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Garden of Lies
Garden of Lies
Garden of Lies
Audiobook10 hours

Garden of Lies

Written by Amanda Quick

Narrated by Louisa Jane Underwood

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

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About this audiobook

The New York Times bestselling author of Otherwise Engaged and The Mystery Woman presents an all-new novel of intrigue and murder set against the backdrop of Victorian London The Kern Secretarial Agency provides reliable professional services to its wealthy clientele, and Anne Clifton was one of the finest women in Ursula Kern's employ. But Miss Clifton has met an untimely end-and Ursula is convinced it was not due to natural causes. Archaeologist and adventurer Slater Roxton thinks Mrs. Kern is off her head to meddle in such dangerous business. Nevertheless, he seems sensible enough to Ursula, though she does find herself unnerved by his self-possession and unreadable green-gold eyes If this mysterious widowed beauty insists on stirring the pot, Slater intends to remain close by as they venture into the dark side of polite society. Together they must reveal the identity of a killer-and to achieve their goal they may need to reveal their deepest secrets to each other as well
LanguageEnglish
Release dateApr 21, 2015
ISBN9781490661827
Garden of Lies
Author

Amanda Quick

Amanda Quick is the pseudonym for Jayne Ann Krentz, the author, under various pen names, of more than fifty New York Times bestsellers; there are more than 35 million copies of her books in print. She lives in Seattle.

