Fiona Gartland

This book was written for me!
That was one of the earliest thoughts I had about it after the first few pages.
The general synopsis is simple: A gardener gets killed at the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland in Dublin. A stenographer, Beatrice Barrington, is among the first who find the dead man. Was it an accident or murder? She soon has second thoughts when the police quickly rule it as a tragic accident. She gets dragged into the case more or less involuntarily and tries to solve it with show more the help of her old „friend“ Gabriel (those two do clearly have a history there).
The writing style flows effortlessly and creates a story – along with several subplots and small riddles - full of atmosphere. Such a good, fluent, Irish book. What I loved especially was that it captures Irish everyday life, the atmosphere of Dublin and the National Botanic Gardens perfectly.
Yes, I know, „atmospheric“ is one of my favourite words when describing and rating a book – I just love when books have atmosphere, when they manage to convey you right into the story, make you feel it. It's about the highest praise I can give a book.
And this one did it - 'Orchids and Lies' transported me to one of my fave places in the world, to Dublin and the National Botanic Gardens.
You need to know I love Ireland – the narrative also takes place partly in Donegal and the Burren which I love, too -, but I have a history with Dublin, especially the northern parts of town with Glasnevin Cemetery and – The National Botanic Gardens. Those are places I consider as my second home and miss terribly right now that we're not allowed to travel and Ireland is experiencing its second Lockdown of history... I miss Dublin, I miss the „Bots“ - so when I read 'Orchids and Lies' took place there, I applied for an ARC immediately... I didn't have very high hopes then – most books I've read that take place in Dublin could as well be set in any other place in the British Isles, they don't have that atmosphere (atmosphere again :)) that I connect with my life in Dublin.
Let me put it this way: I was expecing to get underwhelmed and got completely overwhelmed instead. :) I didn't expect that in the least. It has that seemingly easy, effortless style that I look for in a book and which is so hard to achieve.
Of course I don't know and don't really expect whether it will work as well for others as it did for me. I don't know what you'll think of it when you don't have that special connection to „the Bots“ and Dublin North as I have. That's why it immediately felt like that book was written especially for me. But I think one way or the other, it's worth the read.

One point of critique – if I have to find one – is that, in my view, it's not marketed correctly. It's marketed as a thriller, which it isn't, really. It's a mystery, nearly a cozy.
Don't read it if you expect a thriller! It's a classic whodunnit, an investigator solving the case. I, myself, don't even like mysteries and cozies, at least not most of them. They are mostly way too boring for me to continue on. I prefer the suspense of thrillers, and: I see the (hobby) detectives as devices for solving the case, nothing else – whereas most of the highly acclaimed detective series today all have the detectives questioning their jobs and lives, suffering from internal struggles or world weariness and the book featuring endless social commentary and social criticism... I hate that...
And I normally hate series, too - this book seems to be the third installment of a series... :) -Yet this one is fantastic! 'Orchids and Lies' is a good - nearly old-fashioned, but yet fresh (does that make sense? :p) - Whodunnit. It doesn't want to be 'more than it is' and is done exceedingly well as it is. It has more twists than you'd think at first, more than your average mystery. The plot and subplots are engaging and the MCs refreshingly unpretentious and more or less content with their lives. They even made me want to hear more about them.
As I said before, I got sucked right into the story, got propelled to Dublin and wish I could have stayed there. If a book gets me to blabber on as long as this – oops, this is way too long! – it must be special. :) Fiona Gartland is a very talented storyteller.
Fiona, I'll try to get my hands on your other books!

Thank you so much, LT, for this ARC (with my old account Yuki_Onna) in exchange for an honest review. show less

Orchids and Lies is a charming mystery (definitely not a thriller) that takes place in Dublin, primarily at a Botanic Garden. I really enjoyed the main character who seems to be a little older than the average sleuth but doesn't fall into the "Miss Marple" category either. She has a complicated relationship with her friend, a retired detective, that was interesting and most of the characters were pretty quirky.
I didn't guess the killer too early on, although it was apparent quite a bit prior show more to the reveal.
The Irish patterns of speech and colloquialisms enhanced the setting, and the writing overall flowed well. One small annoyance was the author's attention to very specific directions for the setting on multiple occasions--does it really matter that she made a right and two lefts on her walk if she isn't being followed or doesn't have to retrace her steps? I don't think there were any times when that helped to establish or describe a setting.
Small issues aside, I enjoyed the story and look forward to reading others in the series. show less

This was a very good mystery, but I wouldn't categorize it as a thriller. The characters were strong and believable and the setting of the botanic gardens in Dublin was very interesting. The story revolves around main character, Bea, and her friend, Gabriel, trying to solve the death of one of the gardeners at the gardens. Bea was at the gardens and was one of the first people on the scene when the body was found in one of the plant houses. Things just don't add up to his death being show more accidental or a suicide as many are saying, so Bea decides to try to find out what really happened. She enlists the help of her friend and former police detective, Gabriel, and the pair search for answers. There are a lot of likely suspects, plenty of interesting subplots, a few twists and turns, and a cast of interesting characters who I would imagine might turn up in future stories in this series. I feel I should go back and read the first two books of the series to find out the relationship between Bea and Gabriel more clearly. All in all a very nice read and interesting mystery.

*I was given a digital copy of this book by the editor as an Early Reviewer in exchange for my honest opinion and review. show less

A rather charming little cosy mystery set in and around the Botanical Gardens in Dublin. This is technically the third in the series and I might go back and read the others but it stands well by itself. Our detective is on Beatrice Barrington, a court stenographer, who's now finding herself somewhat short of work as technology takes over. She's not that concerned though and enjoys rambling in the Botanical Gardens and chatting to her friend (ex-lover/fling maybe in the previous books) show more graham. And although she's really not intending to get involved in such things ever again, low and behold as she's entering one of the plant houses she finds a body on the floor, having fallen from a walkway high above. She's trying to put this behind her, and let the police (garda in irish, sadly about halfway through this gets corrupted to guards which is wrong) get along with her life. But having worked int he court she knows how inquiries should progress, and there doesn't seem to be any action from the police. It's not being controlled from a station she knows, so she can't pull any strings there, and when she's contacted by the deceased's family, the least she can do is ask a few questions. It could of course be suicide, but just doesn't seem right to her. Beatrice is quite a change as an investigator, she's middle aged, neither a young dynamic hot-head nor yet a cerebal but frail miss marple, but instead a good balance from both, without either extreme.

As with most Cosy's the plot itself is overly complex (although I'd hoped the obvious suspect would turn out to be innocent for once) and meanders along with cafes and pubs (and a remarkable consumption of tea even in the pubs unlike any Ireland I've visited). I'm pleased that the police aren't sharing their details with the public and Beatrice has to figure things out without reference to forensics and like. She of course goes off along a few red herring trails, but it all gets cleared up in the end. There's obviously scope for more in the series.

A little more editing wouldn't have hurt. It's not bad, but the opening style is a little descriptive in places, especially on clothing, some of pronouns are unclear, and as per the garda above, there's a few typographical errors here and there. The style mostly settles down and you get used to it quickly. show less