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English Garden Mystery #2
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.
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.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
9 people are currently reading
281 people want to read
About the author
Anthony Eglin
7 books52 followersAuthor of the Arsène Lupin Literary Prize winner THE BLUE ROSE and International Book Awards winner, THE ALCATRAZ ROSE, Anthony Eglin grew up in England and worked in art and advertising before starting The Larkspur Company, which produced a series of best-selling garden videos. Addicted to gardening, his own former pint-sized garden was awarded Garden Design magazine's Golden Trowel Award. Tony is a member of the American Rose Society and lives in Sonoma County, California with his wife, Suzie and family cat, Pyewacket.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews
May 25, 2020
”Just when he became infatuated with roses, he couldn’t remember. Much as with one’s taste in art, music and other pleasures mature, what had started as an amusing dalliance had developed over many years to become a passionate love affair.”
It is interesting to think about the things that we have loved so long that we have forgotten the source of our infatuation. Some of those things predate our love for a person, except for maybe the affections we might have held for our parents and siblings. Of course, over our rambling lives, we collect new proclivities, new endearments, new delights. For me, I have always adored tulips. Because we didn’t have daffodils, they were the first flower to emerge in our gardens on the farm. I love the shape of them, the vibrant colors, and as I got older, I became fascinated by their history and the madness their beauty caused in the Dutch Republic in the 17th century, leading to the term Tulip Mania, as nearly everyone in Dutch society was caught up in the speculation on rare tulip bulbs. My love for roses came later. Like Lawrence Kingston, I don’t remember when I first became infatuated with roses, but it has been a long relationship that will endure until I become worm fodder...hopefully for my own garden, but then there are laws that frown upon such disposing of one's final remains.
When Kingston gets the call from Jamie Gibson, the American who bafflingly inherits Wickersham Priory, he isn’t sure if he wants to accept the task for which she wants to hire him. Committing to a garden, especially one that will require so much work, is not a promise given lightly. Wickersham Priory has been overgrown for decades, and parting the foliage of this garden will be like parting the negligee of a lover for which one has longed to caress for what feels like eons. There is always the chance as well that, once Kingston has fallen in love with the gardens of Wickersham Priory, the owner may run out of funds to continue or decide that his services are no longer needed.
It is not an easy decision, but then like with that lover whom we pine to make ours, he decides he must take the chance and plunge ahead.
There are a plethora of mysteries being uncovered about Wickersham Priory. The garden is revealing her treasures, a buried potting shed, a reflecting pool, a Victorian greenhouse, a chapel. All buried beneath decades of growth. It does not take long for nature to take things back once we stop trimming, plucking, cutting, and training the foliage that expands quickly to take what space they can grab. The mysteries are not all in the garden. What happened to the books detailing the life of the garden, the plans, those realized and those dreamed about? Who is the Frenchman who shows up demanding paintings that were in the possession of Major James Grenville Ryder, Jamie’s mysterious benefactor? There is no discernable connection between Ryder and Gibson, so why did he leave his estates to her? And whose bloody bones, well no actual blood left, are residing at the bottom of the chapel well? The mysteries continue to emerge, going back all the way to the dissolutions in 1540 when Wickersham Priory was seized by the crown.
These mysteries are the sort of thing that Kingston, despite his vast responsibilities with restoring the gardens, can not leave alone. The further he digs, the more baffling the roots of these puzzles become. Jamie though is becoming less thrilled about discovering the truth the more Kingston becomes caught in the brambles of the enigmas. There is a real fear that what they discover may lead to the revelation of something that will cost her the dream of what she intends to make of Wickersham Priory.
Despite his employer’s wishes, Kingston can not quit pulling on the strings of what little he knows. He must have resolutions even if the truth is starker than anyone wants to know.
Anthony Eglin was inspired by the Herculean effort that Tim Smit accomplished in restoring the gardens of Heligan. Every day was a treasure trove as elusive and rare plants were discovered hiding beneath the brambles. To restore order and beauty to something that has become buried beneath the weight of neglect must have been a most rewarding experience. Eglin does a great job of letting us peek at some of the process. If I had any complaints about this book, I wish he’d spent more time showing us the process of bringing a garden back to life. Hopefully, Kingston will continue to work on Wickersham Priory in the next book in the series.
