Mark Mills "The Savage Garden"

annis · Post by **annis** » Tue September 9th, 2008, 7:01 pm

In 1958 Cambridge student Adam Strickland travels to Villa Docci in Tuscany to study its remarkable but disquieting Renaissance garden.
Its anomalies intrigue him, and lead him to solve a centuries-old puzzle using Dante's "Inferno"as a reference.
However Adam becomes an unwitting pawn in a complex and dangerous game when he tackles a more recent conundrum concerning the war-time death of Emilio Docci, oldest son of the house.
A stylish and compelling 2-in-1 mystery.

diamondlil · Post by **diamondlil** » Tue September 9th, 2008, 8:28 pm

I own this one. I just haven't read it yet.

Vanessa · Post by **Vanessa** » Tue September 9th, 2008, 9:13 pm

Loved this one! I read it a while ago now.

Julianne Douglas · Post by **Julianne Douglas** » Wed September 17th, 2008, 7:07 pm

My agent reps this author. I've been meaning to read the book for a while now...

tsjmom · Post by **tsjmom** » Wed July 8th, 2009, 2:25 am

I liked this one, although some aspect were a bit over the top. For me, the book had a dark feel to it. Even the ending didn't bring a smile to my face. I did enjoy trying to figure out the mystery, but since I don't know Dante very well I couldn't.

Sheramy · Post by **Sheramy** » Sun July 12th, 2009, 9:55 pm

The paperback is available as a bargain book on Amazon right now. I bought it a couple of weeks ago, and made it about a third through before putting it aside to read something else. I should love it, since it's about Italy and has a mystery element, but I kept getting distracted by the writing. It draws too much attention to itself -- the descriptions tend to be 'overcooked.' That's not really my taste.

I'll have to give it another try at some point, because I did want to like it.

Anita Davison · Post by **Anita Davison** » Wed July 15th, 2009, 9:36 pm

I thoroughly enjoyed this clever novel and it even piqued my interest in Dante. Mark Mills is excellent at adding the nuances of human relationships, the little things we notice about each other and what attracts and repels.
I could have completely done without the gorilla storyline though - definitely didn't move the story forward!