Product Description

A haunting tale of murder, love and innocence lost set in post-war Tuscany from the award winning author of 'The Whaleboat House'. Behind a villa in the heart of Tuscany lies a Renaissance garden of enchanting beauty. Its grottoes, pagan statues and classical inscriptions seem to have a secret life of their own -- and a secret message, too, for those with eyes to read it. Young scholar Adam Strickland is just such a person. Arriving in 1958, he finds the Docci family, their house and the unique garden as seductive as each other. But post-War Italy is still a strange, even dangerous place, and the Doccis have some dark skeletons hidden away which Adam finds himself compelled to investigate. Before this mysterious and beautiful summer ends, Adam will uncover two stories of love, revenge and murder, separated by 400 years! but is another tragedy about to be added to the villa's cursed past?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2707 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Review
Acclaim for 'The Savage Garden': 'An intriguing puzzle, elegantly written! a pleasure to read! the atmosphere of an Italian summer and of the mysterious garden are beautifully captured' Sunday Telegraph 'Mills writes beautifully; leading us gently and atmospherically through the Tuscan renaissance garden! an unusual, captivating novel that is a cut above the norm' The Times 'Unputdownable! hugely atmospheric' Daily Mirror 'Entertaining! Mills weaves together two murder mysteries in his elegantly contrived plot' Times Literary Supplement 'Mills has done his research! there are potent mysteries, a beautiful heroine and a charismatic old lady who knows a lot more than she's saying, which is enough to keep the reader, like Adam, rearranging the puzzle pieces until they all slot into place' London Lite 'A fine sense of period and place, a well-managed narrative, crisp prose and fascinating information! Mills is one to watch' Spectator 'Mills juggles the mysteries of three periods, switching between centuries with a conjuror's skill! the book is beautifully written, giving life to the figures in their Tuscan landscape' Literary Review 'A mesmerizing piece of writing! Mills is a skillful writer and combines all the disparate strands into a striking tapestry' Independent 'An intriguing historical thriller which confirms him as a first-class and unusual crime writer' Daily Mail 'A beautifully penned, high-brow crime thriller' City AM 'To be savoured! Mills weaves together an intriguing mixture of love, loss and divided loyalties' Guardian 'Very well-written with memorable characters' Birmingham Post 'A keen sense of loss and longing suffuses "The Savage Garden"! a romantic and gracefully executed literary puzzle. Mills creates an enchanting vision of wooded glades and grottoes, temples and reflecting pools! a tantalizing mystery' New York Times Praise for 'The Whaleboat House': 'A master of the art of murderous storytelling.' Sunday Times 'This is an intriguing, atmospheric, literary crime novel. The uneasy juxtaposition of two communities is brilliantly evoked by Mark Mills.' Daily Mail 'Subtle and stylish!Mills is clever, unravelling the story from several angles.' Observer 'The requisite qualities of a film script -- atmospheric details, lucidity and a simple, spare style.' Sunday Telegraph 'A very rich book -- rich in detail and history and local color; rich in characters and conflict and mystery; and, most importantly, rich in wonderful writing.' John Grisham 'Complex and compelling!Mark Mills reveals himself to be a master storyteller.' Val McDermid 'A striking and assured first thriller!worldly and impeccably researched.' William Boyd

The Times
`Mills writes beautifully... an unusual, captivating novel that is
a cut above the norm'

Daily Mirror
`Unputdownable... hugely atmospheric'

Customer Reviews

Good plot, but too indulgent
This was my first Mark Mills book, and having read it I would consider reading more of his work. Unless it was about the history of art. I don't know the author's background but my guess would be that it's very closely related to this field. The book contains pages and pages of in depth descriptions of buildings and sculptures, and the author has written it as if the reader has the same in depth knowledge themselves. I found myself having to read some parts of the book twice, as I'd realise I hadn't taken in any of the last five pages that I'd read because they were all describing one building. This spoiled it for me, as these lengthy descriptions got in the way of a well written and intriguing story. If some of these descriptions had been cut down then the book might have flowed more easily, which would have earned it four or five stars from me. A good story, ruined slightly by the author showing off. If you're into art history then this is definitely a book for you.

Just above average - once you've read 1/3 of the book
Alex, an art history student in the 1950s, is broken up with and finds an offer to study the garden of the Docci villa in Tuscany a welcome chance to get away. He is drawn into a wilderness of a family secret and the secret of the centuries' old garden and its artwork. "The Savage Garden" is about pulling back and leafed branch and stepping into the unknown and daring to see.

I found this novel difficult to get start. The beginning is a series of horticultural description and scenes that seems out of place. However, about a third into the novel, it gripped me. By then, finally, Alex was three-dimensional and so were the other characters, the matriarch Docci and her sensual granddaughter. The horticultural elements became part of what set "The Savage Garden" apart from other novels. When I finished, I had even reached the conclusion that this is a great book.

The plotline in "The Savage Garden" is divided between Alex's experiences, the search for the murderer of the uncle during WWII, and the interpretation of the garden with its ties to Dante's circles of hell and mythology. I found the garden-plotline most interesting. The poking around for the murderer of the uncle seems rather trivial.

All in all, given the chance, this book is just above average.
Louise

Very very average - and strangely similar to Kate Mosse's Labarinth
Hmmm, isn't it odd how some Richard and Judy books are spot on and others are so far off the mark. I read this at speed on holiday. If I hadn't I wouldn't have finished it. It gave me a strange sense of deja vu as I was in the same place when I read Kate Mosse's Labarinth (which I wasn't very keen on) and the stories were so similar. I wouldn't bother reading this, it sounds promising and then is so dull and lacking in depth that you'll have wasted your time.