The perfect book to further inspire my own gardening adventures this spring.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten and an Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/jeffreykeeten/
It is interesting to think about the things that we have loved so long that we have forgotten the source of our infatuation. Some of those things predate our love for a person, except for maybe the affections we might have held for our parents and siblings. Of course, over our rambling lives, we collect new proclivities, new endearments, new delights. For me, I have always adored tulips. Because we didn’t have daffodils, they were the first flower to emerge in our gardens on the farm. I love the shape of them, the vibrant colors, and as I got older, I became fascinated by their history and the madness their beauty caused in the Dutch Republic in the 17th century, leading to the term Tulip Mania, as nearly everyone in Dutch society was caught up in the speculation on rare tulip bulbs. My love for roses came later. Like Lawrence Kingston, I don’t remember when I first became infatuated with roses, but it has been a long relationship that will endure until I become worm fodder...hopefully for my own garden, but then there are laws that frown upon such disposing of one's final remains.
When Kingston gets the call from Jamie Gibson, the American who bafflingly inherits Wickersham Priory, he isn’t sure if he wants to accept the task for which she wants to hire him. Committing to a garden, especially one that will require so much work, is not a promise given lightly. Wickersham Priory has been overgrown for decades, and parting the foliage of this garden will be like parting the negligee of a lover for which one has longed to caress for what feels like eons. There is always the chance as well that, once Kingston has fallen in love with the gardens of Wickersham Priory, the owner may run out of funds to continue or decide that his services are no longer needed.
It is not an easy decision, but then like with that lover whom we pine to make ours, he decides he must take the chance and plunge ahead.
There are a plethora of mysteries being uncovered about Wickersham Priory. The garden is revealing her treasures, a buried potting shed, a reflecting pool, a Victorian greenhouse, a chapel. All buried beneath decades of growth. It does not take long for nature to take things back once we stop trimming, plucking, cutting, and training the foliage that expands quickly to take what space they can grab. The mysteries are not all in the garden. What happened to the books detailing the life of the garden, the plans, those realized and those dreamed about? Who is the Frenchman who shows up demanding paintings that were in the possession of Major James Grenville Ryder, Jamie’s mysterious benefactor? There is no discernable connection between Ryder and Gibson, so why did he leave his estates to her? And whose bloody bones, well no actual blood left, are residing at the bottom of the chapel well? The mysteries continue to emerge, going back all the way to the dissolutions in 1540 when Wickersham Priory was seized by the crown.
These mysteries are the sort of thing that Kingston, despite his vast responsibilities with restoring the gardens, can not leave alone. The further he digs, the more baffling the roots of these puzzles become. Jamie though is becoming less thrilled about discovering the truth the more Kingston becomes caught in the brambles of the enigmas. There is a real fear that what they discover may lead to the revelation of something that will cost her the dream of what she intends to make of Wickersham Priory.
Despite his employer’s wishes, Kingston can not quit pulling on the strings of what little he knows. He must have resolutions even if the truth is starker than anyone wants to know.
Anthony Eglin was inspired by the Herculean effort that Tim Smit accomplished in restoring the gardens of Heligan. Every day was a treasure trove as elusive and rare plants were discovered hiding beneath the brambles. To restore order and beauty to something that has become buried beneath the weight of neglect must have been a most rewarding experience. Eglin does a great job of letting us peek at some of the process. If I had any complaints about this book, I wish he’d spent more time showing us the process of bringing a garden back to life. Hopefully, Kingston will continue to work on Wickersham Priory in the next book in the series.
The perfect book to further inspire my own gardening adventures this spring.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten and an Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/jeffreykeeten/
November 22, 2018
A far better attempt than his first novel! There are still some issues remaining, but at least this one had an air of mystery (important to the mystery genre), unlike his debut novel that was more akin to a garden-spy novel. Much of the book is still devoted to spouting off garden facts rather than furthering the plot. I found the facts really very interesting, but they broke up the action. I can’t help but feel like what Elgin really wanted to write was a book about garden history rather than a work of fiction. He could have and done well with it as far as I am concerned. The way he relayed facts was very easy to comprehend and that’s half the battle.
The other thing that I was having trouble with was the romance brewing between Kingston (described as a retired professor who is a bit of a fuss pot) and Jaimie (a young, up and coming wine grower). Sure May-December romances can happen and can be long-lasting but I just didn’t see the chemistry here nor the reason to try it. I kept thinking “what DOES she see in him???” He spent half the book ignoring her pleas to stop digging into the past owners of the house and her connection to them. If I were interested in a man and he constantly disregarded my preferences I would swiftly lose interest in him. The ending is set up to imply they will continue working together so we may get more from this will they/won’t they drama in another book.
