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When Kate and Alex Sheppard find the house known as The Parsonage, they know that they have found their dream house. Kate, an antique dealer and Alex, an architect, are delighted with their new home. And not least is the fabulous, although over-grown, formal gardens that come with the house. While Kate is the gardener in the family, Alex makes the most momentous discovery while clearing up old clippings along the garden wall in a little alcove. Kate can hardly believe it when Alex announces that she must come and see the blue rose bush that he has discovered. At first she laughs and says it is probably lavender but upon seeing for herself she is amazed to see that it is truly a deep beautiful blue; a sapphire blue. They decide to entrust their secret find to Prof Lawrence Kingston, a retired botany professor and expert on roses. Prof Kingston tells them they must protect their discovery and advises they retain legal counsel because the rose growers of the world will beat a path to their door. Since they have only owned the house for a few weeks, Kate feels that they must investigate the previous owners to see who cultivated the roses and if they would have a claim. When they visit Mrs Cooke, the previous owner, they encounter her disagreeable nephew, Graham. Mrs Cooke reveals that her deceased husband was an avid rose grower and had left many journals detailing his cultivations. She asks Graham to get the journals from storage for the Sheppards and to arrange for their pick-up by the young couple. Graham reluctantly agrees. When they receive the journals they entrust them to Prof Kingston who ultimately informs them that they are in code and that one book is missing. Kingston, however, has a plan for getting the books decoded. In the meantime, the couple is approached by two different people who have knowledge of the blue rose and try to pressure them to sell it to them. Just when Graham presses a claim as the nephew of the man who produced the hybrid plant he is found dead. The three friends decide to move the plant and enlist the aid of a good friend who owns a nursery and they re-plant the rose at the home of their friend's aunt, who has a large, untidy garden where they will hide it. Many other misadventures ensue before they learn the deadly secret behind the blue rose bush. While things end well for the Sheppards, other people are not so fortunate. The author's passion is for gardening -- he co-produces gardening video tapes and is a member of the American Rose Society. His garden has been featured in a number of magazines and newspapers. His expertise shows through in this fast-paced first novel. Kate and Alex are clever and entertaining characters, Eglin would not go wrong planning a series around them and Prof Kingston.
Reviewed by Lorraine Gelly, December 2004
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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