The Savage Garden by Mark Mills is my perfect type of Summer read--well written and atmospheric, with a lush, gorgeous setting and a story involving a 400 year old mystery. It's the sort of book that I like to escape into while sitting on my porch on a sunny afternoon sipping lemonade, which is exactly how I spent part of my weekend. Bliss. Mills's novel reminded me a lot of Carol Goodman's work, which I also greatly enjoy. Although not straightforward murder mysteries in the Agatha Christie sense, they usually involve a heroine (or in the case of The Savage Garden a hero) who happens to be an academic and gets involved in some sort of historical or literary (or both) mystery.
It's 1958 and Adam Strickland is a young Cambridge scholar. He's the sort of student who could do wonderful things, if only he'd apply himself a little bit more. When his college tutor suggests he travel to Italy to study the Renaissance gardens of a villa in the Tuscan hills for his thesis, he'll discover more than a well preserved garden shrouded in a centuries old mystery. He'll also find out the Docci family has more than a few skeletons in their recent history as well, dating back to the German occupation. Once he starts unraveling both mysteries, he'll find he can't stop himself from uncovering truths that are none of his business.
Although the Docci family's villa is rather pedestrian, their gardens are praiseworthy. They were carefully designed by the first owner of the villa, a grieving husband, in the memory of his deceased wife, Flora.
"Federico Docci would have been hard pressed to find a better spot for his memorial garden then one already haunted by flickering figures from some spectral past. And he had cleverly turned the location to his own ends, planting large numbers of evergreen trees to screen off views, to guide to eye, to tease and disorient, whatever the season. He had punched holes in this somber vegetation, shaping glades that smacked of sacred groves, connecting them with curling pathways that widened and narrowed as they went, the loose geometry almost musical--a pleasing rhythm of space and enclosure, of light and shade".
"Having laid out this new kingdom, Federico had then dedicated it to Flora, goddess of flowers, and populated it with the characters from ancient mythology over whom she held sway: Hyacinth, Narcissus and Adonis. All had died tragically, and all lived on in the flowers that burst from earth where their blood had spilled--the same flowers that still enameled the ground in their respective areas of the garden every springtime".
It may sound like the Garden of Eden, but as Adam delves into the history of the family and studies the intricately laid out gardens, the secrets so carefully held for so long start to reveal themselves until each piece of the puzzle shows the memorial to a beloved wife is actually a confession to far darker deeds. Savage garden indeed!
Deep dark secrets seem to run in the Docci family. Really, Adam is an innocent abroad. He's lured into asking questions about the death of one of Signora Docci's sons. The Docci family had remained relatively unscathed during the German occupation in WWII. It's only when the Allies are advancing and the Germans making a hasty retreat that a tragedy occurs. One that devastates the Doccis so much that they'll close off the upper floor of the villa where it happened. There's nothing worse than locked doors to tempt an inquisitive mind. While the Docci family is happy to uncover truths about Federico and his wife Flora, they'd rather let sleeping dogs lie when it comes to more recent history.
The story is enveloped in mysteries, but I was particularly drawn to the mystery of the garden. In order to find the truth, Adam needed the help of Ovid and Dante, which I thought was immensely clever. I always love a good historical thriller, and this is one I can recommend. I'll be digging out my copy of Mills's Amagansett, which I came across at a recent library sale. I only hope it compares favorably and may have to add it to my pile of summer reads.
I'm happy to offer you the chance to make The Savage Garden one of your summer reads, too. The publisher passed along to me eight copies of the paperback to give to my readers. If I end up with more than eight interested parties I'll drop all the names into a hat and draw. Feel free to leave a comment either way, but if you'd like to be included in a drawing, just let me know. Happily I can offer the copies to anyone interested, so if you are outside the US, don't hesitate to leave me a comment. I'll take names until the end of the day on Friday June 27th. I'll draw eight names on Saturday morning (the 28th). As I'll be mailing out the books myself, I do ask for a bit of patience as I may have to drop them in the mail in two groups depending on where they're being sent.
I like to have one mystery on my night stand, so next up I've chosen Barbara Vine's A Fatal Inversion. When it comes to psychological thrillers you can't go wrong with Barbara Vine's work and it's been far too long since I've read one of her novels! It should be the perfect follow up to The Savage Garden.