The other thing that I was having trouble with was the romance brewing between Kingston (described as a retired professor who is a bit of a fuss pot) and Jaimie (a young, up and coming wine grower). Sure May-December romances can happen and can be long-lasting but I just didn’t see the chemistry here nor the reason to try it. I kept thinking “what DOES she see in him???” He spent half the book ignoring her pleas to stop digging into the past owners of the house and her connection to them. If I were interested in a man and he constantly disregarded my preferences I would swiftly lose interest in him. The ending is set up to imply they will continue working together so we may get more from this will they/won’t they drama in another book.
January 25, 2012
I wanted jamie to continue in his future books !!! I love this series and wish he would write faster !
August 5, 2016
This is one of those books that, while I enjoyed it, it took a while to read because it was very detailed. There's a lot going on in this book, the restoration of the gardens and buildings as well the curiosity around how the estate came to belong to Jamie. After all, it's a bequest from a stranger. To help her is a retired professor who not only helps with the restoration but also digs into the mystery of the bequest. Murder happens. And then things start to take off.
I had not read the first in the series, but I do not think that in any way detracts from this as a stand-alone book.
I had not read the first in the series, but I do not think that in any way detracts from this as a stand-alone book.
July 3, 2019
This is the second book of Eglin's that I have read and I enjoyed it as much as the first. The first seemed to be more of a suspense/thriller, while this had more mystery elements. Fair warning though: having a strong interest in gardening and horticulture is almost a requirement for enjoying this mystery to the max. Much time is spent describing the gardens and the planning of them, so if that's not your cup of tea, you may find this tedious in parts. I found the descriptions and scientific information fascinating, but even I occasionally thought, "get on with it." And when he did, the story was quite compelling. No question the author has a firm grip on descriptions and often I felt I was right there in the gardens and what lay beneath. The main character, Lawrence Kingston, is a retired professor of botany, who in these first two books, gets pulled into botanical investigations. On the basis of my enjoyment of the first two books, I purchased all six in the series.
September 7, 2019
What could be better than an estate with numerous lost gardens, a young American woman (30s) determined to revive them, lots of money to do so, and all set in England, one of my two favorite countries. Well, a mystery, several murders and atempts too, and an appealing amateur detective. Dr. Kingsborough, retired professor of botany, wears his learning lightly and the author, an enthusiastic gardener himself, informs the reader just enough about various plants, gardens, and processes involved in reviving lost gardens. The ending is tense and spectacular and dangerous. The plotting is involved , characters well-drawn and realistic. Venus fly traps are not the only danger lurking among pretty flowers!
March 24, 2017
An intricate puzzle that was extremely well written. The main character is Dr Lawrence Kingston, a retired botany professor who occasionally does private investigations. He is asked by an old adversary, Francis Morley, to look into the death of an archeology professor whose body was found on the his estate. This discovery is deterring visitors to the estate & receipts are down. A coded message is found in the victim's hand.
There are many twists & turns before the resolution. Thoroughly enjoyed it & hope to read more by this author.
There are many twists & turns before the resolution. Thoroughly enjoyed it & hope to read more by this author.
August 22, 2025
I enjoyed the descriptions of gardens and the mystery itself was pretty good, but I found the characters a bit oddly portrayed and the writing is stilted and awkward in places. In particular, Jamie, the woman who inherited the estate, was not very well developed and somewhat unbelievable -- we were supposed to believe that a young American woman who randomly inherits an English estate out of the blue would have no curiosity at all about why and how the person even knew who she was?!
February 22, 2017
I loved this book. Just enough mystery, gardening, etc. read this in two days (or late nites)! In hindsight I would have preferred to start with book 1 of the mystery series, I think it's "Blue Rose", but I have that on hold, and will continue. I even bought an English Garden book that was referenced!
March 1, 2021
I enjoyed this unusual mystery very much but there is a LOT here also about gardens. As many of the comments point out, it is a good idea to be at least somewhat interested in the subject. The mystery itself is intriguing and was enough to keep me going even when I occasionally felt that I'd had enough about plants and gardening.
November 15, 2017
Evenly paced, descriptive, educational, engaging. Refreshing to read a contemporary author who takes time to think and write--not just toss something out like so many current genre authors. Thoroughly enjoyable.
