Death in the Garden

This is an excellent mystery. What starts out as the rather commonplace English weekend murder mystery (which I appreciate well enough), turns into a wonderful story that unwinds itself as slowly as a non-detective in the present time looks into the crime of the past. About a third of the way through the book, you will not be able to put it down. As delicately uncovered details are revealed about each character, you find yourself drawn back to the beginning of the story over and over again, each time explaining it a little bit, without changing the details of those original pages. And, the author cleared up the mystery at the end while tying it to parallels in the current time. This is meticulously crafted - a must read mystery.

This is one of the most fascinating books I've read in a long time. The mystery itself - about an incident in the past - was gripping. But the way Ironside wove the mystery and the protagonist's personal life together was brilliant. A wonderful, thought-provoking read filled with interesting characters.

I kept waiting for this slim mystery novel to really ensnare me -- it seemed like it should. Flashbacks, history, murder, an unusual will, diaries, hidden family connections, a possible ghost. In the end though, it was just 'OK.' Somehow the dramatic tension just never played out as it should, although I can't quite put my finger on why.

A crackling good mystery and a great read. Only the final pages where the modern heroine is confronted with her married rival mar the perfection.
Wonderful on the 20s, world war one, and the present time.

I bought this small trade paperback to read on a plane. I like English murder mysteries, but even more I like well written books. The backcover blurb compares Elizabeth Ironside to Minette Walters and have to agree. I love many of Minette's books and I loved this book also.

The book opens on a trial for murder in 1925. A woman is accused of murdering her overbearing husband, but is acquitted. Several chapters explore the woman's life and the fateful weekend that her husband died. Many decades later the woman dies and leaves her house and estate to her niece (by remarriage). No one in the nieces' family even knew that Great-Aunt Diana was ever accused of murder since the great-aunt lead a secluded life of intensive gardening for many show more decades. The niece, a successful intellectual property lawyer with a secret affair with a married man, decides that she must solve the murder mystery before she can keep the house. During her investigations, she learns more than she knew she would about Diane, Diane's friends and family, and eventually even herself.

If you enjoy well written and detailed stories about the recent, but becoming dusty past, then this is definitely a book that you will love. show less

Well written but I did not really like it. The people were sometimes peculiar, involved in often unpleasant situations and some behaving in a very nasty fashion. I like puzzles but don't like ugly behavior. I wished I hadn't bought it.

The story begins in 1925 when friends gather to spend a weekend celebrating Diana Pollexfen’s 30th birthday in the English countryside. Before the weekend is over, Diana’s husband, George, a member of the British Parliament, is found dead in the garden (hence the book’s title), apparently poisoned by chemicals from his wife’s photography studio that were mixed in his whiskey. Diana is tried for murder and is acquitted by a jury of her peers.

Fast forward 60 years later, and Diana’s own death coincides with the 30th birthday of her grand-niece, Helena, who has no idea of the mysteries of her grand-aunt’s life until she begins to sort through Diana’s belongings and diaries.
What ensues is a very engaging story as Helena is show more determined to unravel the mystery of her grand-aunt’s guilt or innocence and to determine exactly who killed her husband George. There is a wide assortment of characters that Helena has to sort through to get to the bottom of this entertaining ‘whodunit’ tale that will leave you very satisfied.

A very good read overall. show less