that combine my interests in gardening and my love of a great mystery.

This is Eglin's second "English Garden" mystery (the first being "The Blue Rose") and it is just as enjoyable. His books are reminescent of "tea cozies" but they are a slight elevation about that. The mystery is not particularly interesting, or suspensful for that matter, but Eglin makes up for that with his fascinating asides to gardening lore. Eglin comments that this book was inspired by "The Lost Gardens of Heligan," a true-life account of the discovery and uncovering of an estate garden in England. As retired botanist/amateur sleuth Lawrence Kingston and his client, Jamie Gibson, begin to rescue the overgrown garden at Wickersham Priory, the reader is treated to highly interesting details regarding gardening history, wine-making, Lawrence Johnson and his famous garden at Hidcote, and garden design. The book moves at a brisk pace and doesn't overstay its welcome. A fun read!

Upon inheriting Wickersham Priory in Somerset from a person she never met or heard of, a Major Ryder, American winemaker Jamie Gibson hires retired botany professor Dr. Lawrence Kingston to restore the neglected gardens overrun with weeds. As he clears much of the underbrush, Kingston uncovers a ruined chapel and healing well that contains the remains of a human. Inside the chapel are more bones and some modern day coins. Kingston makes inquiries starting with why his client inherited the estate from a stranger and into the lack of information into the family history of the previous owner. He borrows books from a local historian and soon believes that the chapel built over a priory must contain a passage to what lies beneath it. Jamie tells him to forget ancient history and get on with his job only to be severely injured in a questionable car crash while someone murders the restoration foreman. When the history books are stolen from his flat, Lawrence returns to the investigation knowing he must find the clues in the past to uncover the crimes of the present. The second English Gardens mystery is a delightful amateur sleuth tale (see THE BLUE ROSE) that works on two levels, a superb whodunit cozy and a fabulous look at gardening. Kingston is terrific in the dual roles of horticulturist and detective while his client Jamie, though not sure why a total stranger bequeathed the estate to her, just wants to get on with fixing up the place and not deal with murder past and present. However, the stars of this superb British mystery are the gardens as Anthony Eglin takes readers on a delightful tour filled with flowers, weeds, and corpses. Harriet Klausner

Retired botany professor Lawrence Kingston seems to have a nose for arcane garden environments in England, and an eye for trouble. Following on the charming and 'atmospheric' BLUE ROSE, Anthony Eglin has once again brought together an eclectic mix of people and places and thrust us into the heart of a mystery that never lets up from start to finish. He starts with strange events at the end of WWII and the discovery of human remains in a mysterious well. The well has been almost literally buried in an overgrown garden at Wickersham Priory in Somerset, bequeathed under mysterious circumstances to a delightful young American woman, Jamie Gibson. At her request, Kingston goes down from his Chelsea flat to look over the once beautiful but now ruined gardens and is persuaded to supervise the recreation of the original plans in all their glory. He is reluctant at first to get involved but his curiosity and botanical expertise drive him to accept the assignment. He doesn't realize that he is getting involved in dark matters that will involve desperate men, stolen art and imminent (as well as actual) death. Eglin has mastered his characters in an engaging style that makes us like these people (the 'good guys,' anyway) and care about the outcomes of their adventures--and there are plenty. Through a series of cleverly conceived plot twists, Kingston and his young American client get deeper and deeper into difficulties that threaten their lives, but--as with any good mystery--it all comes right in the end. After all, we will need Kingston for the next book (and let's hope the author has one on the way). Kingston is a true Brit. In Lawrence Kingston the author has created an intriguing and pleasing character who would seem equally at home on the television screen--he is fully realized and explained all the way down to his tastes in old cars (a Triumph TR4) and good wine. Kingston's deductive powers are at the heart of the man and even though officially 'retired' he can't stop thinking. Just as we can't stop reading. The 'Britishness' of the man and the book are just right. It all rings true and should intrigue thoughtful readers on both sides of the Atlantic.