I received an e-galley of this book from the publisher to review for Library Journal. Please read my review in Library Journal.

Beautiful and atmospheric, I want this to be on the screen so I can see it come to life! It was exciting to read a historical fiction story whose MAIN focus wasn't WWII.

EXCERPT: 'So what is your theory, Inspector?' Liz asked. 'You must have handled cases as perplexing as this before.'
She was unprepared for the look of distress that crossed his face. 'I have,' he said. They paused waiting for him to say more. Then he took a deep breath. 'I was put on a similar case when I was a young copper in the war years. Actually, several cases. Three little girls. All from London being evacuated to the country. One was found, murdered, in a wood near the train line. But the other two simply vanished. Gone without a trace. It was wartime. Everything was chaotic, you know. People getting bombed, moving in with relatives, sending their kids to be evacuated. That's what these girls were you know. Sent off to be evacuated to the country, and that's the last their parents saw of them.'

ABOUT 'THE ROSE ARBOR': 1968. Liz Houghton is languishing as an obituary writer at a London newspaper when a young girl’s disappearance captivates the city. If Liz can break the story, it’s her way into the newsroom. She already has a source - her best friend, Marisa, is a police officer assigned to the case.

Liz follows Marisa to Dorset, where they make another disturbing discovery. Over two decades earlier, three girls disappeared while evacuating from London. One was found murdered in the woods near a train line. The other two were never seen again.

As Liz digs deeper, she finds herself drawn to the village of Tydeham, which was requisitioned by the military during the war and left in ruins. After all these years, what could possibly link the missing girls to this abandoned village? And why does a place Liz has never seen before seem so strangely familiar?

MY THOUGHTS: Written over a dual timeline - 1943 and 1968 - The Rose Arbor is an intriguing, multi-layered mystery that kept me absorbed throughout.

The author has based Tydeham on a real village on the south coast of England. 'A small, unimposing place, one main street, only a few residents - which is why it was chosen for invasion practice.' Imagine an abandoned village, the houses merely shells overgrown with creepers, a place where you can hear the wind whistle through the gaps in the buildings. A place that was once home to families, where the shouts and laughter of children rang out as they played; a place where people were content with their lives; a place where people had hopes and dreams which were shattered by their forced evacuation with only the possessions they could carry onto the trucks. A community left shattered and scattered, and not only physically.

Rhys Bowen has crafted a story full of mystery, suspense, strange coincidences and feelings of deja vu. The setting is eerie, the characters well rounded and diverse. Liz, particularly, is an excellent character. She is determined, resourceful and extremely adept at ignoring the orders of her superiors.

There are a number of surprises in The Rose Arbor that took my breath away - maybe one too many coincidences, but hey - it's fiction! This is my first book by Rhys Bowen. I was completely absorbed by this mystery and it won't be my last read by this author.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.2

#TheRoseArbor #NetGalley

THE AUTHOR: I was born and raised in England but currently divide my time between California and Arizona where I go to escape from the harsh California winters
When I am not writing I love to travel, sing, hike, play my Celtic harp.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Lake Union Publishing via NetGalley for providing a digital ARC of The Rose Arbor for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

I’ve never read a book which is historical but also has a mystery to it. This took me only few days to finish since it turned out engaging!! I usually don’t like the past and present point of views but this one is easy to follow. The twist is also surprising. Overall, I highly recommend!

"The Rose Arbor" by Rhys Bowen is a gripping historical mystery that weaves together the haunting tales of lost children, post-war Britain, and a journalist's quest for truth. This novel kept me enthralled to the point that I stayed up most of the night reading—an occurrence that rarely happens for me. But it does need a content warning for violence directed at children.

Set in London during 1968, the story follows Liz Houghton, an obituary writer, who seizes the chance to break back into the newsroom when a young girl's disappearance captivates the city. Liz's best friend Marisa, a police officer on the case, leads them to Dorset, where they unravel a mystery dating back to World War II. Three girls vanished during the Blitz evacuation, and their stories lead Liz to the requisitioned village of Tydeham, left in barricaded ruins after the war. As Liz delves into the past, she discovers connections that are both eerie and inexplicably familiar.

While the novel is expansive and ambitious, offering a captivating exploration of the war and postwar experiences in rural and urban England, there are moments where interactions felt rushed, particularly in Liz's scenes with James.
I am grateful to the publishers and NetGalley for providing the opportunity to read this ARC and offer an unbiased review.

I loved The Paris Assignment so I was very excited to receive an #arc from #netgalley. This book was so well done. I love historical fiction and there was clearly a lot of research and time put into this one. I thought that the mystery spin added to the book in the perfect way. The main character was great - I enjoyed her career, romance and personal growth and change throughout the book. I just wish that there were a little more details about her personal life, making it easier to connect with not just the story but with her personally. Overall, a really wonderful book that any fans of Historical Fiction should pickup.

Liz is a bored obituary writer in the '60's in London. With her roommate, a police officer, she finds herself looking into the case of a missing little girl in London. Along the way she uncovers the story of 3 missing girls from a town called Tydeham during WWII. Not only does she help unfold necessary details in the cases of all missing girls, but she discovers surprising details about her life as well.

