Back to the Garden

By: Laurie R. King

Narrated by: Vivienne Leheny

A fifty-year-old cold case involving California royalty comes back to life—with potentially fatal consequences—in this gripping standalone novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series

The Gardener Estate is one of the most storied and beloved places on the West Coast: a magnificent house in vast formal grounds, home to a family that shaped California—and fought hard to conceal the turmoil and eccentricities within their walls.

And now, just as the turmoil seems buried and the Estate prepares to move into a new future, construction work unearths a grim relic of the estate's history: a skull, hidden away some fifty years ago.

Inspector Raquel Laing of the SFPD Cold Case Unit has her work cut out for her. Back in the '70s, the Estate was a commune, when its young heir, Rob Gardener, turned the palatial setting into a counterculture Eden of peace, love, and equality. But the '70s were also a time when serial killers preyed on such innocents—monsters like The Highwayman, whose case has just assumed a whole new urgency.

Could these bones belong to one of his victims?

For Raquel Laing—a woman who knows all about hidden turmoil and eccentricities—the Gardener bones seem clearly linked to The Highwayman. But as she dives into the Estate's archives for evidence of his presence, what she finds there begins to take on a dark reality of its own.

Everything brings her back to Rob Gardener himself—now a gray-haired recluse, then a troubled young Vietnam vet whose girlfriend vanished after a midsummer festival at the Estate, fifty years ago.

But a lot of people seem to have disappeared from the Gardener Estate that summer, when the commune fell apart and its residents scattered: a young woman, her child, Rob's brother Fort...

The pressure is on, and Raquel needs to solve this case—before The Highwayman slips away, or another Gardener vanishes.

©2023 Laurie R. King (P)2023 Recorded Books

meh

I listened to the whole thing because I was curious about the 'whodoneit' result. But I tuned out often because the writing kind of droned on and was hard to follow.

worth the credit

Listener, Vivienne Leheny (Narrator) crushed this book. She gave each character their own voice with subtly and richness rather than overtly or peculiar sounds. I re-listed to a few chapters just because I was mesmerized by her craft, and forgot to pay attention to the story.

Laurie R King's story was interesting and she crafted the dual time-lines well. Throughout, I was kept guessing the possible outcomes to the whodunit. While the ending was satisfactory, I was disappointed that the resolution came because of questionable, deliberate choices. Perhaps there will be additional stories, where reconciliation can be achieved?

Overall Listener, this story is worth your Audible credit.

Great story great narration

This is my first Laurie R King book and will not be my last! The story travels between the 70’s and the present day. Full of interesting characters and great dialogue. The narration was excellent!

Not great, not terrible

Okay story, narration was clear if a little melodramatic. I cared enough about the characters and the mystery to finish it, but it isn’t sending me to search out more books by this author.

Good book

This was a good read. I liked the characters and cared about them. The first of the story was a little slow but man did it pick up.

A decent book from a talented author

This work is a bit of a mess. The concept is stellar, but the execution is uneven. Each character was interesting enough, and the prose was compelling throughout. Unfortunately, the book suffers from lack of focus. Who’s the protagonist? When is the main timeline? After finishing the book, I’m not certain I can answer those questions.

With a less-talented author, this would have been a miserable experience. But Ms King has such skill that she holds it together just enough to make it work. I’ll gladly read a sequel, but I hope it is a better book.

Another great book in this series!

I loved this book as much or more than the others in this series and in King’s other series!

Compelling and Riveting

An Exceptionally well Crafted book with many twists and turns there is no end of drama and the story is exceptionally well read

A delightfully different take from Laurie R. King

We have been avid Marry Russel listeners for a decade, but this was a delightfully different take and tone from King. All her skill in pacing and story telling was on full display, and the character development was delightful.

4.5

Smooth transition from one time period to the other. Best I have ever seen that done. Interesting story great character development. Would love to read more with this detective.