Laurie King is best known for her Russell and Holmes historical mysteries, but her new book, Back to the Garden, is set in present time.

Jen Bachus is the manager of the Gardener Estate. The estate hosts tours and events, and has a wonderful archive of materials from the historical uses of the estate - as a home, then as a commune during the 1970s, and now as a historical site. When a large statue in the garden needs repairs and is moved, they find bones buried beneath the statue.

Raquel Laing is a police detective sent to investigate the death. She is part of a cold case group who is looking into the serial killer called The Highwayman. Because of the similarities of this death to his other victims and burying grounds, she wants to know if this just-discovered body is one of his kills.

The story goes back and forth from the present to the past, uncovering the story of the Gardener family, the commune, and the fateful Midsummer Eves party, after which the commune fell apart and the body was buried in the hole before the concrete was poured for the statue.

King is a wonderful writer, and has created a wonderfully complex mystery in Back to the Garden. Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy.

I've been a big fan of Laurie R. King since the first Kate Martinelle book I picked up.
Then I read 'The Bee Keepers Apprentice' and was instantly hooked. And, while I absolutely adore the Russell/Holmes novels, it's nice to see Ms. King's not abandoned her penchant for intriguing characters and gripping whodunnits that are NOT Russell/Holmes.

'Back to the Garden' is (at the moment) a standalone novel like 'Touchstone' and 'Folly'.
It dances forward and back from the present to the far past of the Gardner Estate. A grand house in the rolling Central California hills that, in our real world is on a par with Biltmore or the Hearst Estate. (Willam Randolph actually makes a momentary appearance here.) And, the last of the Gardner line to inherit the estate, Rob & Fort Gardner.

Neither man had an easy childhood. Their father died young and his ailing wife and the boys were fetched home from New Jersey to the Estate where the boys were kept under the thumb of their overbearing Grandfather Thaddeus and Great-grandmother Maude. Each refused to buckle under and escaped as soon as they could. The eldest. Fort joined an ashram in India and was swiftly dis-inherited. Rob joined up and went to Vietnam. After quarreling with the old man after his return, he also left. Wandering aimlessly until he washed up in a struggling commune in Oregon.

In the present day the estate is in a trust and ran much like Biltmore. Open for tours, rentals for weddings in the expansive gardens, etc... But in the act of maintaining one of the sculptures a gruesome discovery of buried remains are found beneath it. Bringing in Homicide Detective Investigator Raquel Laing. She's involved in the case of a recently caught serial killer named 'The Highwayman' and desperately attempting to find all of his victims before he dies of cancer. The remains in under the statue could possibly be one of his victims. If she can connect them.

I'm really, REALLY intrigued by the characters of Raquel Laing, her mentor Al and sister Dee. There are most definitely other stories there and i'm really hoping for new books delving into Raquel and Dee's past, present and future.

The whodunnit is twisty and will make one think they know several times. The serial killer is suitably terrible. I absolutely loved the present day staff of the Gardner Estate and was fascinated by it's short term in the 70's as a commune called the Commons.

Really, it was an excellent, intriguing read that I swept thru in 2 days. Highly recommend!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I really like this author’s Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes books. This is the first book of hers I’ve read that wasn’t part of that series.
There’s two mysteries going on in this book, one is a body found in cement. The other is cold cases involving a serial killer. Inspector Raquel gets tied up in both.
I was surprised by parts of the story. I did think it dragged a bit in spots. I thought it was just ok and think I will just stick to her Mary Russell series.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

"Back to the Garden" is an excellent mystery centered around a magnificent California estate. I loved the way that the history of the house and gardens--and the Gardener family who owned it for over a century--was woven through the story. The tale is centered predominantly through two periods: the present, when the estate is run as a museum, and the 1970s, when it was a hippie commune. When a statue on the grounds is in danger of falling over in the present, 50-year-old bones are discovered beneath the concrete base. The police inspector investigating the cold case unearths the intriguing story of the estate's commune days in an effort to discover the identity of the body, and if it is connected to a serial rapist/murderer from that era. I was fascinated by the very different ways in which the estate is presented in the two timelines, and the people who populated it in each (especially those who appear in both periods). This is an engaging mystery with interesting characters and a fascinating psychological/sociological exploration of them--a great read overall! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

