EG02 - The Lost Gardens

Hidden within the derelict gardens of abandoned Wickersham Priory, a deadly secret is waiting. But when an unsuspecting young Californian named Jamie Gibson finds herself the new owner of the estate, through a surprise bequest from a total stranger---the secret begins to stir.            Jamie, fired with enthusiasm to restore the gardens to their 1930s glory, seeks the help of Lawrence Kingston, a retired professor of botany, eccentric bon viveur, and amateur sleuth. Lawrence soon unearths an old chapel, which leads to an ancient Healing Well, which in turn yields a human skeleton. And as the police pursue their inquiries, Kingston begins his own investigation---following a baffling trail of clues that wind down through the centuries, from the battlegrounds of World War II to the depths of the Middle Ages.            It is a trail marked by misadventure, revenge, compassion, and murder when finally Kingston unlocks the secret of Wickersham Priory, he and Jamie must confront a reckoning that neither of them could have ever imagined.            As with the highly acclaimed The Blue Rose, Eglin brings his botanical and literary skill to this new mystery.  From Publishers WeeklyLawrence Kingston once again mixes horticulture with crime solving in Eglin's agreeable second cozy to feature the retired botany professor (after 2004's The Blue Rose). Jamie Gibson, an American woman who has inherited Wickersham Priory in Somerset, hires Kingston to restore the estate's neglected gardens. In the underbrush, Kingston discovers a ruined chapel complete with a healing well, which turns out to contain human remains. Kingston investigates, exploring such matters as why the mysterious previous owner left Wickersham Priory to Jamie and the absence of any family history or memorabilia at the estate. A series of dire events—two deaths, a car accident, a rifled flat—keeps the plot moving, but it's the plethora of gardening detail that makes this a memorable read. (Apr.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistEglin (The Blue Rose, 2004) presents another case featuring retired botany professor Lawrence Kingston. When a young American woman inherits Wickersham Priory, an estate in Somerset, England, she decides to restore it to its former glory and hires Kingston to clear and replant the extensive gardens. In the process, he finds a human skeleton in an old well. Naturally, he is compelled to investigate, which takes him deep into the strange history of Wickersham Priory. The primary appeal of the Kingston series is its detailed treatment of a subject dear to the hearts of many cozy fans: English gardens. Barbara BibelCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved