Blue Dahlia

In the Garden, Book 1

By: Nora Roberts

Narrated by: Susie Breck

Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Against the backdrop of a house steeped in history and a thriving new gardening business, three women unearth the memories of the past in the first novel in #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts’ In the Garden Trilogy.

A Harper has always lived at Harper House, the centuries-old mansion just outside of Memphis. And for as long as anyone alive remembers, the ghostly Harper Bride has walked the halls, singing lullabies at night…

Trying to escape the ghosts of the past, young widow Stella Rothchild, along with her two energetic little boys, has moved back to her roots in southern Tennessee. She isn’t intimidated by Harper House - nor by its mistress. Despite a reputation for being difficult, Roz Harper has been nothing but kind to Stella, offering her a comfortable place to live and a challenging new job as manager of the flourishing In the Garden nursery.

As Stella settles comfortably into her new life, she finds a nurturing friendship with Roz and expectant mother Hayley and a fierce attraction to ruggedly handsome landscaper Logan Kitridge. He’s difficult but honest, brash but considerate - and undeniably sexy. And for a sensible woman like Stella, he may be just what she needs...

Don’t miss the other books in the Garden Trilogy:
Black Rose
Red Lily

©2004 Nora Roberts (P)2004 Brilliance Audio

Critic reviews

"Roberts, the queen of romance, launches a new trilogy with a captivating tale in which her considerable talents at creating richly compelling characters and witty, spellbinding stories come into full bloom in a paranormal-tinged romance." ( Booklist)

Another Winner

A Book that is really friend's becoming a family, you won't want to put it down, be sure to get it...

Gardens, love and ghost -- yes!

A charming owner of a Southern garden business, a Yankee widow with two young boys, a pregnant, unwed woman and a churlish brilliant landscape artist build relationships in this happily predictable love story in Tennessee. I wanted a well-written romance without extreme amounts of angst and Ms. Roberts delivered this right along with a sad female ghost. A story satisfying the reader in me.

Original Story

Would you consider the audio edition of Blue Dahlia to be better than the print version?

I didn't read the print version.

Any additional comments?

I liked that it was an original story but was a bit disappointed that the end was a bit cheesy for my likes. GREAT love story though!

Wonderful Narrator

If you could sum up Blue Dahlia in three words, what would they be?

I love Nora Robert's books. Always have. This book along with all of the following books in this trilogy, are wonderful. Nora Roberts connects each book and the common theme in the books is intriguing.

What does Susie Breck bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Suzie Breck does a wonderful job narrating this book. Each character has a distinct voice and it is easy to know who is speaking. Her voice makes this listen enjoyable.

Blue Dahlia

So much excitement. All the women are strong and interesting. Can't wait for next one. I love Nora Roberts books.

Southern Charm

Wonderful story based in Tennessee. If you are a fan of flowers, the supernatural and love after loss this book is perfect for you.

Very Enjoyable!

Loved loved loved this audiobook - the story, the characters, the narration, all of it. The following two in the series are just as good, and I couldn't wait to get to them. A must!

wow

you find yourself laughing and crying with the reader

Garden erotica if ever it existed

Never was drawn to Nora Roberts, but Blue Dahlia tugged at my passion for dahlias and not having ever seen a blue one. The extraordinary landscape designs, the luscious nursery set up, the amazing skills of the gardeners were far more erotic than her sex scenes! (which were pretty steamy.) Oh yeah, the plot was great, the characters, spanning 3 generations, are all folks you root for (pun intended) and there's even a very unpredictable ghost in the magnificent southern ancestral home. Though I'd had two other books lined up, when Blue Dahlia was done I immediately got the next in this series, The Black Rose, because, well, there was no choice. Irrevocably hooked was I.

As talented and sweet to the ears is narrator Susie Breck, the characters, especially the men, confused me at the start. Had to re-wind over and over (actually broke down and bought the paperback). So, here's a list of the characters, that I wish I'd had, to make the first scenes more enjoyable, as this is one delicious series of books:
Setting: In The Garden Nursery at Harper House near Memphis, Tennessee
All the women are gorgeous, the men good looking and the children way beyond average.
STELLA (35ish, widow with two young sons from Minnesota - token Yankee)
ROZ Harper (45ish, matriarch of Harper household, owner/head gardener of Nursery, widow having raised three (?) boys)
HAYLEY (25ish, pregnant with no husband and thus banished from her southern home where she was raised by her father. Distant cousin of Roz)
LOGAN (Late 30's? Landscape designer and gardener, long time employee of Roz, grew up in the area)
DAVID (Late 30's, best buddy of Logan and banished from his family cause he's gay. Manages the Harper House and In The Garden Nursery, family gourmet cook and sage adviser to all.
HARPER (guess he's Harper Harper, haha, she doesn't call him by any other name in the novels. late 20's? Son of Roz, grafter/cultivator extraordinaire)

If you get those folks straight, it's all smooth sailing from there. Excellent muli-dimensional plot and terrific bits about cultivation, grafting and garden design. (Course, it doesn't sound like Tennessee has gophers. Lucky them.)

This is obviously a fantastic place to start with Nora Roberts. Humorous, inspiring female characters, educational with an intriguing mystery—how pleasantly surprised I am to find how well Roberts crafts a story AND sows a seed!

love this serie

this series is one of her best ones. I am getting ready to listen to the next book.