Back to the Garden is an atmospheric and brilliantly written standalone mystery thriller by Laurie R. King. Released 6th Sept 2022 by Penguin Random House on their Bantam imprint, it's 336 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
Fans of the author already know that she's prolific, competent (often shading into sublime), and genuinely talented with setting and characterization. There are times during reading when the only appropriate response is to close the book, look into the middle distance, and ponder what one has just read. This book is more prosaic in subject and character than her well known Holmes & Russell books, but no less engaging and entertaining.
From the prologue chapter to the gradual buildup of layers (and intervening years) of a resurrected cold case investigation, through to the satisfying denouement and resolution, the author does a masterful job with the writing. Rough(ish) language, but average for a procedural mystery. Some graphic violence (bludgeoning deaths, sexual murders, serial killer, etc), but again, not used egregiously.
Four solid stars. Hope the author revisits the characters in future.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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