I have yet to be disappointed in any of Laurie King's standalone novels. This one involves a set of bones discovered when a sculpture located at a large estate is moved, which brings a San Francisco detective to investigate as possibly the work of a dying serial killer who drops hints about the victims he hasn't yet revealed. The storyline moves between the present and the past, working up to the moment when a body was hidden in the foundation of the statue, when the estate was home to a 1970s commune, developing the characters of the commune members and the family whose estate has, in the present, become a renowned garden. Both time frames are vividly brought to life.

I would have liked more attention paid to the eccentric feminist artist who created the statue in question, and there was a part of the middle section where the workings of the commune were detailed that I felt began to drag a little, but those are minor quibbles given the richness of the novel as a whole.

Back To The Garden is an excellent cold case mystery! I loved the characters and commune where the story took place. Excellent backstory.

I have been reading Laurie R. King for many years and I consider her my favorite author. That has not changed at all with this new book.

I was immediately drawn into the story despite this being a different protagonist. The events leading to the investigation took place during the era of "peace, love and happiness" and from what I know, seem to describe that scene accurately. (I was but a mere child at the time.) As always, it is clear that Ms. King did excellent research in order to craft this story.

There were a couple of typos/ things that needed fixing but they were few and very far between. There were also some references to Sherlock Holmes which should give pleasure to those familiar with either Ms King's Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series or the original Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes stories.

I don't think that this is the absolute best of Miss King's works but it is far above much of what is published. I definitely enjoyed reading it and I will be hoping for a sequel. That said, I am giving it four stars. I'd prefer four and a half, but that's not possible.

My thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and Ms. King herself for a free electronic copy of Back in the Garden.

This is the first time I've read this author and I greatly enjoyed this mystery.

The main character is a brilliant but socially stunted detective who is trying to find out all the victims of a serial killer. In the process of doing so, she stumbles on an unknown body from the 1970s.

The story alternates between time frames which adds some much needed nuance to the plot.

The characters are interesting, in particular the MC and her sister. I was left wanting more details about their background.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC.

While I typically enjoy Laurie R. King mysteries, ten percent of the way into this book, I knew this story wasn’t for me. I would happily attempt any King book again but I had to call it quits on this particular mystery.

If you're familiar with King's Russell series- this isn't it. But neither does it pretend to be. This is a solid, slightly gritty whodunnit with our trope battered Homicide Detective on the outs with her bosses. Relegated to the back of beyond, AKA the Cold Case department, Inspector Raquel Laing finds herself smack in the middle of a (very old) new mystery.

The story is split between today and and the late 60's into the 70's as we watch a family being first built and then destroyed. Somewhere in the cracks in between lies the truth waiting for Raquel to come along and tease it out.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought that it was an interesting concept and very well written. Was I enthralled? No, but it was still entertaining.

An interesting stand-alone mystery from this seasoned author. A skull is found beneath a crumbling sculpture on the Gardener Estate. It has been there since the estate's days as a hippy commune in the 70s. A detective investigates, believing the skull may have ties to a serial murder named the Highwayman that she has been investigating. I enjoyed the story both in the past and the present and was intrigued by the mystery.

This is a mystery and jumps around on the timeline between the past and present. The setting is a mansion, which is taken over by members of a counter-cultural movement (which is permitted by the sons who inherited the property). In the present day, an SFPD officer is investigating a mystery and attempting to link the remains of a female on the property with a serial killer she is already investigating. The story keeps you guessing and I was interested in it - I found the writing did not lag at all.

I love Laurie R. King’s voice. No matter how she pitches it to tell of Mary Russell or Kate Martinelli or, in this case, Raquel Laing, she speaks with an easy authority and clarity.

BACK TO THE GARDEN introduces Raquel Laing, a damaged cop whose prior sins have moved her out of active investigations and dropped her into the punishment of a cold-case team where her uncanny ability to read microscopic bodily cues of those she interviews is valued and needed if the team is to be successful in getting identification from a dying serial killer about the women he has killed.

Add in the complications of an attractive woman, an large estate in the process of recovering from its time as a hippie commune, ever-present inter-family jealousies, a sister who is a dark-web explorer, and a famous artist whose large statue of Eve covers the grave of an unknown person buried decades earlier, and all the ingredients for a Laurie R. King mystery are in place. Follow the narrative thread to its final outcome. You may be surprised but not disappointed.