I love King's Mary Russell so I was ecstatic at a new release, albeit an altogether different standalone.
"Altogether different" is an understatement.
It didn't have nearly the same excitement and feel as the others I have read from King and I found it difficult to keep focused with the time jumps and to care about what was happening.
It's possible that I just have too much going on right now and that at a less hectic time I would dive right in and devour it.
If that ever happens I'll come back and adjust accordingly.

Having grown up in the 70”s, I am familiar with reading the headlines from the rash of serial killers preying on young women, mostly hitchhiking and of the hippie / commune lifestyle. As the author used the aspect of floating back and forth between “then and now”, this helped to learn the background stories and facilitate the mystery. In the garden of the Gardner Estate, bones were unearthed beneath a statue, opening up a possible connection to a decades old cold-case of a possible serial killer, the highwayman. Inspector Raquel Laing is part of the SFPD cold case unit that operates off the grid using non-traditional methods to solve cases. While really on suspended medical leave, Raquel is sent to investigate the bones, with the help of her sister. Why was she in this suspended medical leave? We are left wondering what happened to Raquel and allusions to her sketchy background and her sister’s connection. Raquel gets more than she bargained for at the Gardener Estate when she meets Jen, the estate manager and feels a deep connection with her. She learns that this was once a hippie commune and the owner is still on site living like a hermit away from the mansion. Investigating the bones and learning the history becomes an obsession for Raquel even as she puts her job on the line. So many twists and turns and just darn right creepiness that you expect in a serial murder investigation, you will not expect the outcome of this story. Great storytelling by the author. The characters are well developed although some of the plot line was a bit rushed. Overall, a good mystery but not very suspenseful.

Many thanks to #netgalley #backinthegarden #laurieking #randomhousepublishinggroup for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This story was an absolute delight to read! The way the author would flip back and forth between the past and present was seamless and incredibly easy to follow, and added so much character to the story! The author made it so easy to fully picture the scenes and to get lost in the world. There were plot twists that I didn't see coming that I adored! Loved it!

A magnificent house, vast formal gardens, a golden family that shaped California, and a colorful past filled with now-famous artists: the Gardener Estate was a twentieth-century Eden.

And now, just as the Estate is preparing to move into a new future, restoration work on some of its art digs up a grim relic of the home's past: a human skull, hidden away for decades.

Inspector Raquel Laing has her work cut out for her. Fifty years ago, the Estate's young heir, Rob Gardener, turned his palatial home into a counterculture commune of peace, love, and equality. But that was also a time when serial killers preyed on innocents--monsters like The Highwayman, whose case has just surged back into the public eye.

Could the skull belong to one of his victims?

To Raquel--a woman who knows all about colorful pasts--the bones clearly seem linked to The Highwayman. But as she dives into the Estate's archives to look for signs of his presence, what she unearths begins to take on a dark reality all of its own.

Everything she finds keeps bringing her back to Rob Gardener himself. While he might be a gray-haired recluse now, back then he was a troubled young Vietnam vet whose girlfriend vanished after a midsummer festival at the Estate.

But a lot of people seem to have disappeared from the Gardener Estate that summer when the commune mysteriously fell apart: a young woman, her child, and Rob's brother, Fort.

The pressure is on, and Raquel needs to solve this case--before The Highwayman slips away, or another Gardener vanishes. (Goodreads synopsis)

I love Laurie R King, especially the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series.

This is a dual time-line. Readers follow Inspector Raquel Laing in “present day”, and as she follows the evidence, readers are transported to the 1970’s when the hippie commune lived at the Gardner Estate. This literary theme makes the pages turn faster, in my opinion, because I wanted to know more. I wanted to know more about the lives in 1970, but also what Raquel did with the information.

