Lawrence Kingston finds himself swept along in the dangerous undertow of a centuries’ old family conflict when he is called in to investigate a murder on the garden grounds of the famous Sturminster Hall in this latest English Garden Mystery.

Codebreakers have tried for centuries to decipher the enigmatic inscription on a strange monument in the garden at Sturminster Hall, but no one has ever succeeded. When a murder occurs on the garden grounds, the intellectual puzzle becomes all too real, and Dr. Lawrence Kingston – retired professor of botany and reluctant sleuth – is called in to investigate.

Other than a scrap of paper bearing a random sequence of letters found on the victim, the police have no meaningful clues. Convinced that the crime must be linked to the seemingly unbreakable centuries-old code, Kingston begins hunting for clues that will help him unmask the murderer’s identity as well as the arcane mystery of the monument. But he quickly finds himself swept along in the dangerous undertow of a centuries’ old family conflict and a second murder, by poisoning. What could be so valuable, so important to justify such extreme measures and complex codes to keep sacrosanct for over two centuries?

English-born Anthony Eglin spent many years in advertising before defecting to indulge in his passion for gardening. He is the author of the internationally popular English Garden Mysteries, including The Blue Rose, which won France’s prestigious Prix Arsène Lupin for mystery novel of the year. Anthony lives with his wife Suzie and tabby cat, Pyewacket, in Sonoma, California. Visit him online at www.anthonyeglin.com.

“Engaging… an intricate plot, colorful characters, and vivid descriptions of locales from London to small villages add up to an entertaining read.” —Publishers Weekly

“The fifth English Garden Mystery (see The Water Lily Cross and The Trial of the Wild Rose) is an entertaining whodunit as the past and the present converge during Kingston’s amateur sleuthing. The cast is solid in support of the protagonist who is at his best working the enigmatic murder case. The story line is fast-paced with a fascinating brief afterward explaining the code in further depth. Gardens of Secret Past is wonderful mystery as events two centuries old still remain relevant.”—followtheclue.wordpress.com