The Savage Garden

by Mark Mills Narrated by Ian Stuart

Overview

Adam Strickland, a somewhat aimless young scholar at Cambridge University, is called to his professor's office one afternoon and assigned a special summer project: to write a scholarly monograph about the famous Docci garden in Tuscany. Dedicated to the memory of a fifteenth-century nobleman's young wife, the garden is a mysterious world of statues, grottoes, meandering rills, and classical inscriptions. But Adam comes to suspect that something sinister lies buried in the garden's strange iconography. What if Lord Docci's wife was murdered, and her memorial garden is filled with pointers to both the method and the motive of the crime?

As the odd history unfolds, Adam finds himself drawn into a parallel intrigue. Through his evolving relationship with the lady of the house-the ailing, seventy-something Signora Docci-he hears stories of yet another violent death in the family, this one much more recent. The Signora's eldest son was shot by Nazi officers on the third floor of the villa, and her husband, now dead, insisted that the area be sealed and preserved forever. Like the garden, the third-floor rooms are frozen in time.

As Adam delves into his subject, he begins to suspect that his seemingly innocent history project might be a setup. Is he really just the naive student, stumbling upon clues, or is he being used to discover the true meaning of the villa's murderous past?

Editorial Reviews

A Tuscan Renaissance villa serves as the setting of the most unusual double murder mystery you will ever read. In the summer of 1958, Cambridge art history major Adam Strickland travels to Italy to research a monograph on an elaborate 16th-century garden. Drawn into the garden's intricate designs, grottoes, iconography, and inscriptions, Strickland soon begins to wonder if its elaborate patterns might hold the key to the 1548 death of the estate owner's wife. As he digs deeper, he also detects haunting inconsistencies in accounts of a far more recent murder, which occurred in the villa during the waning days of World War II. A captivating mystery with a sweet touch of Tuscan romance.

Marilyn Stasio

Struggling to keep his head in this seductively drawn company of educated and refined landowners, Adam applies his academic approach to the tantalizing mystery and, at no small cost to his own ego, eventually solves it. But in the process this naïve young man also learns more than any outsider needs to know about the desperate measures families will adopt to survive the wounds of war.
— The New York Times

Patrick Anderson

… The Savage Garden is an impressive performance by a young British screenwriter whose first novel, Amagansett, was much admired three years ago.
— The Washington Post

New York Times Book Review

A romantic and gracefully executed literary puzzle.

Baltimore Sun

A sumptuous tale of multiple mysteries, family intrigues and hearty Continental flavor that demonstrates Mills has earned a prime place at the crime fiction table.

New York Times

Alluring, mysterious.

New York Daily News

In his first suspense novel, Amagansett, Mark Mills displayed a literary voice that was thoroughly embracing. The same is true in The Savage Garden.

Publishers Weekly

Two murders separated by centuries make up the heart of this excellent literary mystery. Set in the beautiful Tuscan countryside during the summer of 1958, Mills's novel tells the story of Adam Strickland, an art history major researching the 16th-century garden on the grounds of the Villa Docci. As Strickland studies the intricate sculptures and inscriptions in the garden, he deciphers a series of clues that hint at a murder committed more than 400 years ago. He also discovers evidence of another murder, this one only 14 years in the past. Unraveling the former mystery will find him a place in academic history, but solving the latter will place his life in danger. Stuart brings just the right touch to his reading of this intelligently written story. With an excellent use of his vocal talents, he moves easily from one character to another, never overplaying the accents or gender. His descriptive narration uses Mills's prose to sweep the listener into a classic world of intrigue and suspense. Fans of P.D. James and the like will enjoy. Simultaneous release with the Putnam hardcover (Reviews, Mar. 5). (May)

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Library Journal

This subtle and engaging mystery begins when Adam Strickland, an English college student, is dispatched to Italy in 1958 to study a unique garden. As Adam undertakes his research, he perceives that the garden's ornamentation is not a literary riddle but a 400-year-old confession to murder. While he is determining the garden's significance, he becomes aware of a more recent murder and begins investigating. Sophisticated armchair sleuths will delight in this book's characterization and ambiance. Ian Stuart's narration is unobtrusive and gentle. He handles the Italian words and phrases with casual confidence. Cultured listeners will be both entertained and satisfied with Mills's well-received second title, after Amagansett. Recommended.
—Ray Vignovich

Kirkus Reviews

In the second novel from Mills (Amagansett, 2004), a student unearths deadly secrets at a stately Tuscan villa. Cambridge scholar Adam Banting gets an unexpected offer from his mentor, Prof. Crispin Leonard: to explore the exotic garden of Leonard's old friend Signora Docci, and write an academic study of her singular garden. Having few other prospects and languishing in his relationship with aspiring writer Gloria, Adam accepts. Over ten years after WWII ended, the collective Italian psyche has conflicting emotions about its role in the war. Indeed, Signora Docci dotes on the memory of her son Emilio, whose death at the hands of German soldiers is shrouded in mystery. Adam gets contradictory snippets from a friendly local tradesman named Fausto and from the Signora's flirtatious granddaughter, Antonella, among others, before his charming, no-account brother Harry arrives unexpectedly to complicate his life. The garden Adam's come to study is lush and elaborate, its statuary eerily sensual and life-like. His appreciation warms the glamorous Signora Docci, and she unexpectedly takes him to bed, making him promise to keep their tryst a secret. He's excited to discover that the nine tiers of the garden correspond to the Dante's nine circles of Hell. As he uncovers more secrets about Emilio's suspicious death, Adam realizes that subtle features of the garden are offering clues. A murder puzzle wrapped around a literary deconstruction grounded in a perceptive study of seduction and survival. Sublime. Agent: Jennifer Rudolph Walsh/William Morris Agency

AUG/SEP 07 - AudioFile

In 1958, while studying in the Tuscan Renaissance garden of the enigmatic Signora Francesca Docci, graduate student Adam Strickland uncovers two murders committed four hundred years apart, the sudden death of 25-year-old Flora Docci in the sixteenth century and the death of Signora Docci’s son, Emilio, during WWII. Ian Stuart’s voice is intriguing as the garden’s 70-year-old owner, Francesca; her charm and breeding are evident in his every syllable. As the secrets of the garden and the Docci family unfold, Stuart’s Adam evolves from naïf to survivor. Layers within layers, puzzles wrapped around enigmas, elegant writing in lush, luxurious abundance, and Ian Stuart’s exceptional performance make Mills’s second novel a must-listen for those who like their mysteries enveloped in literary panache. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940172378621
Publisher:	Brilliance Audio
Publication date:	05/10/2007
Edition description:	Unabridged

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