I felt this was different from the Mary Russell series, because the inspector and the reader weren’t trying to find a killer. Instead, they were trying to find the victims. I enjoyed Raquel’s insights, her relationship with Al and sister Dee, but also her tangled thoughts about people at the Gardner Estate. The twist at the end, though, took me off guard, but made the novel much more intriguing.

Overall I rate this novel 5 out of 5 stars.

I've seen Laurie's books but this was my first read. Great story, wonderful character development, seamlessly going from past to current. Enjoyed this and didn't guess the ending. Anxious to read her other books!

I enjoyed the "now" and "then" back and forth used by the author to interest the reader and develop this captivating story. What really happened when the Mansion was a Hippie Commune? Whose bones are they? I loved reading about this historical era. I am a huge fan of her Russell & Holmes series. The same sharp writing seen there continues in this book. Thumbs up!

4 stars- I simply couldn't get enough. thank you so much to the publisher and netgalley for the arc!

My first King book, and I enjoyed this one. It started a bit slow, picked up nicely, but then the ending felt rushed.

It’s centered around bones unearthed beneath a loose statue placed in the 70s on the grounds of a mansion-turned-commune-turned-tourist destination in San Francisco. With similar evidence, could they be linked to the Highway Man serial killer who has been arrested but is on his deathbed (he’s old!)?

The story is told in a dual timeline, the 70s era and modern day. The mansion had been turned into a hippie commune in the 70s and as the date of the installation of the statue is known, it serves to provide both a timeline and possible suspects in the case.

SFPD’s Inspector Raquel Laing is working some cold cases when the bones are discovered and finds a possible link to the Highway Man.

I actually enjoyed the 70s story more as there were some interesting characters from the commune, and the cultural backdrop was very “cool”. As I mentioned, there was a very quick wrap-up, but otherwise a good book.

Thanks to the author, NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine/Bantam for providing the free early arc for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

Fascinating stand alone from the author of the Mary Russell mysteries. A rather terrifying statue by a famous sculpture falls on a vast California estate, now a museum, revealing a skeleton. Clearly a murder victim, Inspector Raquel Laing is called in to lead the investigation. The burial follows the pattern of a serial killer now dying of cancer and Raquel is focused on finding as many of his victims as possible before he dies. This estate looms large in the story, from the days of Hollywood glory when famous studio actors would retreat there, to the days as a 1970s commune led by an heir, now a recluse. The statue was placed under the statue during those commune days. As Raquel investigates, the commune and all who lived there come to life. Intricate plot,, fully realized characters, stunning setting, and deft storytelling lead to a very satisfactory read.

If you want a plot synopsis, look at the back of the book. Laurie Kings writing is immaculate as always in Back to the Garden. Even though it comes off as pretentious. I felt as though I was supposed to know every reference in this make believe world, and was made to feel a little stupid for not knowing them, which is the opposite of a good time. I truly liked the dynamic between the curator and the cop, but that seemed to be the vibe "oh you don't know blah blah blah how uncultured" it felt like a rerun of Frasier. The flashbacks were a little tedious and lacking a bit of fun. It's not a bad book by any means, I just wanted to enjoy it more than I did. Laurie R King has been my favorite author since I was 20, so this was a disappointment.

I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys having over explained scenes or the television show Vera.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early read of Back to the Garden by Laurie King.

