Death in the Garden
by Elizabeth Ironside
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Book Reviews of Death in the Garden
Book Review: Stilted and Boring
Summary: 2 Stars
I thouht I'd like this book, what with all the good reviews and my love of English mysteries. But I found it stilted and boring. The concept was good: an investigation sixty-some years after her great-aunt died into whether or not she actually killed her husband, a charge for which she was acquitted. There were letters, interviews, even a diary/journal for clues. But the answer was so obvious and the writing so stilted, I found myself skipping through the pages just to confirm that that my first instincts as to who-dunnit were accurate. (They were.) There's no doubt the author, the wife of the British Ambassador to the United States, is a talented, intelligent woman. But the story was too drawn out, and the writing was pretentious, at least for me.Book Review: Beautifully written
Summary: 5 Stars
Death in the Garden by Elizabeth Ironside is worth reading twice or even more. It is not a traditional "English Cozy" although it takes place in England. The characters are finely drawn, and the atmosphere comes through beautifully. Although I realized by whose hand the deed was done before the end, I was afraid for a while that the protagonist, Helena, would be faced with ambiguity that her lawyer mind could not accept. I was mistaken, and even the subplot had a convincing air. If the book could be said to have a moral (and such a beautiful book often does) I would say the following: Sometimes in our decision making we say to ourselves, "What is the worst that can happen?" Well, sometimes the worst is beyond what one imagines.Book Review: Very atmospheric
Summary: 5 Stars
What I liked most about this book was the atmosphere created by the writing style. I really felt like I was "there". The structure of the story, being written largely by two characters in two time frames, with other voices adding to the plot, was also interesting and worked well. It had a great mood to it. Plot details are already summarized, so I won't repeat. It was a mystery, but I was more intrigued by getting under the skin of the very interesting cast of characters to learn what made them tick. No one was either perfectly good or perfectly bad, which added to the real feeling of the book. (Note, I loaned this to two friends who both loved it!)Book Review: A Literate, and Thoughtful Mystery
Summary: 5 Stars
This book was a wonderful surprise. I had not been aware of Elizabeth Ironside (the nom de plume for Lady Catherine Manning), until I read a recommendation for this book. I took a chance and ordered it. This is one of the most literate of British mysteries. At times, the writing took my breath away. It is rare to find this kind of prose, and I ordered a second book by this author. I was not disappointed. To read Death in the Garden, is to read the finest descriptive writing available today. I cannot recommend it highly enough. I gave the book to a friend, and she called me to rave about the writing. It is that good!Book Review: Clever
Summary: 5 Stars
"Today at half-past two in the afternoon, I was acquitted of the murder of my husband."
If an author gets the all-important "first line" right, then there's a good chance that the rest of the book will be fun to read. And the above is one of the best. How do you not continue after reading that?
A real page-turner and the shock transition to modern times is clever. You don't realize what's happened until several pages later. Though I almost think it a spoiler that so many reviewers have mentioned that.
You can do this story in one or two sittings and never regret a minute of it.