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Reviews for Garden of Lies

Rating: 3.613013601369863 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

146 ratings21 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Borrowing the Roger Ebert template of judging art on the basis of what it's trying to achieve, this escapist romp does a decent job.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    good story way too long.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I was in junior high and on my way to a week long camp when I realized I hadn't packed a book to read. On a whim I picked up this one (then a current bestseller) at a convenience store en route and read it. I remember thinking it was especially titillating and felt like a sneak reading it. I had been thinking for years that it would be interesting to re-read it and see what I thought of it now, 20 years later. Would it be as thrilling? Or would it be trashy drivel? I could barely remember anything about the plot, though bits and bobs came back to me as I read.As expected it wasn't as steamy as I had remembered, though I can see how it would seem that way to someone of that age. I'm kind of surprised I got through it at such a young age. It deals with some really heavy stuff that I'm pretty certain was way over my head. No doubt I got much more out of this reading of it than I did then. It is a fantastically put together book. Each of the three main women pulled at my heartstrings. There were points when I wanted to knock everyone's heads together and tell them to stop with the lies. It is a aptly named book!I almost can't believe Goudge managed put extra marital affairs, babies switched at birth, the Vietnam war, orphaned children raised by an extra Catholic grandmother, doctors, lawyers, abortion, long-lost lovers, weddings, divorces, infertility and tons of other issues all into one story without it feeling overdone and crazy. It was actually just crazy enough to be believable. It probably also helped that it kind of spanned two generations. All of that didn't happen in just a few short years.Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting this book. I'm very glad I did. I hadn't ever known there was a second book with these characters until I got to the end of this Kindle edition and read the author bio. I will most certainly be reading that soon!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This book was kind of a drag. One of the things I have still liked in Krentz's books was how quickly they moved and how fast they seemed to read. I accepted the paint by numbers characters and plots and just considered them almost a guilty pleasure. This book was a slog. No particularly likable characters, very little backstory, it just seemed very barren. Like it was written quickly to meet a publisher's deadline. This book is from 2015, and some of the recent books have been more readable so I probably won't quit Krentz entirely but this book was a loser. I'm glad I no longer buy her book but borrow from the library. There's usually no delay in the hold line so I'm probably not the only one who is in no hurry to read one of her books.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    As far as historical mysteries goes, this one is okay. Quick has done a good job crafting the mystery. I did like the setting, which I am guessing is Victorian era London based on certain clues. This one really falls in the "lite" reading experience, for me. The characters are pretty perfunctory, no great analysis, no wonderful character build. More cookie-cutter than anything else. Probably should mention that there is a romance angle to this story. Sadly, the romance - and the steamy sex scenes - come across as rather awkward add-ons to the mystery. The two "love interests" - Ursula and Slater - really blow hot and cold. All business and then out of the blue, these random acts of sex. Seriously? The story would have been so much better if Ursula and Slater were just co-amateur detectives without the whole sex angle. Romance, I have no problem with but the sex was probably added to the story to attract a specific reader audience. That fell flat for me. Also, the story is probably better as a traditional read. I dropped my rating by a whole 1/2 star just because the narration of the audiobook did not work for me. Also, the story could easily have been condensed down to a tighter, more focused story. Some parts just really dragged as the author kept explaining what was going on in various character's minds, and removing some of the mystery elements in the process. While this store is a stand alone novel, I see that Quick has left the door open for potential further mysteries teaming Ursula and Slater. Overall, an okay light romance mystery read that sadly lacks the substance and suspense I prefer in my mystery reads. I can probably safely say that I am not the reading audience for Quick's stories.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    New York Times best-selling author, Jayne Ann Krentz, writes her modern day suspense novels under her real name, her historical suspense novels under the name Amanda Quick, and her futuristic fantasy novels under the name Jayne Castle. This is one of her Amanda Quick novels, and while some of these novels are part of a series, this one is a stand alone. It takes place in the late Victorian times. Archeologist and adventurer, Slater Roxton, a bastard, born from Lily Lafountaine, a famous, talented, and well-off actress and Roxton, a man of the ton. When Roxton's first marriage ends with the death of his wife and with no children, he still cannot marry Lilly, even though she has provided him with a son, he must marry someone of his station. Luckily for all involved, he marries a young woman who sees the marriage as a business arrangement and likes Lilly and Slater, who, after the death of his father, returns home from his business of tracking down antiquities around the world to manage the estate for the two young boys, whom he adores. While Slater is left a small amount of an inheritance, he will never get