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The Woman in the Garden

A Novel

ebook
2 of 2 copies available
2 of 2 copies available

"A fascinating novel."— First Clue

Eustacia has always been better with plants than people...

Eustacia Rose is a Professor of Botanical Toxicology with only her extensive collection of poisonous plants for company. Her life is quiet, her schedule is unchanging, and her closest friends are the specimens she tends to. But she does have one other hobby: watching her neighbors through her telescope, taking extensive notes on their lives for "research."

When Eustacia hears a scream one evening, the temptation to investigate proves irresistible. Through her telescope she catches a glimpse of her extraordinarily beautiful new neighbor, Simone, and soon becomes obsessed with her and her life. But who are these four men that orbit Simone? And why does Eustacia get the feeling she needs to protect her from them?

One day, Eustacia comes home to find her precious garden destroyed, and learns that someone close to Simone has been murdered with a rare poisonous plant. As she is drawn deep into the crime, Eustacia's closed-off life begins to crumble, forcing her to break free from the walls of her secret garden and take matters into her own hands. Soon, she's forced to realize that the world is filled with people who are just as toxic as her plants...

Fans of The Maid will revel in this perfectly tended tale of obsession. The Woman in the Garden explores the delicate balance between beauty and danger—infatuation and obsession—tightly woven together in a tense and unsettling mystery. 

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    • Library Journal

      May 1, 2024

      Eustacia Amelia Rose was once a botany professor, but the year her father died, she lost her job and became even more eccentric. Now she tends to her poisonous plants on her rooftop garden and spies on her neighbors through her telescope. She has problems recognizing faces and remembering names, but she fills 20 notebooks of observations about the people around her. One is a young woman in the flat across the way who hosts a number of men, including a man who hits her and a man whom Eustacia recognizes from years earlier. Although Eustacia views toxic plants as her addiction, she's just as obsessed with the young woman. When the woman is pushed into a car and disappears for three days, Eustacia reports a kidnapping to the police, but they seem more interested in Eustacia's toxic plants and a possibly related poisoning than in the disappearance of her neighbor. When the poisoning victim dies, Eustacia is arrested. Forced out of her private life, she sets out to find a killer. VERDICT Published in England as Devil's Breath, Johnson's (The Time Before the Time To Come) novel, with its convoluted plot, might appeal to those who appreciate socially awkward, unreliable narrators.--Lesa Holstine

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Booklist

      June 14, 2024
      Eustacia Rose worked hard to earn her PhD in botany and became head of Botanical Toxicology at University College London. However, a series of events--her father died, deadly toxins were released in her lab, and she was accused of stalking a colleague--led to her dismissal from UCL. Now she rarely leaves her flat, spending her days tending the toxic plant garden she created on her apartment roof and spying on her neighbors. One neighbor in particular attracts Eustacia's attention--a beautiful young woman she nicknames "Psycho," who has an endless string of male visitors, some violent. When Eustacia sees Psycho being bundled into a car and suspects she's been kidnapped, she calls the police. They seem uninterested. But when Eustacia's roof garden is invaded, and some of the deadliest plants are stolen, Eustacia fears the worst. She's proven right when a man dies, it seems one of her toxic plants killed him, and she finds a link to Psycho. Her sleuthing means she will have to face the real world, though. This clever, twisty series starter is as odd, endearing, and intriguing as Professor Eustacia Rose.

      COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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