The Body in the Garden

A Lily Adler Mystery

By: Katharine Schellman

Narrated by: Henrietta Meire

Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's Summary

London 1815. Although newly widowed Lily Adler is returning to a society that frowns on independent women, she is determined to create a meaningful life for herself even without a husband. She's no stranger to the glittering world of London's upper crust. At a ball thrown by her oldest friend, Lady Walter, she expects the scandal, gossip, and secrets. What she doesn't expect is the dead body in Lady Walter's garden. 

Lily overheard the man just minutes before he was shot: young, desperate, and attempting blackmail. But she's willing to leave the matter to the local constables - until Lord Walter bribes the investigating magistrate to drop the case. Stunned and confused, Lily realizes she's the only one with the key to catching the killer. 

Aided by a roguish navy captain and a mysterious heiress from the West Indies, Lily sets out to discover whether her friend's husband is mixed up in blackmail and murder. The unlikely team tries to conceal their investigation behind the whirl of London's social season, but the dead man knew secrets about people with power. Secrets that they would kill to keep hidden. Now, Lily will have to uncover the truth - before she becomes the murderer's next target.

©2020 Katharine Schellman (P)2020 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Limited enthusiasm

I'll admit that things picked up enough by thd end that I'd be interested in a sequel. However, I found the book somewhat a slog overall. Lily herself seemed rather harsh and self-important much of the time; secondary characters were well-developed. Had trouble with the co-dependent relationship between her and Jack. Wasn't a real fan of the audio narration, which highlighted Lily's brittle behavior, with Jack's voice a bit grating.

Good historical mystery

Good historical mystery - a great twist or two, great characters.
I loved Lily, her spunk and her stubbornness. And Captain Hartley is so dashing and charming! They make quite the pair - well-matched in both wits and wisdom. The mystery was very believable, and the characters went through all the right steps to solve the mystery (no one jumped to any baseless conclusions).
I felt like the plot moved a little slowly, but ultimately a good listen.
The accents were very well done - great narration.

A stimulating read/listen

I was blessed to listen to this book while taking my daily walk. I would get engrossed in the story and pushed my walk to the max. so not only was it a great diversion in this time of isolation, it was a great stimulus to better health!!

Narration detracted from story

I really enjoyed this story and Lily’s character. But for some reason, the narrator did a poor job with the men’s voices. Some sounded almost the same, and the mail male character was downright painful to listen to at times. To me, he sounded like a robot. So unfortunately, this took a LOT away from an enjoyable mystery

A great book by all means!

I look forward for the next book!
Engaging, gripping, and clever.
A delightful reading.

I'm frantic for the next book.

Can't believe we have to wait until July for the next book! I'm so intrigued with this book - the style, the story, and the unique main character. I am interested in a potential love triangle developing, and I'm desperate for another fascinating, drawn out mystery.

Very interesting mystery

A delightful story with strong, intelligent women and beautiful clothing. I love the historical setting.

Has potential as a series

This was fun but (and no I don’t expect historical novels to be totally accurate in styles of speech) several crashing Americanisms really jarred with me. I suspect it was written by an American for an American audience but it won’t stop me trying more