An unusual contemporary mystery with friendship drama.

All the families live close to each other in a community that surrounds a huge park with hidden gardens and paths. The children run free in the green space and in and out of each others' homes with ease. It happens on a warm summer night during the annual Virginia Park Tombola. One of the children, 13-year-old Grace, is found by the rose garden gate in a coma with her clothes in disarray.

This was a slow burner that built up in perfectly paced storytelling that creates tension and suspense as everyone tries to figure out what happened to Grace and who was responsible. The novel is told in alternating points of view between the various characters -- women and children -- who live in apartments and homes around the park. Hints, secrets, lies, lots of domestic situations and concerns kept me guessing. I was hoping to believe the best of all of the friends - both the adults and the teenagers -- and many red herrings dangled to keep me on edge. The characters were multi-faceted and intriguing. I found the climax and conclusion quite satisfying and a bit surprising.

I listened to the audiobook while following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. I really liked the narrator - she did an excellent job voicing all the characters and her tone and dramatic flair enhanced the experience. I'd recommend this one.

Thanks so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for giving me access to this book. My one of my favorite genres psychological thriller with family drama mixed in. This is a great read. Our patrons are always seeking psychological thrillers - Lisa Jewell proves herself with each novel she writes. Strong recommend from me.

Complex relationships and secrets in an idyllic suburban community create another twisty, tense domestic suspense from Lisa Jewell. Fans of her work already love the slow-building tension and dramatic secrets, recommended for any readers of suspense fiction.

I was excited to read this story because I really
I’ove this author , however this one at the end of the day this one
Was just okay.

I was expecting a big suspenseful story about death. What I got was a meandering story about a girl killed in the garden cold case and a story about what happened to a girl found in the garden in a coma. The story's pacing was ok, but it barely held my attention. I felt that the depiction of childhood longing and children's simplistic reasoning was accurate. I just wish there was just more meat to the story or a little more action.

I Received this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the setting of this book. The little family, mom and 2 girls move to a flat with a small yard , that opens into a park. Surrounding the park are other homes that "share" the space. It's a really neat idea that I could see really leading to problems when raising a family.
All of the dynamics of this book were really well played out. All of the different types of people, with different family dynamics all sort of living with each other, sort of communal style. And then the inevitable happens and a young girl is found unconscious. Who done it? I liked the path this story followed, it was easy to keep track of characters and come up with a list of guilty suspects. My only disappointment was that it was a bit predictable. Still and all, a good story and one that will stick in my head for a while.

Recommended to fans of Psychological thrillers, crime and Contemporary lit.

In need of refuge after a family tragedy, Clare and her two pre-teen daughters, Pip and Grace, move into a central London flat that backs onto a walled communal park. It’s not long before the girls make friends with some of the other children in the community, notably homeschooled sisters Catkin, Willow and Fern, neglected wild child Taylor, and the handsome Dylan, but the girls presence unwittingly upsets the delicate balance of the insular group.

The narrative of The Girls in The Garden is divided into four sections. It begins with a shocking incident on midsummers eve, then leaps back several months to relate earlier events in ‘Before’, leading to the immediate aftermath in ‘After’, with an additional epilogue set ten months later. It’s an effective format that piques the reader’s interest from the outset, however though we learn how, and why, Grace was attacked, to me the story ultimately felt unresolved. I think this is due to what I felt was a lack of consequences for all those involved.

Themes Jewell explores in the story includes mental illness, contrasting parenting styles, the illusion of safety, and the dynamics of group behaviour. The setting of the private community was an inspired choice, providing the ideal backdrop for the author to delve into these issues.

It’s commonly accepted to be difficult to authentically portray children in novels. To be fair they are often contradictory creatures, and ‘tweenagers’ are particularly mercurial. I thought Jewell captured the personalities of the quite adolescents well in The Girls in the Garden, however the contradictions in Pip’s character didn’t quite work for me. I just didn’t believe she had the sophistication necessary to interpret the undercurrents of motive and emotion in the story in the manner in which she did.

Though it has its flaws, I did quite enjoy The Girls in the Garden. It was a quick read, that I found thought provoking and suspenseful.

Thank You for the opportunity to review this book. Sorry, I attempted to read this book. However, I couldn't get in to it. So, I was unable to finish reading and reviewing it.

I hate to say I was expecting more from this one. The beginning was okay for me. I usually prefer Mystery/Suspense novels to have a good start that hook me one. Unfortunately, this one was just completely slow and I already knew where it was going. The ending was another disappointment, sadly. The characters such as the neighbors, on the other hand, were what caught my attention. There were all very different and unique in their own way.

It was an okay story. I wish it had had more build-up, more of that mystery feel to it.

