The Hanging Garden (A Celia Grant Mystery)
by By Sherwood, John
Category: Fiction , General

The Hanging Garden takes Celia Grant, the beguiling horticulturalist who knows almost as much about sleuthing as she knows about gardens, to the beautiful Portuguese island of Madeira.Celia's niece, Antonia Hanbury, has died suddenly, perhaps accidentally, the result of too much to drink. Or did someone push Antonia down the stairs of the family home? Surviving Antonia are an elderly father, Sir Adrian Morton, two bewildered school-aged children, and a former husband who has recently been released from prison.The reluctant executor of Antonia's estate, Celia has hardly arrived in Madeira when she encounters some very suspicious characters in and around the house. What are the true aims of the bizarre neighbors? Why is Antonia's ex-husband so anxious to gain custody of the children? And who took the valuable orchids that are missing from Sir Adrian's prized collection?The more Celia discovers about her dead niece, the more mysterious things become. She's so preoccupied that it takes her a while to realize that Sir Adrian's housekeeper, Maria, is - quite literally - terrified for her life.Bringing together one of the most unlikely and convincing sleuths in all of crime fiction, the stunning beauty of Madeira, and the devious plot twists that only an author like John Sherwood can devise, The Hanging Garden is classic mystery fiction at its best.