the title or the estate, but he cares nothing for such things.Before Slater returned home, he and his friend Brice hunted down a legendary island, Fever Island, and discover a building filled with passageways and priceless treasures. When the ceiling collapses separating the two friends, Slater knows that the ship's captain needed to leave soon since they were low on supplies and that everyone would assume he was dead anyway, which they did. He finds three paths, one filled with pictures of war, one with vengeance, and the third one, which he chooses. After running out of food and water, he begins to wonder if he'll survive but soon arrives in the sunlight, where there is a rope he uses to climb out of the building. There is a monastery of sorts there, where they teach philosophy and to control your emotions. He studies there until a year later, a ship comes by and takes him back to London, a changed man. The press has a field day with him, speculating on his oddities and eccentrics as being a sign of madness and that he performs bizarre rituals in his basement where he lures unsuspecting females and other such nonsense. Since he has no idea how to hire a staff for his home, he lets his mother do it and she hires all sorts of actors who are between jobs, or have had to retire and cannot get work, so he has an odd mélange of characters in his household, which suits him.Ursula Kern is the owner of the highly successful Kern Secretarial Agency that only employs the best and most talented women as secretaries. She has had to reinvent herself due to a scandal in her past and someone is trying to blackmail her. However, she does not have time to deal with that right now, because of her best friend Anne Clifton, who was working for Lady Fulbrook taking down her love poetry and then typing it up for her. When Anne is discovered dead, Ursula suspects foul play, but the police are unable to discover anything to support that theory and refuse to investigate further. When Ursula goes to her client Slater, whose archeological work she has been cataloging, to tell him that she will have to take leave of the work for a while, he demands to know why. Ursula decides to trust him and tells him about Anne and her suspicions.Soon, the two are neck deep into something bigger than they expected: a powerful drug ring, that involves a secret society called the Olympus club whose members are given the highly hallucinogenic drug that makes them amorous and is provided with courtesans. Occasionally, especially lately, the drug has been making the men dangerous. Somehow Fulbrook is involved with this and it is likely that Anne discovered what was going on and was killed for it, as others have been.As things become more dangerous, the two become more intimate, but Ursula worries that Slater's great logic, which is useful sometimes, and his training of not to have emotions, will destroy any chance they have of a life together. Not to mention the secrets each are keeping from the other. She seems to be unable to reach him and he, as a typical man, is completely clueless. Will they figure out their lives together before someone gets to them and kills them first?This is a really delightful romp of a book with a strong female character who can take care of herself, whether it be with a sharp hatpin or a gun or her great intelligence and sharp thinking. Slater is refreshing too. He is not a man of nobility, but one on the fringe of proper society and the world of the stage. He can be just a bit as melodramatic as his mother, who is the one who made her lover all his money, because she had a natural talent for business, and seems to know what everyone is up to in London. This book is unique in its storyline of an old fashioned drug cartel and a den of iniquity where men do whatever, to whomever, they want. All the supporting characters were delightful too, including Matty, Ursula's second in command, who has been going to see a doctor to treat her "hysteria", which at that time doctors were using dildos to treat this mysterious condition that we call an orgasm, that the doctors of the time did not recognize, because women were believed to not enjoy sex. I will recommend pretty much any Amanda Quick novel, but this one was really one of her best.Quotes:As far as I’m concerned, the necessity of wearing fashionable gowns that feel like a suit of armor and weigh approximately the same, with skirts so heavy and voluminous that they make the simple act of walking a difficult endeavor, is an exotic ritual. Yet ladies here in London do it every day.--Amanda Quick (Garden of Lies p111)You heard the accent. He’s an American criminal trying to escape in our fair city [London]. I doubt he’ll go far…He’ll stand out on the streets. After all, he can barely speak the language.--Amanda Quick (Garden of Lies p 242)Fantasies are gossamer things, are they not? Reality invariably crushes them.--Amanda Quick (Garden of Lies p 335)
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a good story, with excellent twists and turns. I would have liked to have a little more reference to the precise time frame where the story occurs. If you like romantic mystery, this is a great choice.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I listened to an audio I had won. I found it hard to listen to at first because it kept skipping. I finally switched to my other computer and it played fine. I was using my laptop originally and that is newer than my desktop. Once I got going I didn't want to stop listening. This was a mystery, romance and historical fiction. Ursula Kern has a secretarial agency in England and when one of her secretaries is found dead she is determined to find out what happened to her friend and employee. Ursula meets Slater Roxton and they work together in solving the death of her friend Anne. I loved the parts when Ursula was talking to Slater about seeing a doctor to relieve constipation and hysteria. I was laughing.I loved the narrator for all the different voices she did.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    If you like the Lake/Marsh trilogy by Amanda Quick then you will enjoy this standalone tale. It's another breezy Victorian-era mystery and romance and Quick writes them very well. I really liked the intonation of the narrator and her British accent added to my enjoyment of Quick's latest story.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Not my favourite of hers but once I started reading I really wanted to finish, this was no doubt helped by a rare sunny evening which I decided was better spent outside reading. Instead of psionics or the like in this one we have a man who learned ancient arts when he got trapped in a mysterious island and is a vegetarian ever since. He's the illegitimate son of a lord and an actress and holds the reins of the family fortune in trust for his half-brothers who are underage (for logical reasons explained in the text), he has engaged the help of Ursula Kern to catalogue his collection and when she announces that she's taking some time off and eventually reveals that it's to investigate the death of on of her employees, Anne Clifton.The story took in some of the London underworld and some of the shadier side of things and I enjoyed the read. Formulaic and quite Krentz/Quick typical, but still compulsive.Now it wasn't perfect, I really would have liked to see more of the build of romance between the two main characters, and I think the getting to know each other part was already over by the time the story starts. It also felt like the first book in a possible series and I would like that.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Archaeologist, Slater Roxton becomes a legend when he is left behind on a tropical volcanic island lost in tomb like caverns. His shipmates gave him up for lost until he is rescued by a passing ship a year later. Roxton has become something of a recluse until his mother Lily, arranges for Ursula Kern, a widow with a successful business, to help out her son Slater with his antiquities. Ursula is intrigued and attracted to Roxton, but when her friend, Anne dies under mysterious circumstances, Ursula, regretfully tells Roxton that she must put her arrangement with him on hold until she can resolve Anne's death. Roxton is understandably bemused that Ursula would set his business aside but then proposes that they work together to investigate. Ursula quickly installs herself as the stenographer to Lady Fullbrook, the position Anne held before her death while Roxton investigates Lord Fullbrook. Romantic suspense in Victorian England comes with a reclusive manly hero and an intelligent independent woman, Amanda Quick's stock in trade. An entertaining story to listen to on audiobook with a great reader, Louisa Jane Underwood.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The past is a great place for stories. The stories serve to remind me, at least, why I am so glad I live now with cars and phones and computers and indoor plumbing and lightweight clothing. This particular story has explorers, women re-inventing themselves, scandals, drug lords, death and deception all set in foggy Victorian London. There is a new romance thrown in for good measure, and several theatrical people. It stays very true to its time with the class structure and manners. I found it a restful read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really flip-flop back and forth on reading romance books. Most of the time romance books follow the same storyline where the couple meets and fall in love, then either something happens to tear them apart or they both like each other but think they each hate each other, then at the end they end up getting back together and live happily-ever-after after lots of sex. Thankfully this wasn't the case with Garden of Lies so I really enjoyed reading this one. I admire the way Ursula Kern was depicted as a strong independent woman and was genuinely pleased by how the story unfolded. It was very believable and not at all over the top as some historical romances can be. A must read for anyone who loves historical romance with a little bit of suspense.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Too much stilted conversation. Too many Victorian/borderline porno bodice ripper scenes. The story line and the characters had tons of potential, but sadly fell short of the mark. Great way to show how often women can be drawn into bad/jealous relationships and into doing things that they would not normally do except for the encouragement of the man they are infatuated with and end up falling to ruin in the process.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I have read many Amanda Quick novels and this is much like many of them. I like her novels, but I don't find anything in it that makes it great. This book did have a few too many villians. I listened to the audio version. I had some trouble with some of the character voices the reader used, but otherwise liked her.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I am a long time fan of Amanda Quick and her other pseudonyms. This was a great return to her older historical romances. The mystery was entertaining and the romance was great. This was a very fun read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Ursula Kern, the owner of a secretarial agency, is upset when her friend and employee, Anne, is found dead and the cops write it off as a suicide. But a note left for Ursula about where to find some hidden items has Ursula convinced her friend had been killed and drops everything to find answers. One of the jobs she attempts to drop is helping archeologist Slater Roxton catalog his artifacts and he’s not willing to let her go. When she asks for his opinion on the investigating she wants to do, he fears for her life and decides they’re doing this together. The investigation is very far reaching and involves something much larger than anticipated. You can somewhat guess the who fairly early on, but not the how or why. There are plenty of twists that take the investigation in unexpected directions that all tie in.The formula used in this story is one very familiar to readers of this author. Strong, modern thinking woman who is open to new ideas, along with the ability to take care of herself. Worldly man with a past or abilities which makes him a great hero. It can get kind of old. I enjoyed the mystery aspect of it. The romance portion didn’t do as much for me.Audio book supplied by publisher via LibraryThing.