4.0
Garden of Sins
ByPublisher Description
Award-winning author Laura Joh Rowland is back with the sixth in her critically acclaimed Victorian Mystery series in which Sarah must search for the killer of a woman she found murdered on a train all the while waiting for the verdict of her father's trial for heinous crimes committed two decades earlier.
London, November 1890. Crime scene photographer Sarah Bain Barrett faces a perfect storm of events. She and her husband Detective Sergeant Barrett are riding on a train that crashes. While rescuing other passengers, they find a woman who's been strangled to death. Their search for her identity and her killer lead them to Cremorne Gardens, a seedy riverside pleasure park that's a combination carnival, theater, freak show, and museum of oddities. It's among the most challenging cases that Sarah, Barrett, and her friends Lord Hugh Staunton and Mick O'Reilly have ever undertaken. The suspects include a dwarf, a female acrobat, and a member of the Royal Family. Due to the royal connection, the police commissioner declares the case top-secret. Sarah and company must investigate on the quiet, keeping the suspects, the press, and the public in the dark. That's easier said than done. The investigation is complicated by the injury Hugh sustained during their last case, Mick's romance with a woman who has psychic powers, and Barrett's old flame.
Meanwhile, Sarah's father Benjamin Bain goes on trial for a rape and murder that happened more than two decades ago. The victim was a teenage girl named Ellen Casey. Is Benjamin Bain as innocent as he claims? Sarah has serious doubts. The trial is the scandal of the year, a media blitz. The outcome--and the truth about the murder on the train--are beyond Sarah's wildest imaginings. What dangerous secrets are hidden behind the tawdry glamor of Cremorne Gardens? Is Benjamin Bain wrongly accused, or a guilty sinner who deserves to be hanged?
London, November 1890. Crime scene photographer Sarah Bain Barrett faces a perfect storm of events. She and her husband Detective Sergeant Barrett are riding on a train that crashes. While rescuing other passengers, they find a woman who's been strangled to death. Their search for her identity and her killer lead them to Cremorne Gardens, a seedy riverside pleasure park that's a combination carnival, theater, freak show, and museum of oddities. It's among the most challenging cases that Sarah, Barrett, and her friends Lord Hugh Staunton and Mick O'Reilly have ever undertaken. The suspects include a dwarf, a female acrobat, and a member of the Royal Family. Due to the royal connection, the police commissioner declares the case top-secret. Sarah and company must investigate on the quiet, keeping the suspects, the press, and the public in the dark. That's easier said than done. The investigation is complicated by the injury Hugh sustained during their last case, Mick's romance with a woman who has psychic powers, and Barrett's old flame.
Meanwhile, Sarah's father Benjamin Bain goes on trial for a rape and murder that happened more than two decades ago. The victim was a teenage girl named Ellen Casey. Is Benjamin Bain as innocent as he claims? Sarah has serious doubts. The trial is the scandal of the year, a media blitz. The outcome--and the truth about the murder on the train--are beyond Sarah's wildest imaginings. What dangerous secrets are hidden behind the tawdry glamor of Cremorne Gardens? Is Benjamin Bain wrongly accused, or a guilty sinner who deserves to be hanged?
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4.0
Kristen
Created over 2 years agoShare
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Bwitzenhausen🇨🇦
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“I received a complimentary ARC copy of Garden of Sins A Victorian Mystery Book No. 6 by Laura Joh Rowland from Net Galley & Crooked Lane Books in order to read and give an honest review.
... a captivating read, I still enjoyed the twists and turns which this series is well known for...
I have been a fan of Laura Joh Rowland’s Victorian Mystery series since reviewing the first entry, and I have been fortunate enough to read and review all the books in this series. Although I found this book very entertaining, I did not enjoy it quite as much as the previous books in this series, although each are fast paced, this almost seemed to have too much going on.
The story opens with newlyweds Crime Scene Photographer, Sarah Bain and her new husband Detective Sergeant Thomas Barrett traveling by train through London when the train suddenly derails. Being true to their natures Sarah and Thomas begin searching the wreckage for other survivors stumbling across the body of a woman who perished in the crash, upon closer inspection they realize that the woman was had been strangled. They immediately begin to investigate the case and when it leads them to a member of the Royal Family, Scotland Yard recruits them for a top-secret mission to uncover the truth while preserving the reputation of the monarchy. During the investigation they learn the victim was a Pinkerton detective who had traveled to England in search of a missing American heiress. Clues lead them to Cremorne Gardens, a combination of part freak show, part circus and part theatre which hides murderous secrets.
Grittier than her previous books in the series Garden of Sins, I feel, the author overwhelms with too many incidents occurring. In addition to the investigation Sarah faces, an incident with Thomas and his ex-fiancé which places a heavy strain on their marriage, she is trying to uncover the truth and save her father who is on trial for the murder of a young woman twenty years prior, Hugh is despondent and malingering after the events from Portrait of Peril, and nasty Inspector Reid is out for vengeance doing everything he can to get Sarah to share what she knows about Jack the Ripper. Although it was not my favourite in the series it was still a captivating read, I still enjoyed the twists and turns which this series is well known for. The book is an entertaining fun read I would highly recommend. It would work as a stand-alone, however I really recommend reading the books in order.”
Kendra Andrews
Created almost 3 years agoShare
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HauntedMia
Created about 3 years agoShare
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“Another brilliant book in the series. I always look forward to January when Joh releases a new novel.”
thesleepyreader79
Created over 3 years agoShare
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“When I chose this book I did not realize that it was part of a series, let alone book #6. However, despite not having read 1-5, I still thoroughly enjoyed this story. It was thrilling, sad and had me turning pages almost faster than I could read.
The story centers around Sarah and Thomas Barrett. She a famous crime scene photographer and he a police officer. Apparently they had a hand in stopping Jack the Ripper, a story I must now read, prompting me to look for books 1-5. This time though Sarah is dealing with the impending trial of her estranged father, who is looking at hanging for the death of a young girl 24 years earlier. She has doubts on his innocence but is still open to finding out the truth. At the same time this is going on, Sarah and Barrett (what she calls him) are drawn into a murder involving a circus, royalty and a massive cover-up of heinous crimes. The events taking place at Cremorne Gardens, a place Sarah remembers her father taking her before he went on the run.
Set in the Victorian Era, Sarah is unlike the other women of her time. She has a job most people consider to be unconventional and even unsavory, she's independent and sticks her nose in where it isn't welcome (from what I could tell from this book) I felt like the story for the most part fits the time period and I like the use of real places. I felt the pacing was good and the climax at the end was perfect, and a tad frustrating. But all in all, I really enjoyed the story and I am very much looking forward to picking up books 1-5 so that I can get to know these characters better! I received this book free from Netgalley for an honest review.”
About Laura Joh Rowland
Laura Joh Rowland is the award-winning author of the samurai detective Sano Ichiro mystery series set in 17th century Japan, as well as a historical suspense series starring Charlotte Bronte. Her work has been published in 21 countries; nominated for the Anthony Award, the Hammett Prize, and the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award; won RT Magazine's Reader's Choice Award; and been included in the Wall Street Journal's list of the five best historical mystery novels. Laura holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Michigan. She is a former aerospace scientist, a painter, and a cartoonist. She lives in New York City with her husband Marty.
Other books by Laura Joh Rowland
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