“…a genius in designing gardens, gardens that he would never live to see in their maturity. He had an insight that allowed him to predict the way that his work would mature…His gardens express an ideal. The native English landscape.” A garden run amok in a small suburban village near the famous city of Bath , England waits for restoration!

Belinda Lawrence hasn't really known her great-Aunt all that well but is surprised to get an invitation to discuss something important. Belinda hardly expects to find something highly suspicious – indeed, an English village murder rivaling the best of Miss Marple tales. After the initial shock and brief mourning, it seems that one (or more) of three men could be the criminal.

And it seems that everyone Belinda meets has an interest in the 80,000 pounds and cottage her aunt has left as an inheritance – or is it only the garden? Just what is so intriguing about this particular garden and this singular spot well-known in literary and horticultural circles of the past?

This fast-paced plot is laced with unexpected twists and turns that keep the reader enthralled and guessing to the very last chapter! Descriptions of details fill in the gaps with more questions and answers, thus making the reader part of the enfolding mystery! Humor and “real” personalities will induce laughter and annoyance alike, along with appreciation of the bucolic character of this sleepy yet oh so busy country English town!

More will die before the discovery of the criminal and his or her twisted motive!

Hope Brian Kavanagh will write more sleuth mysteries in this classic mystery style and pace!

Reviewed by Viviane Crystal on March 30, 2006

e-mail to: literarymuse@hotmail.com