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    In the prologue, Archaeologist Slater Roxton finds himself deep within the recesses of a tomb in search of precious artifacts under Fever Island when all at once it begins to cave in around him. He can’t get out of the entrance and has no choice but to recede further back into the tomb. He thinks he will be buried alive. But as he follows ancient pathways from the tomb, he manages to return after a few days to the surface of the island. It is not uninhabited as he’d thought.As we fast forward a couple of years, Ursula Kern is mourning the death of her close friend and employee, Anne Clifton. Anne was a ‘modern woman’ full of adventure. It is presumed that Anne took her own life, but Ursula is out to disprove that notion and to find Anne’s killer. She is working for Slater Roxton and asks for a leave in order to follow her intuition. Slater becomes involved once he hears her reasoning.The novel read as historical and indeed it was. However, there was no date or suggestion of the actual time period for this story set in London. It involves both the very wealthy as well as the working class; organized crime; and drug smuggling. Even after Ursula came to know Slater intimately, she still addressed him as “Sir”. I felt that was rather odd. I liked the characters, especially that of Slater but felt they could have been fleshed out better. The characters seemed to lack a bit of depth to their personalities. The pacing was wonderful in the first half of the novel. At its ending, I could almost see this becoming a series for Slater Roxton and Ursula Kern. Time will tell on that. Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Garden of Lies by Amanda Quick is a 2015 G.P Putnam's Son publication. I can't remember the last time I read an Amanda Quick novel. I remember I used to never miss one back when the historical novels tied in with the contemporary and the futuristic books by Jayne Ann Krentz and Jayne Castle. But, somewhere along the way I lost track of this author, so while browsing through the Overdrive library I found this one which is a fairly new release- April 2015- so I snapped it up feeling absolutely delighted to be reconnecting with this author again after such a lengthy absence. When Ursula's secretary, Anne, dies under mysterious circumstances, Ursula is convinced she was murdered. In order to investigate, Ursula will have to quit her current position, but her employer, Slater Roxton, demands to know why she is leaving. So, when Ursula confides him Slater and tell him of her plan, naturally, he thinks Ursula could be in danger and proposes they work together to discover the truth. This book didn't have a lot of the same elements I remembered from years ago, since I seem to remember a slight paranormal element mixed in, and this one did have some philosophical aspects, but other than that, the mystery was just little bit dull in some places and predictable as well, however... I have been so disappointed in romance recently, no matter which genre I have chosen to read in and I have to say reading this book was a vast relief for me. This author blends romance and historical mystery in an authentic way, with both the male and female protagonist on equal footing, no hysterical angst or over the top conflict, adult characters who behave as such and the romance... real honest to goodness romance, with deeply sensual lingering kisses and embraces, smoldering eye contact, and great passion!!! YES!!! So, while the mystery was just a little weak, the romance was just the way I like it. I'm so glad I found this one. 4 stars
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Garden of Lies involves secrets, drug trade, and "modern" women who hold jobs as secretaries, can type and do shorthand. Mrs. Ursula Kern is running her own secretarial business, hiring out women to do typing or shorthand for the English aristocracy. When one of her secretaries is found dead, Ursula wants to know what happened and refuses to believe that is was suicide. Because of this, Ursula quits her temp position with Slater Roxton. Roxton believes he needs to help Ursula in her quest to find out what happened to Anne.As usual there are plenty of twists and turns in this Victorian era romantic suspense. There are wealthy, slimy men, wealthy arrogant women and a sizzling romance between Ursula and Slaton. I love all of the books that Jayne Ann Krentz writes, whether as Jayne Krentz, Jayne Castle or Amanda Quick.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Ursula Kern is a woman with a secret past who has reinvented herself and become the owner of high class secretarial agency. When one of her workers dies unexpectedly, she decides to investigate. Before she can take her workers place, she has to resign from her current position with archaeologist and man of mystery Slater Roxton. Slater is worried that Ursula is going to be in danger and determines to protect her.Slater is an interesting character because he is not a member of the upper class. His father was upper class but his mother, an actress, was only his father's mistress. However, their relationship was close and long lasting. In fact, his father chose Slater to manage his estate for his two younger half brothers after his death. Slater has spent years as an adventurer and had a near death experience which resulted in his spending a year at a monastery where he developed a unique philosophy and became a vegetarian. London is rife with rumors about him which he finds amusing. The couple finds themselves in all kinds of danger as they investigate Ursula's friend's death. They find themselves involved in a plot to gain a monopoly on an exotic new drug which leads to murders, murder attempts, and blackmail. This was another enjoyable historical mystery from Quick.