R E K. (bigstone) - , reviewed on 8/28/2013 + 1453 more book reviews

This novel is two stories in one, one layered atop the other. Addison, who loves and lives for designing beautiful gardens, moves to England with her husband to live in a mansion purchased by his parents. Her love of plants leads her to investigate a long ago mystery surrounding a rare pink camellia the last of which is believed to be on the grounds of their new home. She discovers that during the 1940s Flora, a young woman recruited by a ring of plant thieves, was involved in a plot to steal the rare flower. In addition, there are several incidents of women disappearing in connection with the flower.

While I enjoyed the book, I felt that Jio did not develop the characters of Addison and Rex as well as she might. To me, they seemed flat and pale beside Flora and the others in her story. Perhaps that was what she meant to do but I think the novel would have been better had these characters been more fully developed. I found The Last Bungalow a much better read. However, fans of Sarah Jio will probably enjoy this latest effort by the author.

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