Rhys Bowen has become a must read author for me!

Thank you Netgalley for my advanced reader copy.

I’ve read the entire Molly Murphy series by this author and thought I’d try something else of hers.
I’m glad I did. Ms. Bowen is an excellent storyteller. This book took us across a couple timelines yet it was all cohesive and easy to understand. I had no trouble following where and when we were. The mystery was intriguing. I’m hoping this is the start of another series. I really liked the characters Lizzie and her friend Marissa.
I received this book as an ARC and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you Netgalley, Rhys Bowen and Lake Union Publisher for the ebook! This was a crazy and wild mystery that unraveled thanks to a determined journalist trying to make it big. I really couldn't believe what she discovered and how it ended up being personal for her as well!

Thank you UplitReads and Rhys Bowen for my #gifted copy of The Rose Arbor! #RhysBowen #TheRoseArbor #uplitreadscampaign #lakeunionpublishing #lakeunionauthors

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐫
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐑𝐡𝐲𝐬 𝐁𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐧
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟔, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

𝟦.𝟧★

What. A. Page. Turner! Rhys Bowen has combined two of my favorite genres, to create a masterpiece with her latest historical suspense novel. This book was set up so well and I love how there were some twists infused throughout to keep me so invested. On top of that, there was a hint of romance which I thought was such a perfect added element. Bowen is such a talented author and this book was perfectly crafted like her other books. You are in for a real treat with this one and I guarantee you will not be able to turn the pages quickly enough!

Posted on Goodreads on August 7, 2024: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144922955?ref=nav_profile_l
**Posted on Instagram - Full Review- on or around August 8, 2024: http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
**Posted on Amazon on August 7, 2024
**-will post on designated date

Interesting tale told in two time frames; WWII and 1968. Based on a real town that was practice bait.

A small town with a manor house on a cliff, beside the ocean is chosen by England for a practice site for D-Day. The townspeople rent their land so they aren't compensated. The owners of the manor house were told that their house wouldn't be damaged, but the entire site needed to be packed and out within 2 week.

1968, two women, both in "mens' jobs" are investigating the disappearance of a young girl. One is a reporter, currently stuck in the obituary department and the other is in policing. The lead detective remembers the cases of 3 missing girls from WWII when people were sending their children on trains, hopeful that temporary homes could be found for the children.

As Liz and her roommate. Marissa, they find similarities, but there may not be any connection. They travel to the destroyed town, Liz has a couple of flashback memories that indicate that she had been there before the town was destroyed.

This is a story of perseverance and creative follow up with both Liz and Marissa contributing to solving some mysteries. I enjoyed it a great deal, as I've enjoyed other books by Rhys Bowen.

I love to read stories about the war time and how common people lived extraordinary lives. Liz is an intrepid young journalist who gets involved in the search for a little girl who has been kidnapped in 1968 during which she also learns about three other girls who disappeared during WWII and believes that the cases might have a connection. Little does she know that this search will bring recognition for her work but also great pain. The Rose Arbor mingles historic facts with fiction and the result is a very entertaining and emotional story. Loved it!
I thank the author, her publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.

I've enjoyed Bowen's cozy mysteries and her standalone historical fiction and this was a lovely mix of both! At the beginning we start in the little village of Tydeham right before it is evaculated for use in the war effort. I deeply sympatized with the characters as they faced being suddenly upended out of their homes as they also deal with all the chaos or the war in general.
25 years later we meet Liz who after a failed attempt to break a big story is booted down to obituaries and her career is hanging by a thread. She jumps at the chance to follow her friend Marisa, a police detective, to track down a lead on the most important kidnapping case in the news.

I was quickly pulled into this one. I love a historical mystery and this one is not only historical but is looking into a potential wartime mystery which is so many of my favorite things in one. There are also past and present day missing person cases and so many threads and stories for the characters to sift through.

I liked Liz and her drive to find out what happened as well as her confusion with what everyone around her is telling her. I found the story and pacing compelling and while I had several theories of waht was happening I wasn't fully sure until the very end. I've read a number of books by this author but have been neglecting her standalones. I won't be making that mistake in future!

Rhys Bowen’s “The Rose Arbor” is a standalone mystery featuring reporter Liz Houghton who has been relegated to the obituary section of the newspaper. This, of course, happened after she uncovered a government scandal and her work was quickly sent to the trash bin to protect the guilty. Liz is looking for her next big break and thinks she has it in the story of a missing girl in 1960s London. But then she learns about missing girls from World War II, when she was a very young child. Are the cases similar? Can she solve the mystery in time to save Little Lucy?

This book has mysteries within mysteries and questions within questions. When Liz has a strange flashback she fears that her own story is somehow connected to those of the missing girls from across two decades. This is a story with more twists than a corkscrew!

“The Rose Arbor” is engaging and keeps the reader wondering “what’s the REAL story here.” I enjoyed the complex characters who often make morally gray choices in the name of the greater good. Rhys Bowen has done it again with another page-turner!

