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)

This series is awesome

I loved this series and after the first couple of chapters I bought the others in the series, I enjoyed every one, I sure wish there was more in this series...

GREAT FOR GARDENERS

Good romantic storyline with an underlying ghost story. I laughed and cried and got into the characters fairly well. Southern accent threw me off a little and I'm from the South. Overall, it was a good story with lots of gardening and flower references.

A ghostly story

I love the romance of the story but the ghost was a bit much. I really liked learning about plants. I would love to know so much about gardening.

Another Great One

A great mix of the paranormal with romance! Great alone or as part of the trilogy.

Tragedy Turned Triumph

I hated the start of this story and thought I'd stop after 5 minutes until I understood the bigger picture of the story and I persevered through it

I am not big of tragedy driven stories but this truly becomes unbelievable. Each character is introduced with little tid bits of why they are the way they are and you see these characters become a kind of family even though most of them are not related as they work to uncover the historical ghost that is a resident - and really angry about what the home owner's past relative did to her.

This is the start of the investigation and it is unbelievable. You want to know why the ghost shows herself, where she is, who precisely she is and how these characters are going to assist her.

Ghost stories sound stupid I know but these characters are all different. The discussions and quoted conversations are authentic. And you hear them grow.

Roselyn the main character who owns the home is something of a cold creature you think until you move past this book, book one of the series, and to book two and and three and you learn she is a strong but soft woman.

Nora Roberts, amazing all over again.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Totally. This is, so far, my favorite trilogy of Nora Roberts'. It's about a ghost who haunts a family and the women around it. I just love it.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Stella. As a widow and a mother whose life was yanked out from beneath her, she was really easy to relate to. I could imagine myself in her position.

Which character – as performed by Susie Breck – was your favorite?

In this one...Hayley hands down through out the entire trilogy Hayley was the one who wrang with the most amazing... truth.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The past never dies, it reached through time to make itself known.

Any additional comments?

When Nora Roberts does paranormal, she does it right. I wish I could be in her shoes, the amount of research, through plottin, and wonderful character creation. I just love her!

Great NR book

I really enjoyed this book, just downloaded the 2nd book, excited to listen to the whole series. on a side note, this is my first Nora Roberts series. I've been hesitant to read any of her series books but I've been very happy with the In the garden series so far, I hope you enjoy !

I really enjoyed this book

I enjoyed this book. It was an interesting story and I enjoyed hearing about the old house and the flowers.

Excellent audio version

I love this trilogy. I have read it many times but it was really neat to hear the audible version. The actress that read the book did an excellent job.

Great book

Even as an avid gardener there were things I had to look up. Really good garden references, but that's just the smallest thing. There is an intriguing ghost, delightful characters and good narration and feisty romance. A great book overall.