I was so excited to get this book. The premise sounded so interesting! Unfortunately, it was not for me. It was slow and I was bored.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House-Ballantine for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review was made possible by an ARC from NetGalley and Random House.

This is another incredible page-turner from Laurie R. King. Like other readers, I started one day and couldn't put it down until I had finished it the following day!

The story is organized similarly to King's previous "Art of Detection," with "flashbacks" to a bay-area commune in the 1970's and back to the present, plus a tie-in to King's Kate Martinelli series. A body is found under a statue, and it falls to Inspector Laing to piece things together. Is the body yet another victim of a mass murderer known as "The Highwayman"? If so, who was it, and what led to their death?

As always, King's prose totally immersed me into the commune and the Gardener Estate. And kudos to King! Not only was I on the edge my seat, but the identity of the victim and the perpetrator was totally unexpected.

Will Inspector Raquel Laing become another of King's mystery and detective series? Time will tell!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group Ballantine for the free copy of Back to the Garden.
I have never read a book by Laurie R. King before but after reading Back to the Garden. I will be reading a lot more from King. I loved everything about this book from the garden to Raquel Laing. The pacing was perfection, the multiple povs immaculate and the back and forth from then and now was just fantastic.
I feel it had a little bit of everything romance, mystery, suspense and more.
We follow Inspector Raquel Laing try to solve the case of a pile of bones that is uncovered underneath a famous statue in a beautiful estate garden. Also see if this body seems to line up with the cold cases of the Highwayman, a notorious serial killer that has just been identified as active during the time the murder took place.
I loved this book so much and deep down really hope we get more stories with Raquel, Jen, Dee, and Al. I also will be getting a physical copy once it releases September 6, 2022.
I will post my review on amazon closer to the publication date.

Writing: 4/5 Plot: 5/5 Characters: 5/5

Loved this book — a complete page turner with engaging characters, a twisted plot, and a hippie commune backstory that I just loved. Raquel Laing is an unintentionally non-conforming behavioral investigator for the SFPD — working on an old serial killer case (The Highwayman) when a body is unearthed from beneath a giant statue on the Gardener Estate outside of Palo Alto, California. The statue was erected 50 years ago — could this be another of the Highwayman’s victims?

This is the perfect kind of mystery for me — character driven, never boring but also never stressful (except for a short bit at the end), and a plot and backstory that never allow my interest to flag. Plenty of interesting psychological details on all the characters — including the serial killer lying in a hospital bed. I read a few of Laurie King’s Mary Russell & Sherlock Holmes books a long time ago, but I didn’t like the premise (I don’t like books that add their own characters to existing fiction), but I liked this book so much I’m now planning on checking out her non Mary Russell books which look pretty interesting. This is a stand alone novel, though I do see opportunity for additional volumes!

A free copy of “ Back to the Garden” came to me through Net. Galley. My thanks to them, the publisher and the author for this fascinating crime thriller.
The use of the word “ fascinating” is wholly appropriate for a novel that I started one evening after dinner and finished the next day. The book was not exactly what I expected.- it was better. Yes there was a murder, a dogged cop, many possible suspects, and a painstaking investigation. But that is only barely adequate summing up for a story that delved deeply into personalities and passions.
San Francisco police Inspector. Raquel Laing is called to the Thaddeus Gardener Estate in the California hills, where human bones were discovered during a construction project. A sculpture in the garden was sinking on its base and needed to be reinforced and reset. When the base was dug out, a human jawbone turned up. Formerly the home of powerful Thaddeus Gardener , a fabulously wealthy, cold and commanding man who forcefully controlled his life and everyone in it died, the estate was left to his heirs, two grandsons , both of whom hated him. Upon his death, one received the news with, “Oh, the Old bastard finally died.” At the time of the novel, the estate grounds are used as a sort of conference center, tourist attraction , somewhat like other notable estates.
Inspector Laing soon finds that the murder may have links to other murders, but it most certainly is linked to the fact that the Estate was used as a commune back during the hippie 1970’s . When more bones are found , including a skull piece with long, blond hair , the investigation focuses on the women who lived in the commune.

