Book Review: The Serpent in the Garden

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

The Serpent in the Garden     Amazon US TPB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada TPB Amazon Canada HC
Janet Gleeson
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Historical
Simon & Schuster, Feb 2005, $14.00, 352 pp.

In 1766, Herbert Bentnick, a widower of under a year, is betrothed to two time Barbados widow Sabine Mercier. Herbert commissions renowned portrait artist Joshua Pope to paint their wedding picture at his Astley estate. However, Sabine, a horticulturist working with her fiancé’s pineapple plants, finds a corpse in the hothouse.

While the engaged couple and his family seem unconcerned that someone was murdered on their estate, a shocked Joshua takes it upon himself to investigate. He assumes the deceased is Barbados attorney John Cobb based on documents the dead man was carrying. Joshua also learns that Herbert’s wife was still alive and with him when he met Sabine, but died shortly afterward. Finally, he realizes how knowledgeable Sabine is when it comes to plants. Joshua’s sleuthing efforts prove fruitless and he now must prove he did not steal Sabine's valuable emerald necklace while the family points their accusing fingers at him.

As with THE GRENADILLO BOX (different artisan detective - cabinetmaker Nathanial Hopson, but similar theme and era), THE SERPENT IN THE GARDEN is an intriguing Georgian who-done-it with the emphasis on the 1760s England.. The story line is loaded with historical detail providing the audience a close look at the upper class mostly through the eyes of the moralistic artist. Joshua is a fine protagonist; however the two antagonists will fascinate readers. Is Herbert is a besotted fool or a clever killer and even more intriguing is Sabine as Joshua’s circumstantial evidence implicates her as the culprit in at least two deaths.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner