The hunt for an ancient Chinese rose turns deadly in this latest English Garden Mystery featuring Dr. Lawrence Kingston.A plant-hunting expedition haunted by tragedy leads to a perilous trail of greed, larceny, and deceit. Has Peter Mayhew, the man who plunged to his death on a mountain in China, come back to life? Which of the expedition members is hiding an explosive secret? Why are some being targeted for murder?Once again, Dr. Lawrence Kingston—retired professor of botany and reluctant sleuth—finds himself at the center of a baffling case like none he has ever encountered. Following an ambiguous trail with only scant clues, he must find the hidden meaning dormant in a cache of valuable Chinese antiquities, shadow a ruthless assailant through London’s teeming Underground, and travel the length and breadth of Britain, from a hospital ward in Oxford and an anonymous rendezvous in a Hampshire garden, to a remote farm in Dorset and the mystical Cornish coast—even to the mountains of Wales—in his search for the truth. Even the most likely suspects are becoming victims themselves, and the stakes rise exponentially as each lead comes to a dead end...literally.Racing to save the lives of the remaining plant hunters and not become a victim himself, Kingston discovers the extreme lengths to which desperate men will go for riches, recognition, and the thrill of the hunt. Clever and chilling, The Trail of the Wild Rose effortlessly combines Anthony Eglin’s horticultural knowledge and literary skills to create an innovative and riveting new mystery.From Publishers WeeklyA party of plant hunters who are dying off one by one is the intriguing, Agatha Christie–like scenario of Eglin's less than satisfying fourth English garden mystery (after 2007's The Water Lily Cross). A colleague dispatches retired botanist Lawrence Kingston after a member of a recent horticultural expedition to China is run off the road while on his motorcycle and lies gravely injured in an Oxford hospital. The patient's ramblings reveal that disquieting events may have occurred on the journey and raise questions about the man's identity and the group's objectives. After the patient's death, Kingston interviews other members of the party and their relatives, gradually uncovering a conspiracy of greed, blackmail, fraud and murder. In the end, the awkward introduction of plot elements, a propensity to tell instead of show, stilted and unrealistic dialogue, a title that bears only a peripheral relation to the narrative and digressions about Kingston's personal life bury a promising premise. (Apr.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistRetired botany professor Lawrence Kingston (The Lost Gardens, 2006) is helping a friend restore his garden when he gets a call from his former colleague Clifford Attenborough, now curator of horticulture at Kew Gardens. It seems that a patient in critical condition at an Oxford hospital has been muttering strange things about a plant-hunting expedition. Attenborough asks Kingston to look into it, and Kingston jumps at the chance to visit Oxford. The few available clues lead to a convoluted tale about a plant-hunting expedition in China. The members of the expedition seem to be meeting untimely ends in unexplainable accidents. As Kingston continues to explore, he turns up evidence of theft and murder among the British aristocracy. The complex case full of garden lore and Asian antiquities will keep cozy aficionados turning the pages. --Barbara Bibel

Hidden within the derelict gardens of abandoned Wickersham Priory, a deadly secret is waiting. But when an unsuspecting young Californian named Jamie Gibson finds herself the new owner of the estate, through a surprise bequest from a total stranger---the secret begins to stir.            Jamie, fired with enthusiasm to restore the gardens to their 1930s glory, seeks the help of Lawrence Kingston, a retired professor of botany, eccentric bon viveur, and amateur sleuth. Lawrence soon unearths an old chapel, which leads to an ancient Healing Well, which in turn yields a human skeleton. And as the police pursue their inquiries, Kingston begins his own investigation---following a baffling trail of clues that wind down through the centuries, from the battlegrounds of World War II to the depths of the Middle Ages.            It is a trail marked by misadventure, revenge, compassion, and murder when finally Kingston unlocks the secret of Wickersham Priory, he and Jamie must confront a reckoning that neither of them could have ever imagined.            As with the highly acclaimed The Blue Rose, Eglin brings his botanical and literary skill to this new mystery.  From Publishers WeeklyLawrence Kingston once again mixes horticulture with crime solving in Eglin's agreeable second cozy to feature the retired botany professor (after 2004's The Blue Rose). Jamie Gibson, an American woman who has inherited Wickersham Priory in Somerset, hires Kingston to restore the estate's neglected gardens. In the underbrush, Kingston discovers a ruined chapel complete with a healing well, which turns out to contain human remains. Kingston investigates, exploring such matters as why the mysterious previous owner left Wickersham Priory to Jamie and the absence of any family history or memorabilia at the estate. A series of dire events—two deaths, a car accident, a rifled flat—keeps the plot moving, but it's the plethora of gardening detail that makes this a memorable read. (Apr.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistEglin (The Blue Rose, 2004) presents another case featuring retired botany professor Lawrence Kingston. When a young American woman inherits Wickersham Priory, an estate in Somerset, England, she decides to restore it to its former glory and hires Kingston to clear and replant the extensive gardens. In the process, he finds a human skeleton in an old well. Naturally, he is compelled to investigate, which takes him deep into the strange history of Wickersham Priory. The primary appeal of the Kingston series is its detailed treatment of a subject dear to the hearts of many cozy fans: English gardens. Barbara BibelCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Lawrence Kingston is asked to search for a botanist friend who has gone missing. With nothing but a scrap of paper with a bewildering cryptic message, he begins to investigate. He discovers that his friend was experimenting with aquatic plants and has stumbled on a horticultural breakthrough with staggering implications, one that could ultimately generate billions of dollars in revenue: a unique and giant form of Amazonian water lily. Convinced that influential people are involved in the disappearance, he pursues more leads, but circumstances beyond his control plunge him deeper into jeopardy and a corporate world of ruthless, greedy men who are not to be stopped. Kingston presses on, knowing that his missing friend's life--and his own--both hang by a very slender thread. As with the highly acclaimed The Lost Gardens, Eglin brings his botanical and literary skill to this new mystery.From Publishers WeeklyEglin's engaging third horticultural cozy (after 2006's Lost Gardens) pits retired London botanist Lawrence Kingston against rapacious, lawless foes when his longtime friend and colleague, Stewart Halliday, goes missing. Drawing on his cruciverbalist skills, Kingston interprets a coded message in his friend's date book that leads to another cryptogram. Clues indicate that Halliday discovered how to desalinate seawater with a unique crossbred water lily, a scientific breakthrough with potentially far-reaching benefits—and profitability. Kingston believes Halliday has been kidnapped because of the salt-sucking lilies, and even when Kingston is nearly shot down on a helicopter flight, he remains dogged in pursuit of his missing friend. Fans of the brave and erudite Kingston will savor his latest breakneck botanical adventure. (May) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistIn this third in the series, after The Blue Rose 2004) and The Lost Gardens (2006), retired botany professor Lawrence Kingston of London will not be deterred from searching for missing friend and former colleague Stewart Halliday, despite Kingston's being shot down in a helicopter, knocked on the head, and warned explicitly to desist. Halliday's disappearance, as Kingston rightly suspects, is linked to his secret research to crossbreed a giant water lily that can remove salt from water, a scientific breakthrough with huge financial potential. Descriptions of notable English gardens and information about desalination processes add interest to this mystery, in which--in the cozy tradition--violence is limited, and murders occur offstage. Series fans will be intrigued by the appearance of a mysterious woman, somehow involved in the wrongdoing, who adds a the possibility of romance for widower Kingston. Overlook the occasional dangling participle, and enjoy seeing justice prevail in the English manner. Michele LeberCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Can Lawrence Kingston unearth the key to a deadly secret hidden by a mysterious ancient garden inscription in the newest English Garden Mystery?Codebreakers have tried for centuries to decipher the enigmatic inscription on a strange monument in the garden at Sturminster Hall, but no one has ever succeeded. When a murder occurs on the garden grounds, the intellectual puzzle becomes all too real, and Dr. Lawrence Kingston—retired professor of botany and reluctant sleuth—is called in to investigate.Other than a scrap of paper bearing a random sequence of letters found on the victim, the police have no meaningful clues. Convinced that the crime must be linked to the seemingly unbreakable centuries-old code, Kingston begins hunting for clues that will help him unmask the murderer’s identity as well as the arcane mystery of the monument. But he quickly finds himself swept along in the dangerous undertow of a centuries’ old family conflict and a second murder, by poisoning. What could be so valuable, so important to justify such extreme measures and complex codes to keep sacrosanct for over two centuries?To unlock the garden’s dark secret, Kingston must delve into the brilliant minds of three famous men to fathom what part each may have played in masterminding the riddle: an Admiral hailed as father of Britain’s navy, the author of England’s most celebrated poem, and Great Britain’s first Prime Minister.  But as Kingston’s investigation into an England’s past leads him closer to a killer in the very dangerous present, his own prospects for survival start to look less and less assured.ReviewPraise for Garden of Secrets Past:“Engaging… an intricate plot, colorful characters, and vivid descriptions of locales from London to small villages add up to an entertaining read.” –Publishers Weekly"Lawrence Kingston [is] a bit of a garden-digging Hercule Poirot....  In Garden of Secrets Past, Eglin steps up the mystery several notches with the inclusion of even more shady characters, a secret code and a bit of a love interest for, no longer young, Kingston.... the mystery is top-notch." --welchwrite.com "The master of botanical mysteries." --NewMysteryReader.com"The fifth English Garden Mystery (see The Water Lily Cross and The Trial of the Wild Rose) is an entertaining whodunit as the past and the present converge during Kingston’s amateur sleuthing.  The cast is solid in support of the protagonist who is at his best working the enigmatic murder case.  The story line is fast-paced with a fascinating brief afterward explaining the code in further depth.  Gardens of Secret Past is wonderful mystery as events two centuries old still remain relevant." --followtheclue.wordpress.com"A charming English mystery that is well-written and entertaining. RECOMMENDED." --www.iloveamysterynewsletter.com"The combination of gardening with mystery thrown in is a nice change of scenery and will appeal even to those who don’t have a green thumb." --British Weekly Praise for The Lost Gardens:“His is a talent in full bloom.” --*Richmond Times-Dispatch  “Lawrence Kingston once again mixes horticulture with crime solving in Eglin’s agreeable second cozy to feature the retired botany professor...it’s the plethora of gardening detail that makes this a memorable read.” --Publishers Weekly*“The primary appeal of the Kingston series is its detailed treatment of a subject dear to the hearts of many cozy fans: English gardens.” --Booklist   Praise for The Blue Rose:“The Blue Rose is one of those amiable mysteries that seek to mildly educate as well as to entertain: Here readers learn something about the history of roses while watching the hero and heroine dodge bullets and pruning shears.” --The Washington Post “In his excellent debut, Eglin combines just the right amount of horticultural detail with well-drawn characters and absorbing plot.” --Publishers Weekly (starred review)About the AuthorEnglish-born ANTHONY EGLIN spent many years in advertising before defecting to indulge in his passion for gardening. In 1995 he started The Larkspur Company, co-producing a series of bestselling garden videotapes. The same year, he won Garden Design magazine’s Gold Trowel Award for Best Rose Garden. Author of the internationally popular English Garden Mysteries, including The Blue Rose, which won France’s prestigious Prix Arsène Lupin for mystery novel of the year, Eglin is a member of the American Rose Society. Anthony lives with his wife Suzie and tabby cat, Pyewacket, in Sonoma, California.