One of People’s, Glamour’s, and Buzzfeed’s Best Reads of Summer “Jewell expertly builds suspense by piling up domestic misunderstandings and more plot twists than an SVU episode. It’s a page-turner for readers who like beach reads on the dark side.” –People Imagine that you live on a picturesque communal garden square, an oasis in urban London where your children run free, in and out of other … London where your children run free, in and out of other people’s houses. You’ve known your neighbors for years and you trust them. Implicitly. You think your children are safe. But are they really?
On a midsummer night, as a festive neighborhood party is taking place, preteen Pip discovers her thirteen-year-old sister Grace lying unconscious and bloody in a hidden corner of a lush rose garden. What really happened to her? And who is responsible?
“Full of suspense yet emotionally grounded…Fans of Liane Moriarty, Paula Hawkins, and Carla Buckley will adore this peek inside a gated community that truly takes care of its own, no matter the consequences.” —Booklist (starred review)more
I’ve been a Lisa Jewell fan for a few years and read the last several books she’s written. I’m now going backward to catch up on a few that look interesting. Since I love stories about gardens, and The Girls in the Garden from 2015 had a cool-sounding vibe, I decided to make it my next read. While the story had tons of merit and intrigue, it fell a bit short for me. I enjoyed it, ending somewhere around 3.5 stars. I’ll round up because I do enjoy the writing style and character creation.
In a lovely section of London, there is a large cul-de-sac of sorts where a dozen or so homes surround a beautiful park and garden. Most families stay forever. Some leave because it’s too much like living in a commune. Occasionally, some neither stay nor leave – they die. Clare and her daughters, Pip and Grace, move into the community after their husband and father has a breakdown. The girls are 12/13 and somewhat precocious for their ages. Given the issue with their father, their sense of comfort and trust has been broken. They’re vulnerable, and in particular, Grace, the older girl, finds herself all too willing to grow up too quickly.
The neighbors are interesting. A mixed-race family with 3 daughters. An older woman who knows some secrets. A mysterious boy and his older brother who has a few of his own issues to deal with. And the daughter of a woman whose sister might’ve been murdered there years ago. Everyone is interesting. Everyone is scary. I wasn’t sure which ones to like or dislike, and as the pages and time progressed, it became more clear. Even so, no one was without fault. Even Clare, who let her children run a little too free.
The book introduces lots of side stories. Each character has a subplot to follow. Unfortunately, several just whimper out… we know enough to assume what happened in the past, and again in the current time, but it’s not detailed enough. I like books with vague endings, but this one was much more vague than normal. It’s almost like it was missing ~50 pages to tie some things together. For instance, the older women never confronts anyone or reveals the secrets. The father who moved to Africa gets ill, recovers, and leaves. But he knew things, and we never explored it. The young daughters were never punished for any behaviors, yet we don’t know who did what during the incident. That feels kinda important to me, even if we’re speculating.
That said… the prose was lyrical as usual. The imagery was wonderful. I wish I could live there, but without my neighbors running in and out all the time. I also think the girls should’ve been 14/15 instead of 12/13, especially given the sexual activity they engaged in. I know what I did when I was 12/13, and while I can understand the point in this story, it would’ve been stronger if the girls were a bit older — still underage, but enough that I’d possibly get why the mothers were less focused on monitoring them. Or maybe that’s the point; they thought they were too young for things to happen.
I’d recommend the book if you like Jewell’s work. If this will be your first Jewell novel, don’t do it. Start with a more current one to cement the beauty of her style. This one is okay, but it won’t show you the true strength in her work. She’s grown tons in the last few novels, and I look forward to reading more.
This is a psychological thriller with a lot of family drama. Grace, her sister Pip and her mother Clare have moved to a flat overlooking a shared garden after their father sets fire to their home. When Grace is found unconscious on her 13th birthday in that garden is stirs up events from the past. Details start to emerge about that event and it brings up a lot of questions about both the past and the present. This is a great read. I would like to thank the Publisher and Net Galley for the chance to read this ARC.
Moving into a garden park community after their beautiful home was burned down definitely was a change for Pip and Grace as well as their mother Clare.
They lost everything in the fire and had to start from scratch. They also lost their father but not to the fire.
The park and specifically its residents were quite odd. The main characters were teenagers who could run free and do whatever they wanted in their park gardens.
There are a lot of present and past secrets hiding among the residents that keep up the intrigue from the first few sentences that tell of a young girl found in the bushes either unconscious or dead.
THE GIRLS IN THE GARDEN was more about the characters and their personalities rather than having a plot. It was quite an unconventional book but the oddity of the book is what kept me reading.
Pip was my favorite character. She tried to stay away from the “gang” and not participate in all the bizarre happenings of the teenagers. A few of the adults were definitely different too and seemed to have the biggest secrets.
If you enjoy a different read with different characters along with a bit of a mystery, THE GIRLS IN THE GARDEN is definitely a read you will enjoy.
The book’s suspense and the guessing who caused the young girl to be found in the bushes was non-stop until the last word on the last page. 4/5
This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.
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The Girls in the Garden by Lisa Jewell is a character driven novel with psychological twists. The twists do not allow for a smooth flow, but are interesting. I have enjoyed Jewell’s books in the past, but this one was not quite as intriguing, though still a good read.
Not my favorite Lisa Jewell book. I think I was spoiled by hearing The Death of Mrs Westerway as my introduction to Lisa Jewell. I’ve listened to several of her books thru audio options. She always has an interesting storyline, but this one just seemed pedantic. The characters were disjointed and the story didn’t flow well. It was OK and entertaining enough to finish it; but I would suggest skipping it.
This book was just okay. I did finish it, but only because it was a fast read.
Why didn’t they solve the 1st case?
Very good book. It moved right along and kept my attention
Loved the plot, characters, and overall feel of this literary suspense/thriller. You can think you know who did it (then and now) – and you may or may not be correct – and then enjoy the added gift of how this surprising one ends.
Very engaging mystery. I couldn’t put it down. Compelling narrative with well developed characters.
I wanted to give this book a happily ever after ending but I didn’t feel happy. A young girl could have died and the one responsible was never held accountable along with her culprits. But it does point out how young kids will lie to their parents when it suits their purpose. It was an entertaining book nonetheless.
it is nice and educating
Finished this book yesterday. And I have to say this is my. first time reading/listening to anything from this author. At first I kinda didn’t know if I was going to finished this audiobook. I wasn’t getting into it. But I am glad. that I pushed through. So many unexpected turns. I do highly recommend this book. I like how Lisa touched on many things in this book. Mental illness and sexual assault. The only thing I did want to happened is I kinda wish Grace would of spoke up about what really happened to her.
I stayed up through most of the night to finish the book. I just couldn’t put it down until all of the story lines had reached their conclusions. “The Girls In The Garden” creates an idyllic private residential park in central London and fills it with very interesting and flawed characters with numerous loose ends. The author, Lisa Jewell, successfully changes the point of view for the reader to add incredible depth and intrigue.
This book was ok — not all that much in the way of twists and turns, unlike Jewell’s layer works. It tells the story of a family in London. The mother and two girls are devastated after their husband/father sets fire to their home following a schizophrenic break. They move to a neighborhood in London with a communal park. They become part of a group of kids who frequent the park. When Grace, just 13, is found attacked in the park, a search ensues to figure out who did it. There is back and forth telling the story of that night and of a previous similar attack on another young girl. While I don’t want to include spoilers, the story is not all that much of a mystery. If you think you know who dun it, you probably do. It’s interesting as a glimpse into Jewell’s development as a writer. As others have said, the book feels slow at times. Not my favorite although certainly different from some books I’ve read.
Had me guessing who-dun-it!
Domestic suspense at its best — family secrets, lies, murky pasts colliding with a messy present. This one had it all. The arrival of a new family into a closed community upends the delicate balance of relationships among adults and children alike, and exposes the dysfunctional underpinnings of what looks like an idyllic situation.
The characters in this book are so well-developed I felt like I knew them personally. The story is intriguing and definitely keeps you guessing.
I don’t know what to say. I was completely unready for This book. I read the tag and the book did follow what was said but it was nothing as I thought it would be. It takes place in a small garden type space that is used by all of the tenants and home owners that surround it. It’s like a small commune. there are differences in the way that parents see their job as parents and how is the best way to raise their children. The story wraps around two families and many other children who live there. You don’t get to know much about the other parents but their children are very entangled with the Howes family. I wonder if anything as it has happened in this book has happened in real life. I can almost believe that it has.
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