Fiona Gartland

This book was written for me!
That was one of the earliest thoughts I had about it after the first few pages.
The general synopsis is simple: A gardener gets killed at the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland in Dublin. A stenographer, Beatrice Barrington, is among the first who find the dead man. Was it an accident or murder? She soon has second thoughts when the police quickly rule it as a tragic accident. She gets dragged into the case more or less involuntarily and tries to solve it with the help of her old „friend“ Gabriel (those two do clearly have a history there).
The writing style flows effortlessly and creates a story – along with several subplots and small riddles - full of atmosphere. Such a good, fluent, Irish book. What I loved especially was that it captures Irish everyday life, the atmosphere of Dublin and the National Botanic Gardens perfectly.
Yes, I know, „atmospheric“ is one of my favourite words when describing and rating a book – I just love when books have atmosphere, when they manage to convey you right into the story, make you feel it. It's about the highest praise I can give a book.
And this one did it - 'Orchids and Lies' transported me to one of my fave places in the world, to Dublin and the National Botanic Gardens.
You need to know I love Ireland – the narrative also takes place partly in Donegal and the Burren which I love, too -, but I have a history with Dublin, especially the northern parts of town with Glasnevin Cemetery and – The National Botanic Gardens. Those are places I consider as my second home and miss terribly right now that we're not allowed to travel and Ireland is experiencing its second Lockdown of history... I miss Dublin, I miss the „Bots“ - so when I read 'Orchids and Lies' took place there, I applied for an ARC immediately... I didn't have very high hopes then – most books I've read that take place in Dublin could as well be set in any other place in the British Isles, they don't have that atmosphere (atmosphere again :)) that I connect with my life in Dublin.
Let me put it this way: I was expecing to get underwhelmed and got completely overwhelmed instead. :) I didn't expect that in the least. It has that seemingly easy, effortless style that I look for in a book and which is so hard to achieve.
Of course I don't know and don't really expect whether it will work as well for others as it did for me. I don't know what you'll think of it when you don't have that special connection to „the Bots“ and Dublin North as I have. That's why it immediately felt like that book was written especially for me. But I think one way or the other, it's worth the read.

One point of critique – if I have to find one – is that, in my view, it's not marketed correctly. It's marketed as a thriller, which it isn't, really. It's a mystery, nearly a cozy.
Don't read it if you expect a thriller! It's a classic whodunnit, an investigator solving the case. I, myself, don't even like mysteries and cozies, at least not most of them. They are mostly way too boring for me to continue on. I prefer the suspense of thrillers, and: I see the (hobby) detectives as devices for solving the case, nothing else – whereas most of the highly acclaimed detective series today all have the detectives questioning their jobs and lives, suffering from internal struggles or world weariness and the book featuring endless social commentary and social criticism... I hate that...
And I normally hate series, too - this book seems to be the third installment of a series... :) -Yet this one is fantastic! 'Orchids and Lies' is a good - nearly old-fashioned, but yet fresh (does that make sense? :p) - Whodunnit. It doesn't want to be 'more than it is' and is done exceedingly well as it is. It has more twists than you'd think at first, more than your average mystery. The plot and subplots are engaging and the MCs refreshingly unpretentious and more or less content with their lives. They even made me want to hear more about them.
As I said before, I got sucked right into the story, got propelled to Dublin and wish I could have stayed there. If a book gets me to blabber on as long as this – oops, this is way too long! – it must be special. :) Fiona Gartland is a very talented storyteller.
Fiona, I'll try to get my hands on your other books!

Thank you so much, LT, for this ARC (with my old account Yuki_Onna) in exchange for an honest review.… (más)

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from LibraryThing in return for an honest review.

Stenographer and amateur detective Beatrice Barrington is relaxing at the National Botanic Gardens in Dublin, when she sees someone running out of the corner of eye only to be startled by a woman screaming. A gardener, Paddy Hogan, has fallen from a high walkway in the greenhouse. Was it an accident, suicide, or murder? Beatrice is convinced Paddy was murdered though the local gardaí seem to disagree. With the help of her ex and former detective Gabriel Ingram it is up to Beatrice to find the truth before it is too late.

This is the third book in the Beatrice Barrington series, however you do not have to read the first two to enjoy this book. Overall I enjoyed this book. I found the main mystery to be interesting and compelling. There was a side plot about a court case Beatrice was working which I did not feel added to the story. I kept thinking it would tie into the main plot but it did not. While it does not end on a cliff hanger per say, it does set up future stories in this world. I look forward to reading more books in this series.… (más)