The mystery continues
Garden of Shadows
Linnea Wren Mysteries
Adult, New Adult, Historical Mystery
Fauve Press
October 29, 2024
Kindle, Paperback
416
Granada, Spain 1887. A brief respite in Spain brings the opportunity of a lifetime when botanist Linnea Wren is invited to contribute to the restoration of the Alhambra gardens. But before she can begin digging, a body is found in the Generalife, and Linnea is tasked with discovering the murderer. Linnea soon finds herself entangled in a web of political intrigue. From the opulent gardens of the Alhambra to the streets of the Albaicín, Linnea must navigate the complexity of life in Granada, to understand what is at the heart of the killings. But will she be able to balance the demands of her career and a relationship with her colleague, Matias? Or will the investigation cost her everything?
“From my place at the table, my eyes traced his silhouette. My love for him was fierce and terrifying, comforting and painfully vulnerable. Was it strong enough to hold us together, or would we drift apart?”
1887 Granada, Spain and the beautiful Alhambra Palace gardens are the backdrop for the second installment of Amy Marie Turner’s Linnea Wren Mysteries, Garden of Shadows. After solving a murder derails her original expedition to Chiloé Chile, Linnea and Matias must travel to Spain to pursue charges in the case and try to salvage Linnea’s professional career. But a fortuitous intermediate opportunity to work as a botanist at the esteemed Alhambra leads to unexpected intrigue and brings to the surface Linnea’s biggest fears and insecurities. As Linnea is drawn into solving another mystery, driven by the war she is waging within herself, Matias finds that he and their relationship might end up as collateral damage. There is no guarantee that solving this murder, that is more far reaching politically than they imagined, will bridge the ever widening gap between them.
“My inner storms were making me blind to those around me. There was more to life than my profession.”
The first book in the Linnea Wren Mysteries, The Voyage of the Pleides, was a multi-dimensional experience as we not only journeyed to an exotic locale where Linnea and Matias tracked down a murderer but watched as Linnea overcame the demons and insecurities from her past to get to a place of vulnerability and trust with Maties. Even with her issues, I loved Linnea’s brashness, intelligence, and drive. It was a thrilling ride but quite satisfying in the end because of where their relationship landed and the promise of further intrigue in the next installment, Garden of Shadows. As this new story began to unfold I felt a disconnect with and even dislike towards Linnea growing as all the personal progress she made in the last book seemed to dissolve with every page. More than once I had to put the book down for a bit and come back to the story as I felt like I was watching her self-sabatoge the self-confidence and happiness she was on track to achieve. The cliffhanger ending did not help things one bit. I know people have differing views on that writing tactic, but for me I need the author to at least throw me a few resolution crumbs before they completely push me over the edge.
“If each piece of this mystery was a petal, they were unfurling, one by one.”
While Garden of Shadows, Amy’s second installment in the Linnea Wren Mysteries, did not settle on me the way the first book did I am still a fan of this series and have great hopes for what is coming next. Amy’s writing style is effortless to read and immerses you in all the various places the story takes you. Her characters have depth and personality and are extremely authentic in their struggles with very human emotions and relationships. Amy also skillfully threads the mystery through the multiple plot layers of the book keeping you fully engaged in the act of trying to solve it. And last but not least, can we give a shout out to the cover. Both of these books deserve to be coffee table books as they are so pretty. So, if you haven’t already started this series, acquire both and delve into this well-done mystery series.
Tanya’s love for books has been a lifelong passion that she likes sharing with others. Reading is also the thing that relaxes her after a day of juggling the many responsibilities that come with being being wife to an amazing man, mother to four great kids spread around the world, business manager, and farm hand on their place in southwest Missouri; home to Akaushi cattle and a menagerie of pygmy goats, horses, chickens, dogs and cats.
