Slow-moving, but still an intriguing story. ( )

Although I liked the mystery itself and I found bits of garden information interesting...

The gardening information as a whole was TMI, in fact WTMI! There was so much exacting detail that I had to skip a goodly amount of the writing.

I did like the referrals to actual famous gardens in both the U.S. & England, and I looked those up on Google Images....that was a treat.

But, unless you are an active horticulturist this might be a bit heavy reading.

PLOT: Jamie (an American vintner) inherits a large old English estate complete with garden turned jungle from a man she never met nor is related to. The inheritance was once a 16th century monastery over which the estate was eventually built. Jamie hires esteemed horticulturist Kingston to oversee the restoration of the gardens. Upon clearing brambles and ivy, Kingston comes upon a chapel with an ancient healing well. At the bottom of the well are the bones of a human...near the well he finds 3 coins dated 1963 & 1959 (which means that there has to be a secret passage into the chapel). Then there are the questions of the mysterious benefactor (whom nobody seems to know anything about) and the missing paintings that the unsettling Mr. Fox comes seeking. ( )

Elgin's second garden mystery does not disappoint. And once again we get to follow Lawrence Kingston on another garden adventure! I believe I might even like this one better than the first - love the bit of history and architecture thrown in!

Kingston is hired to help Jamie Gibson restore the gardens on the estate she has just inherited. Gibson comes from California and has no idea why she was left the estate over in England. But she does not hesitate to pack up and relocate and even undertakes bringing it back to it's former glory.

As they begin to clear away all the overgrowth, a priory is discovered with a body in the well. Of course Kingston can't help but begin to look into things to discover who and why the body is there.

Such a great read. I can't wait to get my hands on the next book! ( )

better than expected. Were I not so interested in the subject matter, it would be slow going. ( )

The Lost Gardens is a lovely mystery. Good plot and character development. I read this one before the first book in The English Garden Mystery Series, The Blue Rose, which was good but this one was much better. I'm looking forward to the next in the series, The Water Lily Cross. ( )