Inspector Raquel Laing is part of team investigating The Highwayman, a serial killer from fifty years ago - a cold case that has just become red hot. The suspect, caught by the merest chance, is on his death bed and the team is in a race to get as much information about his crimes as they can before it is too late. Raquel, a bit obsessed with the case, hopes to bring closure to the victim;s families. Meanwhile, a new body is unearthed at the famous Gardener Estate. The circumstances are close enough to the The Highwayman's trademarks that Raquel is sent to investigate. What starts as a straightforward query quickly becomes more complicated as Raquel learns about the history of the house, and the brief time in the late 1970's when it became The Commons, a commune run in part by the heir Rob Gardener. How these two cases are connected is the central mystery here, but to me, the main appeal was the glimpse back in time to the commune and the people who inhabited it. The narrative goes back and forth between the investigation and the house's history, with each foray into the past bringing Raquel closer to the answers. I liked the character of Raquel. Her backstory is intriguing - and there is just enough missing information to make me hope that we will see her again. If you like Susie Steiner, Jane Casey, or Sharon Bolton, then you would also like this new Laurie King.

Laurie King is best known for her continuation of Sherlock Holmes adventures (with a new partner). But here she presents a modern mystery set in the US. The author is as good with the modern world, as with the yesteryear London, giving us a compelling mystery and an engaiging heroine. Hopefully, there will be more mysteries to come.

Laurie R. King debuts a modern mystery in her new novel. Detective Raquel Laing is working on a cold case serial killer from the 1970s. The methodical way that King has her protagonist work through each step of solving the case is well done. The skills that she uses to write her Sherlock Holmes/Mary Russell stories is on display. The one area of improvement would be the background of the protagonist. The detective seems to be in a holding pattern with the San Francisco PD and uses a cane due to an injury to her leg. There is little to no explanation about previously happened to the detective, how her leg was injured and why she is on leave from SFPD. There is also references to some shadowy connections to the detective's sister whom she lives with but no specifics. To a reader interested in the characters' details this particularly frustrating and acts as a nagging tooth ache that detracts from the reader's experience. It is otherwise a well written story just not on the level that one expects from Laurie R. King.

While this is grimmer in tone than many of King's books, Back to the Garden is a tightly woven, beautifully written mystery with a hint of thriller. The scenery is the belle of the ball here, with amazing descriptions of a stately old mansion turned commune in the 70s. I believe this is meant to be a standalone book but the detective and her sister are intriguing enough characters that I hope they return someday.

I mean, it's Laurie R. King, so this would have to have something spectacularly wrong with it to outweigh the guaranteed wonderful writing. And I don't think I could find a thing wrong with this book.

It all starts with a statue being moved, and bones being found under it. Human bones, of course. "The day had been going so well, until the bones turned up." Whose are they? How did they get there? Who put them there? It's a very cold case, and it lands in the hands of Inspector Raquel Laing.

She's a wonderful character. It felt as though she's been around forever, and this was just another installment in her case files. I wish it was. Any time Ms. King wants to explore more of her investigations, I'm there. She has a fascinating back story, told beautifully - and I loved her sister, too.

Through rabbit holes and red herrings and serial killers and all manner of other livestock, the story winds back and forth to knit together the past and the present of the great estate on which the bones have been found, on which a long-ago murder happened. The past is the bright-colored 70's, when hair was long and living was communal, and selling out was the ultimate evil. And the present is filled with people who really don't want to talk about the past ...

Just writing about the book makes me want to pick it up and start over.

received an advance copy of Back to the Garden by Laurie King a couple of months ago and I finally finished it last night. (It’s been busy around here!)

I love a good mystery and this was good. Full disclosure- it took me a while to get into it. It seemed rather slow in the beginning and I kept putting the book down and getting distracted. I kept at it though and after a couple of chapters, I was hooked. (So, if you find this slow…keep going!)

The book goes back and forth from the 1970’s to present day. In 1975 the young heir to the Gardener Estate establishes a commune on the grounds. In the present, the estate is run by a trust and open to the public. When one of the art works in the garden, a statue, needs restoration work, they discover a body buried beneath it.

The main character is a police inspector who is investigating a serial killer who was active during the time period. She’s an intriguing character, very likable, and the supporting characters are as well.

There’s a few surprises throughout the story and, once I got past the first couple of slow chapters, I found it a very enjoyable read. I’m giving it 4 stars- because it was a bit slow in the beginning.

Back to the Garden will be out September 6, 2022.