I thought that this was a good book overall. I have heard great things about Lisa Jewell's writing and decided to give her work a try with this book. For some reason I never seemed to be able to fit this book into my reading schedule so I decided to listen to the audiobook. While I didn't love the book, I did enjoy the hours that I spent listening to it.

This book takes place with a community garden at its center. Families have grown up around this garden where children have been free to play and watch out for each other. This book does have a rather large cast of characters and we hear from several main points of view. Pip is a new resident and doesn't seem to fit in quite like her older sister, Grace. Adele has lived in the community for a long time and is the mother of some of the girls that Grace has become friends with. Clare is Pip and Grace's mother and has recently had some major life changes and is trying to find her way.

The book opens with Grace being found after an attack then goes back to the events that lead up to that moment. Despite the fact that I knew there would be some excitement, I found that the book seemed to move pretty slowly. There were a lot of characters and I never really connected with any of them very well. There were a lot of side stories that were interesting but never seemed to take the book to the next level for me.

I believe that this was the first time that I have listened to Colleen Prendergast's narration. I thought that she did a good job with the story overall. There were a few times that it took me a moment to determine which character's point of view the book had moved to. I did think that she had a nice quality to her reading voice and it was easy to listen to this book for hours at a time.

I would recommend this book to others. This wasn't a favorite for me but it was a quality story that did keep me guessing. I definitely plan to read more of Lisa Jewell's work in the future.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Atria Books via NetGalley and borrowed a copy of the audiobook from the library via Hoopla.

3.5, decent psychological thriller, but I wanted a better ending and resolution to the mystery of who attacked Grace. Overall it seemed like there were some loose ends not tied up. And it was just implausible to me that this was a group of 12/13 year olds. Maybe 16/17 year olds? It would have fit so much better and been a little more believable.

I enjoyed this book. I thought the setting was excellent. It kept me guessing and held my interest. I would recommend for a friend.

Dramatic characters and lots of plot turns make this an interesting read!

This is my second book by Lisa Jewell, and the second time I've been pulled into caring about characters and families that feel quite real, for all that the novels' plots rely on unusual domestic situations.

In The Girls in the Garden, Jewell's characters give voice to a great number of concerns, including coming-of-age, parenthood, mental illness, young love, toxic relationships. None of this is very deep, mind, but it's all there. Jewell's adult characters are only just slightly more fleshed out than her teenage ones, simply by virtue of their having had more years to accumulate life experience. The teens are given an impressive amount of shrift. The titular "girls" refers to the teens but also to their mothers and other adult women, who after all were once girls themselves and in some cases may yet still have some growing up to do, or at least some serious self-reflection.

The novel is set in London, but could have been set in any number of big cities, at least any in which once can imagine the "communal garden" scenario. I would have preferred a more specific sense of London as place, but other readers might appreciate the vagueness.

The whodunit story here is kind of disappointing, mainly because it was fairly obvious to me from early on. I have seen this culprit idea in other books. So, I stayed in it for the characters. And I will very likely do the same for more of Jewell's books.

Clare feels like she has moved her daughters to a safe apartment, but all is not as it seems. There are some dark secrets hidden here. This one had some quirky and unusual characters, some that I liked. The storyline kept my interest.

Excellent murder mystery about the secrets families keep and the destruction when you trust the wrong person.

The Girls in the Garden is another example of a review request heavily influenced by the beautiful cover.  I am a big time sucker for any type of nature (trees, flowers, gardens, jungles, forests, etc.) on a book cover.  I just can’t help myself.  Would you just look at it?After I quit drooling over the cover, I took a glance at the book description and saw the buzz words “dark secrets,” “devastating mystery,” and “communal garden.”   I was sold!

If you have followed me for a while, you know that thriller novels are not my go-to books, actually I often struggle with them for various reasons (predictability, unbelievable, pacing, etc) I keep throwing them into the mix in the hopes that I will come across a book (or author) that changes my mind.   I am happy to report that I think Lisa Jewell has shown me that there are thriller/suspense books out there that I do enjoy.

The Girls in the Garden opens to a shocking scene: a 13-year-old girl is found unconscious with her clothing askew in a secluded spot in a community park.  What has happened to her?  Who would do this?   In The Girls in the Garden we learn about “the incident” first, then go back in time leading up to the incident, gathering bits and pieces along the way until the entire picture becomes clear.  I actually really enjoy this method because instead of trying to figure out the “what,” we know the details and are more focused on the “who” & the “why.”

Told through alternating perspectives of Pip, Adele, & Clare, we slowly go through the events leading up to the assault against 13-year-old Grace.  I think Jewell made a good move in selecting which characters POVs to include: Adele, the mother of the sisters that Grace has befriended; Clare, Grace’s mom; and Pip, Grace’s little sister.   Adele is the mother that seems to have it all together.  She has a beautiful home, the perfect husband, homeschools her daughters, entertains, & gives her daughters a bit more freedom… but is everything as perfect as it seems?  Clare is trying to pick up the pieces after a tragedy that causes an estrangement from her husband & moves her daughters into a brand new community.  Clare is settling into her new role as a single parent, while watching her oldest daughter mature into a teenager in the blink of an eye.  Clare is struggling with loneliness & questions all of her parenting decisions.  Is Grace’s attack her fault?  Could she have prevented it?  Pip is struggling with missing her Dad & adjusting to her new life in her new surroundings.  Pip’s perspective was an excellent addition because despite the fact that she is an outsider of the clique of teens who roam the gardens, her perspective shows us some of the antics that the teens get into.  Are they all really as innocent as they seem?   Each perspective gives us access to different key players and events leading up to the attack, allowing the pieces of this puzzle to slowly fall into place. I thought the characters were all very well done.  They were flawed and all made very questionable decisions at times, but this gave them a more authentic feel.  

It is no secret that I love novels set in “small town America,” so it is no surprise that I enjoyed the setting in this book: the residential community that shares a common area (the garden/park).  There is just something about people living close together that breeds drama & secrets.  This also gave another layer to the mystery: Was the culprit someone living within the community?  Was this the work of someone from the outside?  How could this happen in our safe community?

While the main storyline is about figuring out the “who” and the “why” of the attack on Grace, there are a few subplots as well.  Jewell introduces all kinds of characters & events to throw the reader off the trail.  You will find yourself forming theories surrounding the attack, but which one will it end up being?  That is, if you guess the culprit or motivation at all…  I thought Jewell did a great job of holding my attention the entire time, BUT I wouldn’t classify this as an action-packed thriller either.  This was more of a slower paced mystery that focuses more on the drama of communal living, so if you are expecting a more faster paced “edge of your seat” read, this is not going to be it.  This is very much more of a slow burn mystery.

The conclusion wasn’t exactly a huge shocker, BUT it was definitely more involved and complicated then I was anticipating.  Typically I don’t like when the author leaves things unresolved, but Jewell does leave a few things up in the air in The Girls in the Garden, however I think it worked well here.  It gave just the right amount of open-endedness to the story without making the story feel unresolved or incomplete.  Overall, the ending was satisfying and just seemed to fit the novel perfectly.

I think the best part of The Girls in the Garden was the fact that it is so believable, I wouldn’t have been surprised if I had heard this story on the news in real life.   This factor is what I appreciate the most in thriller/suspense books, it also makes them more terrifying than the farfetched books…

Girls in the Garden was my first experience reading a Lisa Jewell book, but was definitely not going to be my last.  Actually, after reading this book, I had the opportunity to attend her U.S. book tour for her most recent release, I Found You.  I am excited to read Lisa’s other books after having positive experiences with The Girls in the Garden, and also I found you.

Thank you for the opportunity read and review this title! I didn't enjoy it as much as I"d hoped, and rather than post a negative review, I chose to not feature it on my blog. I look forward to seeing what new releases you have in store!

After I read and enjoyed I Found You last month, I knew I wanted to read another Lisa Jewell book. I would call this book more of a drama than a thriller. You find out the big event right away, and then the story starts from the beginning to explain what caused it. The story kept me interested, and I liked it overall. I did like I Found You better, but this was still a good read.

From my blog: Always With a Book:

My thoughts: I really enjoy Lisa Jewell's books - it's so easy to find yourself totally immersed in her stories, completely captivated by the characters and the settings. This one was no exception and the mystery was one that had me hooked right from the beginning!

I really liked the way this story was told. It begins with the ending and then goes back in time to show the events that lead up to this incident...how clever and what a unique way to hook readers! I found myself so much more engaged throughout the book because I was always thinking about that incident...it was never far from my mind as each new piece of the puzzle, so to speak, was introduced.

This book is filled with some strange, unique characters, not all likeable! But, I think that's what makes it all that much more interesting. They each seem to have their own secrets and this is what drives them. And their oddness is what keeps you reading. This is definitely more of a character-driven book than a plot-driven book, especially as the secrets and lies start to come out.

Another big part of this book is the setting. The communal garden is very unique - a large park where basically the kids are free to roam day and night and everyone is in every else's business. This is all charming and friendly at first, but nothing lasts forever!

Lisa Jewell has such a way with words. She can take an ordinary situation and seamlessly turn it into something sinister without you even realizing it. The suspense builds slowly in this book, so much so that you don't even realize you are holding your breath until you finally let it out! I really enjoy her books and know that I am going to have a great reading experience when I pick up one of her books...she is definitely an author I can count on!!!