One of the things liked about the book was that the Garden is the main character, if it can be called that, of the book. It’ is loved by the staff as an object of art, despised by others as a artifact of greed, seen by others as a haven form the outside world. Rob, the oldest of the two grandsons sees the place as burdened with unpleasant memories. His brother has long ago fled to India for life in an ashram. Through the patient searching of the estate archives, and using flashback chapters, that Insp. Laing and the reader learn about the flower children types who lived there all those years ago, and of the current management of the Estate. The reader also learns that along with that body, other things are buried there. Are the bones Meadow,’s, the beautiful blond acknowledged “ mother “ who coordinated the daily workings of the commune, whom Rob loved in an uncommitted , hippie way? Or was it one of the other women who were part of the group. If so, what turned a place known for freedom from society’s rules into to a murder ground?
The author gives the reader interesting , well written characters revealed as Inspector Laing turns the pages of the past. Interestingly, the inspector herself remains a bit of a mystery. She walks with a cane as a result of a recent injury that is never explained. She lives with her sister, and is aloof and withdrawn. There is a growing attraction between Her and the manger of the estate that seems promising, bit again, distant. So much to consider in a mystery novel about when the sipummer of leave turned to murder.
For a little mystery, there is a lot to enjoy about “ Back to the Garden” . I recommend it to all readers as time well spent.

WARNING: Profanity, swearing, and crude language, including f-bomb throughout the book. Procedural detective novel, not a cozy mystery! Rated R for language.

Racquel Laing is an inspector for the SFPD in California. She's assigned to Cold Case, and has some great skills. This case takes her to a genuine mansion where a body was found, buried the day following a hippy festival. Was it the work of a serial killer, or someone in the commune? And who is the victim?

While discovering the answers, Laing helps to identify several victims of a killer called the Highwayman, but the murder at the mansion has become her focus, and her continued unorthodox methods could put her job on the line.

This story, which jumps between "Then" and "Now" is complex enough to keep readers guessing, (although repetitive), and the question of murderer(s) is compelling. I felt the story was drawn out a little too long, and I didn't care about the police woman's dating interest--which we were supposed to, obviously--because it was another woman.

I enjoyed another book by this author, so I expected the same experience from this one. My real disappointment was the profanity and swearing, which was so frequent it couldn't be ignored, to the point that it was distracting in the story.

Reading this book took increasingly more effort to remain interested in the people and events, although I was still curious about the victim on the estate grounds. Sadly, despite the clever plot, I can honestly say I would have been happier to quit the book very early on, and imagine my own story.

2/5 Stars

Thanks to Bantam and Random House Publishing, and NetGalley, for the preview of this ebook; the review is voluntary.

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This is a slow burn detective novel. Although not one of her Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes novels, the parallels between Sherlock Holmes’ methods and Raquel’s are pretty similar. There’s the attention to small, almost minuscule details and observations which no one else can see. Others regard this as almost magical while she sees it as scientific. Then there’s her lack of social graces- she has to force herself to look for the ‘tells’ of others during exchanges then search for the appropriate social interaction required. The proper way to act is something she has to teach herself, in another scientific way.

The SFPD’s cold case officers found the Highwayman at about the same time construction crews unearth a body at the historic California estate/70’s commune. Raquel, with her special skills, is part of the investigative team and spends a great deal of time trying to figure out who, among the commune’s women, is the victim. And then to figure out who the killer is.

It is fascinating to watch the process unfold from the POV of multiple people switching from past to present. You know there will be some sort of bombshell- it is, after all, a book! But the solution is never simplistically foreshadowed so it keeps the reader captivated.

I love Laurie R. King novels and this one does not disappoint!

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley and Bantam.

I read this book almost in one sitting. A fabulous story and so well written.
Back to the Garden by Laurie R. King is skillfully written, absolutely excellent well-plotted mystery that kept me gripped to the page's.
A tremendous read, and I look forward to reading more of Kings work!

"I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Random House, Ballantine, Bantam:
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review to my platforms, blog, B&N and Waterstone closer to pub date.

This book was sent to me by Netgalley for review. This is an intriguing book with family dynamics. Friends and family. Love and romance. Intrigue and mystery. This author weaves a story that entertains. Although the story moves slowly, it does come to a resounding end. Not one of my favorites but give it a try.

Thank you Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of the newest book by Laurie R. King.

A new stand-alone from Laurie R. King is reason to celebrate. Back to the Garden is so perfect it's worth reading, and celebrating, twice.

Character driven, but full of delicious descriptive phrases about a mansion, its history, and the gardens surrounding it.

I love this book. Laurie King never disappoints, but sometimes she can still surprise us.