"In 1958, young Cambridge scholar Adam Strickland is spending his summer in Tuscany researching a famous 16th-century memorial garden. But the more Adam learns about its elaborate landscapes, the more he believes that it hides secrets -- such as the truth behind the death of the woman it memorialises, and possibly clues to a more recent murder. While the family that owns the garden is intrigued by the former theory, Adam's interest in the latter is not met warmly. For a similarly atmospheric tale in which gardens hold the answers to old mysteries, try Kate Morton's The Forgotten Garden." Fiction A to Z April 2014 newsletter http://www.libraryaware.com/996/NewsletterIssues/ViewIssue/dfef437d-ef88-41c9-a7e1-229a907a8f88?postId=8ed16493-2fe1-4059-b706-6d0ff80212e7

A literary mystery set in Italy in the 1950s, Mills' second novel features a bright but aimless British college student who is sent to a manor in Tuscany to study the Renaissance art and architecture of the property. While he falls for the beautiful Italian countryside, he suspects that the villa's garden is more than what it seems - the builder dedicated the garden to his late wife, and crafted clues to her death within the sculptures and layout. He also gets drawn into investigation of a more recent murder, that of the family's oldest son during the Nazi occupation of the villa in World War II. Mills divides the chase between the ancient murder and more recent one, keeping the reader engrossed with both. THE SAVAGE GARDEN will please fans of the historical mystery genre as well as the casual reader looking for something a bit meatier in their whodunits.

Not nearly as good as his first novel Amagansett and his 3rd novel The Information Officer but still a good read.

Good read. Though somewhat off-beat topic, it is very well written.