book review

The Savage Garden by Mark Mills, published in 2007, is a murder mystery but a gentle one if you can call a murder gentle. The story has elements of humour along with the mystery and some lovely characters. It takes place in Italy and has a much different voice than that of American or British mysteries. The hero Adam goes to a the Docci garden to write an assignment given him by his professor. The assignment is to look into the mystery of a 400 year old death of the young wife of the Lord of the manor . The Garden is an allegory for the murder told in the statues of Greek mythological icons and in the circles of hell involved in the circles of the garden as it steps toward the valley, as told by Dante. In his study of the garden Adam not only discovers the murder of the wife but falls upon another mysterious murder that took place at the end of WW2 when the eldest son is killed by the Germans as they are withdrawing in advance of the incoming American army. The story is full of the most interesting allusions to the past and the present. Of course there is romance as well as intrigue as Adam falls in love with the granddaughter of Signore Docci.
It is an interesting book if not an exciting one and if you like real puzzles rather than blood and gore you may enjoy this book. I did. It takes a bit to get into but is worth the effort and you may figure out another murder as you read. I did :>)) There is mystery upon mystery in this book. Mine came from the library which often has stories that you cannot get in the bookstore.