The Trail of the Wild Rose: An English Garden Mystery (English Garden Mysteries) (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A party of plant hunters who are dying off one by one is the intriguing, Agatha Christie–like scenario of Eglin's less than satisfying fourth English garden mystery (after 2007's The Water Lily Cross). A colleague dispatches retired botanist Lawrence Kingston after a member of a recent horticultural expedition to China is run off the road while on his motorcycle and lies gravely injured in an Oxford hospital. The patient's ramblings reveal that disquieting events may have occurred on the journey and raise questions about the man's identity and the group's objectives. After the patient's death, Kingston interviews other members of the party and their relatives, gradually uncovering a conspiracy of greed, blackmail, fraud and murder. In the end, the awkward introduction of plot elements, a propensity to tell instead of show, stilted and unrealistic dialogue, a title that bears only a peripheral relation to the narrative and digressions about Kingston's personal life bury a promising premise. (Apr.)
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From Booklist

Retired botany professor Lawrence Kingston (The Lost Gardens, 2006) is helping a friend restore his garden when he gets a call from his former colleague Clifford Attenborough, now curator of horticulture at Kew Gardens. It seems that a patient in critical condition at an Oxford hospital has been muttering strange things about a plant-hunting expedition. Attenborough asks Kingston to look into it, and Kingston jumps at the chance to visit Oxford. The few available clues lead to a convoluted tale about a plant-hunting expedition in China. The members of the expedition seem to be meeting untimely ends in unexplainable accidents. As Kingston continues to explore, he turns up evidence of theft and murder among the British aristocracy. The complex case full of garden lore and Asian antiquities will keep cozy aficionados turning the pages. --Barbara Bibel

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books (April 14, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312365470
• ISBN-13: 978-0312365479
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #352,827 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 4 in The English Garden Mystery Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I'd rather be gardening, June 28, 2009

By	Margaret A. Mershon - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I agree with "A voracious reader" about the personality, or lack thereof, of the protagonist of this series. I've held on because I like the garden part, but this fourth and last book has little to do with gardening. The plots are OK but a bit dry. The characters, especially the potential victims, seem a bit dense and unconcerned about their fates. Most mystery series succeed with not only an engaging protagonist but also a likeable, reoccuring supporting cast. The good doctor in this series has only two lackluster friends, an absent daughter and no love life. He does seem to eat and drink alot -- and each meal is described in detail. He also lives quite a cushy life for a retired professor -- maybe pensions are higher in England. The second book, The Lost Garden, was the best. I probably should have stopped there.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great plot, no personality, June 6, 2009

By	A voracious reader (USA) - See all my reviews

Mr. Eglin has produced another well written, extremely well plotted mystery featuring Dr. Lawrence Kingston. However, after several books, I still don't know/empathize with/like or care about Dr. Kingston. He has no personality! We learn about his habits and possessions but never find out what makes him tick. I want to like my protagonist and I'm getting a little tired of waiting for Mr. Eglin to give me a reason to keep reading this series.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars engaging amateur sleuth, April 17, 2009

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Recently returned from a horticultural visit to China, Peter Mayhew is driving his motorcycle when he is run off the road. The other driver does not stop and Peter is rushed to an Oxford hospital in critical condition, The victim rambles incoherently about the Asian journey so a colleague ask retired botanist Lawrence Kingston to talk with Peter and see if he can make sense of what the man is saying.

Kingston learns the expedition was seeking wild roses, but soon afterward someone murders Mayhew in his hospital room. Thames Valley Detective Inspector Sheffield leads the police investigation into the homicide while Kingston interviews the other people who accompanied the victim to China. However, the cops and Kingston are stunned when Mayhew's half-sister Sally comes to to the morgue to identify her brother only to insist that the cadaver is not him; she also says Peter allegedly died in a fall in China. As the retiree digs through the mud, he begins to uncover fraud, double crosses and murder as more members of the quest die.

The fourth English Garden mystery (see THE WATER LILY CROSS, THE BLUE ROSE and LOST GARDENS) is an engaging amateur sleuth that showcases the world of historical botanist hunters seeking obscure exotic plants around the globe; mindful of Darwin's trip on the Beagle. The story line is fast-paced once Sally makes her assertion and never slows down although the ending seems to easy and intermittently Kingston's life intrudes on the plot. Still this is a fun modern day meeting of Darwin and Agatha Christie in And Then there Were None.

Harriet Klausner