July 16, 2021
Seen as a mystery, this is... ok. Seen as an extended rambling on the dream project of recreating an entire 19th c. garden from scratch with unlimited funds, it's a fun read for garden history buffs. Lots of pointers about historical re-created gardens to look into.
September 18, 2021
What an enjoyable "assignment" for my OLLI class (Mysterious Places: The Garden). Eglin has provided a deft combination of English gardens, multi-century history, and a mix of likable characters. Mostly.
August 29, 2018
A fun read. Good mystery as well. Might try another of his.
January 5, 2019
This was a really good book. I love reading books from other countries. It was intriguing from the beginning.
September 1, 2019
Decent underlying plot line. Unfortunately overall the story felt like a short story that had been embellished into a novel.
October 1, 2019
Wonderful book and amazing book.
Worth spending time reading it.
Worth spending time reading it.
Read
October 16, 2019Great mystery and history lesson combined ...tale of an inheritance, an English Garden and a few murders...just perfect.
August 7, 2020
The mystery was much better on this one than his first. There are still long passages of garden history that can be a bit dry if you're not really into gardening.
August 2, 2022
A good one! A little predictable but I loved the ending!
August 22, 2022
A great mystery featuring some very old gardens that need restoring. An unexpected heiress and a lost chapel. Cool stuff.
November 6, 2022
Well written and I enjoyed the characters. A bit of history, mystery and revival of old gardens.
September 22, 2024
Just okay.
February 25, 2025
Rather slow, with lots of garden/horticultural details
August 2, 2025
3.5. Good garden information/writing
October 13, 2010
When California winemaker Jamie Gibson inherits Wickersham Priory, she moves to England to cultivate a new life on the massive 200-acre estate. But the once-grand gardens are now in disrepair, their overgrowth obscuring pathways and erasing buildings. Jamie vows to restore the gardens in honor of her benefactor, who happens to be a complete stranger.
She hires Lawrence Kingston, a retired professor of botany, to reproduce the gardens from their heyday. Unable to tame his curiosity, Lawrence begins investigating why Jamie was named heir to this vast fortune. His interest grows when he discovers the old Wickersham well that now hold human bones -- and the truth of a long-ago murder.
Kingston's meddling has tilled up the past, but when workers on their project keep turning up dead, he and Jamie must escape their present thorny situation...or they two rish being buried amidst the garden's secrets.
~~from the back cover
A little too intellectual, a little too "arms length" for my taste. For me, this wasn't a book to curl up with on a rainy winter's day, with a nice cuppa tea. And since those are my favorite kind of books, this one doesn't make the desert island cut, by a long chalk.
She hires Lawrence Kingston, a retired professor of botany, to reproduce the gardens from their heyday. Unable to tame his curiosity, Lawrence begins investigating why Jamie was named heir to this vast fortune. His interest grows when he discovers the old Wickersham well that now hold human bones -- and the truth of a long-ago murder.
Kingston's meddling has tilled up the past, but when workers on their project keep turning up dead, he and Jamie must escape their present thorny situation...or they two rish being buried amidst the garden's secrets.
~~from the back cover
A little too intellectual, a little too "arms length" for my taste. For me, this wasn't a book to curl up with on a rainy winter's day, with a nice cuppa tea. And since those are my favorite kind of books, this one doesn't make the desert island cut, by a long chalk.
August 7, 2011
Enjoyed this book, even though I am no gardener. I enjoy gardens aesthetically, but have no interest in immersing myself in the soil.
The hero, a retired college professor, Lawrence Kingston, has been hired to help a young American women restore the gardens of an estate she inherited in England. The professor, who admits to being overly interested in other's people's business, becomes consumed with trying to figure out why Jamie, the young American, has inherited an estate from some one she didn't even know. At least he seems to have a better reason to become involved in trying to unravel the mystery, unlike many stories I've read where the amateur detective thinks he/she can solve a murder better than the professionals. He becomes involved, not to solve the body in the well, as much as to learn more about the former owner of the estate and things progress from there.
Other mysteries arise to complicate matters - a body in a well, missing valuable paintings that may have been stolen during WWII, sudden accidents - its sounds a bit confusing, but it all unravels evenly and was a very interesting read. I look forward to investigating more - and learn if Jamie and Kingston relationship may develop, as is hinted at the end of this book.
The hero, a retired college professor, Lawrence Kingston, has been hired to help a young American women restore the gardens of an estate she inherited in England. The professor, who admits to being overly interested in other's people's business, becomes consumed with trying to figure out why Jamie, the young American, has inherited an estate from some one she didn't even know. At least he seems to have a better reason to become involved in trying to unravel the mystery, unlike many stories I've read where the amateur detective thinks he/she can solve a murder better than the professionals. He becomes involved, not to solve the body in the well, as much as to learn more about the former owner of the estate and things progress from there.
Other mysteries arise to complicate matters - a body in a well, missing valuable paintings that may have been stolen during WWII, sudden accidents - its sounds a bit confusing, but it all unravels evenly and was a very interesting read. I look forward to investigating more - and learn if Jamie and Kingston relationship may develop, as is hinted at the end of this book.
February 11, 2016
Although I liked the mystery itself and I found bits of garden information interesting...
The gardening information as a whole was TMI, in fact WTMI! There was so much exacting detail that I had to skip a goodly amount of the writing.
I did like the referrals to actual famous gardens in both the U.S. & England, and I looked those up on Google Images....that was a treat.
But, unless you are an active horticulturist this might be a bit heavy reading.
PLOT: Jamie (an American vintner) inherits a large old English estate complete with garden turned jungle from a man she never met nor is related to. The inheritance was once a 16th century monastery over which the estate was eventually built. Jamie hires esteemed horticulturist Kingston to oversee the restoration of the gardens. Upon clearing brambles and ivy, Kingston comes upon a chapel with an ancient healing well. At the bottom of the well are the bones of a human...near the well he finds 3 coins dated 1963 & 1959 (which means that there has to be a secret passage into the chapel). Then there are the questions of the mysterious benefactor (whom nobody seems to know anything about) and the missing paintings that the unsettling Mr. Fox comes seeking.
The gardening information as a whole was TMI, in fact WTMI! There was so much exacting detail that I had to skip a goodly amount of the writing.
I did like the referrals to actual famous gardens in both the U.S. & England, and I looked those up on Google Images....that was a treat.
But, unless you are an active horticulturist this might be a bit heavy reading.
PLOT: Jamie (an American vintner) inherits a large old English estate complete with garden turned jungle from a man she never met nor is related to. The inheritance was once a 16th century monastery over which the estate was eventually built. Jamie hires esteemed horticulturist Kingston to oversee the restoration of the gardens. Upon clearing brambles and ivy, Kingston comes upon a chapel with an ancient healing well. At the bottom of the well are the bones of a human...near the well he finds 3 coins dated 1963 & 1959 (which means that there has to be a secret passage into the chapel). Then there are the questions of the mysterious benefactor (whom nobody seems to know anything about) and the missing paintings that the unsettling Mr. Fox comes seeking.
May 30, 2012
A friend recommended this book due to the references to plants and gardens. I'm giving it three stars, because I learned some things about English gardens and a couple of great tips for growing plants. I am one of those people who enjoys hearing the names of the plants. The story itself is maybe a two star: The plot had potential--however, the author's timing and development need some work. One keeps wanting to say over and over "hire a security agency" or "call the police NOW". When the characters find themselves unable to open a lock, the main character suddenly announces he used to be in special forces. Go on, pull the other leg. Another reviewer suggested the books suffer from the author being in a love affair with himself. It does seem that way--the main character thinks he is the cat's pyjamas and after a while you wish the female lead would just fire him and be done. I may try skimming some of the other books for interesting plant lore, but my friend told me this was the best of the bunch.
October 19, 2012
Elgin's second garden mystery does not disappoint. And once again we get to follow Lawrence Kingston on another garden adventure! I believe I might even like this one better than the first - love the bit of history and architecture thrown in!
Kingston is hired to help Jamie Gibson restore the gardens on the estate she has just inherited. Gibson comes from California and has no idea why she was left the estate over in England. But she does not hesitate to pack up and relocate and even undertakes bringing it back to it's former glory.
As they begin to clear away all the overgrowth, a priory is discovered with a body in the well. Of course Kingston can't help but begin to look into things to discover who and why the body is there.
Such a great read. I can't wait to get my hands on the next book!
Kingston is hired to help Jamie Gibson restore the gardens on the estate she has just inherited. Gibson comes from California and has no idea why she was left the estate over in England. But she does not hesitate to pack up and relocate and even undertakes bringing it back to it's former glory.
As they begin to clear away all the overgrowth, a priory is discovered with a body in the well. Of course Kingston can't help but begin to look into things to discover who and why the body is there.
Such a great read. I can't wait to get my hands on the next book!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews