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She opened the shagreen box. Couched in gray silk was an emerald necklace, one he had not seen for twenty years. The stones were just as he recalled them: a dozen or more, baguette cut and set in gold links, with a single ruby at the center. Flashes of verdigris, orpiment, and Prussian blue sparkled in the candlelight. The form of this necklace was as disturbing as ever. It had nearly cost him his life.
It is the summer of 1765. The renowned and exquisitely dressed portrait painter Joshua Pope accepts a commission to paint the wedding portrait of Herbert Bentnick and his fiancée, Sabine Mercer, to whom Bentnick has become engaged less than a year after the death of his first wife. Joshua has barely begun the portrait when a man's body is found in the conservatory. A few days later, Sabine's emerald necklace disappears, and Bentnick accuses Joshua of theft. The painter is suddenly fighting not only for his reputation but for his life. With a sure understanding of period detail and character, Janet Gleeson creates a richly nuanced tale of greed and revenge that plays out in the refined landscapes and dark streets of eighteenth-century London.
British author Gleeson's tepid second historical mystery follows the same fundamental formula as 2003's The Grenadillo Box: a skilled craftsman (there a cabinetmaker, here a portraitist) is ensconced at the estate of a wealthy British family when a brutal murder occurs. In both cases, the tradesman is charged with finding the culprit. Joshua Pope is commissioned to paint a wedding portrait of Herbert Bentnick and his betrothed, the luminous Sabine Mercier. During the sittings, Sabine insists on wearing an unusual emerald necklace fashioned into the shape of a serpent, even though it's reputed to bring disaster to any who wear it. When a stranger is found dead in the conservatory and the necklace disappears, Joshua, suspected of the theft, is forced to investigate. He stumbles about in a sea of red herrings, eventually uncovering the truth some chapters after many readers have done so. The author's depiction of Georgian England rings true in every lush detail. But the crucial elements that define a mystery-plot, character, passion-never rise above the ordinary. Indeed, the novel puts one in mind of an 18th-century quadrille, full of elaborate turns and repetitious step sequences-beautiful, stately, mannered, but lacking in depth. Agent, Christopher Little. (Feb. 22) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
| Price | Condition | Delivery | Seller | Action |
| $99.99 | Digital |
| WonderClub |
John Paco
reviewed The Serpent in the Garden on October 13, 2016
The Serpent in the Garden
Lots of fun. Not a remotely serious book on any level, it grabbed me from the first chapter and kept me reading, enjoying every page. Our main man, Joshua Pope, loves to paint people - he's fascinated by them, not only how they look (which he has a keen eye for) but the choices they make. Fastidious about fashion, he cuts a stylish figure as he turns amateur sleuth in an attempt to find whodunit (there's a few it's to discover the who of), and salvage his reputation which appears to hang by the thinnest of threads.
It's all rather preposterous, but it's so fun in its preposterousness. If period pieces aren't your thing, I have no idea why you're even reading this, but it's obvious you wouldn't get a lot of enjoyment out of this book. Enjoying a bit of period drama and intrigue from time to time, I did find this a cracking good read.
This could easily be adapted into a TV movie (I already have casting ideas for the main characters), it's so richly described. Sure, the characters are a bit one-dimensional and capricious; there's some inconstancy there for sure. But that didn't interfere with my enjoyment of reading about their happenings. I think because I wasn't taking it all too seriously. It was a bit John Grisham meets Jane Austen.
I loved this writer's style, I found it quite light. I loved her use of language, it felt authentic but also very readable in our modern times - it didn't feel like it was trying to teach me about the language patterns of the time (18th century, god save us if it had been too true to reality, it would have been unreadable) whilst also giving us a plausible flavour of how people actually spoke and addressed one another at that time.
I found the pace excellent. It neither dragged nor raced. I kept up, didn't get lost, but equally wasn't bored and wondering when on earth things might move along.
I loved the references to the pineapple growing, and pineapples in general. There were a few wise words about natural growing patterns by the character Lancelot 'Capability' Brown which didn't moralise but gave a timely perspective on bringing an unnatural species (in this case, of a plant) into an environment not suited to it. I liked that, it rounded out some of the other aspects of pineapple introduction and growing that other characters and events brought.
I will be seeking out other Janet Gleeson novels. I so enjoyed this one, if her others have the same elements - characters, plotting, pace, background, language, readability - they'll be as much of a pleasure to read as this one was.
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