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

I remember when......

This was a engaging read, with seamless transitions between two time frames. Laurie was able to bring the past alive, taking me to my teenage years of wishing to be "there" at the core of the flower child revolution. All these decades later, it is easy to forget what it was like at the time, and although I think much of the hippy/commune experience was hype, King described it from many sides, and with a great deal of nostalgia. I'm not sure why mystery writers are so enamored of serial killers (I usually avoid them in the mysteries I read), but there were a number of them during the time period. I'm not sure what has happened to serial killers since then. Have shooting rampages taken the place of serial crimes, or are the serial killers just much better at hiding their crimes? At any rate, King managed to handle the antagonist without an overload of creepiness, and avoided the usual looming thriller plot. This has the makings of a new series, which I would hardily support.

3.5 Stars

I adore Laurie R King. And while I loath the 70's, King brought it powerfully to life. I did enjoy the overall story. A bit perplexed with the very end.

Laurie R. King did it again!

I was introduced to Laurie R. King via the MRH series - which I love. In fact, I love them so much, I've read everything else King had written. This book is another excellent work. The story is original, well thought through, and colorful. The characters are believable and the narration is good.

Character development is slow and predictable so the story drags.

Not the least bit excited about this book. Even turning up the pace wasn’t enough to keep me on tract.

Favorite

I enjoyed this one! Interesting dichotomy of the rich mansion and gardens and the communal experience.

Hope this becomes a series

I have long been a fan of both Laurie King’s masterful writing and her endearingly complex characters. I was immediately drawn to her Mary Russell series and have reread several titles over the years. I was incredibly excited to learn that she had a new release coming that was something entirely new, and Back to the Garden far exceeded any expectations I had. The idea of a 50 year old cold case coming to life in an estate filled with secrets immediately drew me in and took me on a fascinating ride.

Everything was quiet, until the bones turned up. On the hunt for a killer and the identity of his victims, Inspector Raquel Laing begins digging into the colorful history of a historic home in California. In the archives, she begins uncovering a dark family history and the chaos of a commune from the 1970s. As she gets closer to the truth, danger not only lurks in the past, but also in the present day.

This story is told in several points of view and alternating time periods between the present and the past – the investigation and the story of the commune. As Raquel learns more about the last days of her victim trying to connect them to a serial killer, we experience those events first hand from those who lived them. This story is rich in description with Raquel’s Sherlockian attention to detail and uncanny ability to read people. It is a mystery at heart, but also a fascinating exploration of life in the 1970s at a commune. With details from both the first person perspective of the past and also observations of certain characters in present day, our tale unfolds leaving more questions than answers until the end sneaks up on you from out of nowhere. I really hope to see Raquel in future investigations very soon.

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.