This story is great for those who like historical mysteries and a bit of slow burn romance.

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

🌹 This book offers a mix of historical fiction and mystery, for an overall enjoyable, and engrossing read. Thanks to @authorrhysbowen and @uplitreads for my #giftedcopy. It’s out today!

🌹 This story starts in 1960’s, post WWII London. A disgraced journalist jumps on the story of a missing girl, only to discovery there are similar cases that happened during the war, that are still unsolved.

🌹 There’s a lot of red herrings in this one— which as a reader— keep you on your toes! It’s fun to try to figure things out along the way, alongside the MC. I also enjoyed the historical background you get out of the story.

🌹 My one complaint is there’s a lot of build up, and quite a windy path, to a very sudden end. While it stretched the believability of the MC’s talents a bit— it didn’t ruin the experience. I’d definitely recommend this to anyone whose interests may be piqued by what I’ve said here! And can we take just a minute for this cover?! Both the dust jacket and the book itself are 😍😍😍

The Rose Arbor by Rhys Bowen is a Post-World War II story outlining the confusion that reigned in England during and after the war. I tells the story of a hamlet, Tyneham, and it’s manor house that were requisitioned by the crown military as a place to rehearse the invasion in Normandy. None of them were given a choice and the move-out was hurried and inadequate. The manor house was to be spared but it’s inhabitants were moved as well. Much had to be left behind as they were moved from a mansion to a cottage. The whole place was destroyed, despite promises made and no compensation. Liz Houghton, a disgraced reporter accompanied her roommate, a police officer and her partner to hunt for a missing little girl who might have been spotted nearby. No little girl but Liz had flashes of being there earlier in her life. When she returned alone to search more carefully, she met the son of the owner of the manor house who was there salvaging. Then she had a vision that horrified her. She saw a woman being buried right there under the rose arbor. They went to the police and eventually the skeleton of a woman was found, but couldn’t be identified. The are so many subplots in this novel that they can’t be explained in a summary. Please, read the book. You won’t be sorry.

This book was so carefully plotted it is almost mind-boggling. Bowen was kept busy keeping all the balls in the air. It was a complex story with may moving parts, told by a master story teller. The main characters were well-fleshed out and interesting, with back stories that rounded out the personalities. It was extremely readable and interesting. I can’t say enough about how much I liked this book. Thanks, Rhys Bowen, for this lovely book!

I was invited to read The Rose Arbor by Lake Union Publishing. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #LakeUnionPublishing #RhysBowen #TheRoseArbor

1943 - the inhabitants of the small village of Tydeham are informed by the army that it has been chosen for invasion drills which will include the use of live ammunition. They have two weeks to vacate the village.

1968 - Liz Houghton is a reporter for the Daily Express in London but after uncovering a political scandal regarding a politician friend of the paper’s owner, she has been relegated to Obituaries. When her flat mate, Marissa, a member of the police is assigned to follow a lead on a missing child case, a little girl named Lucy, near the abandoned village, Liz decides to skip work and tag along, hoping it will lead to a scoop that will get her out of obits and back as a real reporter. Along the way, Marissa’s partner discusses an earlier but similar case of his regarding three little girls who went missing during the war years. The body of one was found but the other two still remain missing. The lead about Lucy turns out to be a dead end but Liz decides to remain in the area and do her own investigation of the earlier case. While in the abandoned village, she starts having strong feelings that she was here in this village before including the belief she witnessed a body being buried near the manor house. Except she was only a toddler in 1943 and her parents tell her they were never in the area.

The Rose Arbor is the latest historical mystery by author Rhys Bowen and it was one heck of a page turner. Although most of the story takes place in 1968, Bowen’s description of life in 1943 was fascinating especially the requisition by the army of an entire village which was actually based on a real place and the evacuation of children to the countryside and the anxiety, chaos, and confusion this created.

Bowen is a master of dropping clues and breadcrumbs, giving the reader plenty to follow to keep them engaged. The characters are all well drawn and I particularly enjoyed the relationship between Liz and Marissa. The story does, at times, seem to deviate into too many side forays and, at others, stretched my willing suspension of disbelief almost to the breaking point but, in the end, Bowen brings it all together for a satisfying ending and provides an entertaining and compelling tale that kept my attention throughout.

Thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

The Rose Arbor is anamazing book which blends historical fiction and mystery in a superbly executed dual timeline tale. I cannot believe this is the first book I have read by this author. She completely wowed me!

Liz is a newspaper reporter in London, and she follows her investigative hunches to help find a missing little girl. With her roommate Marissa who is a police officer, they find links to 3 girls who disappeared in WWII. While trying to solve these cases, Liz stumbles upon some secrets from her own life that she must resolve as well. She is lead to a deserted village that was ruined during the war and that is an actual village called Tydeham.

The Rose Arbor by Rhys Bowen was an outstanding story!
I loved the mystery which kept me glued to the pages.
Along with the romance, secrets and family made for a very entertaining read.

I’m a great fan of this author and this book was as good as anything else she has written. She writes with realism and such descriptions that with a few words she tell you a lot. Loved it.