The Savage Garden - Softcover

Mark Mills is a screenwriter whose first novel, Amagansett, was published in a dozen countries and received the British Crime Writers' Association John Creasey Memorial Dagger Award. A graduate of Cambridge University, he lives in Oxford with his wife and two children.

In 1958, while studying in the Tuscan Renaissance garden of the enigmatic Signora Francesca Docci, graduate student Adam Strickland uncovers two murders committed four hundred years apart, the sudden death of 25-year-old Flora Docci in the sixteenth century and the death of Signora Docci's son, Emilio, during WWII. Ian Stuart's voice is intriguing as the garden's 70-year-old owner, Francesca; her charm and breeding are evident in his every syllable. As the secrets of the garden and the Docci family unfold, Stuart's Adam evolves from naïf to survivor. Layers within layers, puzzles wrapped around enigmas, elegant writing in lush, luxurious abundance, and Ian Stuart's exceptional performance make Mills's second novel a must-listen for those who like their mysteries enveloped in literary panache. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine