Kristina A. reviewed on 9/30/2022 + 1528 more book reviews

The blurb for Back to the Garden by Laurie R. King had me intrigued. I was looking forward to reading this police procedural (it is not a cozy mystery). The book involves an investigation into a cold case, but our investigator is also trying to identify victims of another serial killer before it is too late. The story goes back and forth between the past (in the 70s) and the present. I had trouble with the author's writing style. She is a descriptive writer which makes the story move slowly. We are introduced to a number of characters. I found Inspector Raquel Laing overshadowed by some of the other characters. Raquel needed more development plus she was boring. The chapters focusing on The Highwayman case were monotonous (they were helpful for my insomnia). I discerned that Raquel is disabled (we are told she uses a cane often enough), she is a lesbian (cue the love interest), she can read micro-expressions (be prepared for mind-numbing details), and she has no qualms about breaking the rules (of course). I did not find her to be a likeable character. There were some characters that were not needed (like the woman who blushed all the time). The 1970s timeline was developed. The author certainly captured the time period and the feel of the era. The mystery was well-done, but it a cinch to solve (before I was a tenth of the way through the book). The mystery is resolved at the end. The ending, though, was abrupt which did not go with the rest of the book (and it felt like it took me years to get to the end). The pacing is agonizingly slow. It does pick up towards the end of the book. The story needed action, suspense, and fewer pages. The story does contain an extensive amount of foul language and crude language (which I found offensive). I struggled to get through Back to the Garden. It is just my type of story. I encourage you to obtain a sample to judge for yourself. Back to the Garden is a police procedural with an extensive estate, strange statues, a dreadful discovery, and a dogged detective.

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