Garden of Sins- Book Review

Garden of Sins by Laura Joh Rowland 

A Victorian Mystery, Book 6

Publication Date: 11th Jan 2022
Genre: Historical Crime Fiction 

3.8 Stars 

Garden of Sins brings the famous photojournalist Sarah and her police officer husband, Barrett, back into action. This time, Sarah has more than her hands full with her father’s trial (a cold case), her sister’s anger as Sarah is still doubtful about her father’s innocence, the death of a stranger, the mysterious events at Cremorne Gardens, and the trouble in her newly married life.

It’s too much to handle at once, but Sarah knows she has to do what she always did- tackle things head-on and trust her instincts. 

With danger and mistrust surrounding her, can Sarah come out victorious and save her marriage? 

I directly read book 5 last year and enjoyed the unconventional heroine from the Victorian era. The book doesn’t deal with nobles and balls but rather with the common folk. Though the language seems a bit too modern at times, I don’t mind it much. 

Book 6 brings a sort of closure to a couple of sidetracks from book 5. While the previous book wasn’t that hard to read and understand as a standalone, this one is different. It might seem too vague and messy without book 5 to support the storylines of-

• Sarah’s father’s trial
• The triangle of Sarah-Barrett-Jane

Both these have been more or less resolved in this book. The father’s trail is sorted (no spoilers) with a new twist that seems a bit too convenient. 

The actual case of the book is centered on the illegal activities in the seedy pleasure park called the Cremorne Gardens. The case involves even the royalty, and we cannot expect the expected outcome in such instances, can we? (Yeah, that’s me trying to avoid spoilers) 

Hugh is still recovering from his injury and heartbreak (ref: book 5). Mick and Anjali are more than friends, but Sarah is rightly worried about how it would affect the two. After all, they are still so young. 

I guess we can do without the mandatory sex scene between the lead couple just for the sake of it. 🙄

The book progresses at a steady pace, and the climax has good action scenes. The mystery element isn’t the strength of the book. The characters are, and that’s where the knowledge of the previous book ensured that I enjoyed this one. 

The author will have to come up with a new sidetrack for the next in the series, and I'm looking forward to reading that one (though I need to go back and finish books 1-4 in the meantime). 

To sum up, Garden of Sins is an interesting and engaging continuation of the Portrait of Peril. I’m not sure it’ll hold the readers’ interest as a standalone despite the backstory provided in bits and pieces. 

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books. 

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