If you plan on taking a holiday in Cornwall or Wales in the near future I can think of no better accompaniment than Eden’s Garden.
If not, don’t hesitate to immerse yourself in this delightful, intriguing tale which unravels family secrets while celebrating women returning to the creative work they were born to do – and I refer not just to the female characters in the novel but to the author Juliet Greenwood who fulfilled a lifetime 
dream in writing this, her second novel, leaving the bright lights of London behind to immerse herself in gardening and writing projects in a country cottage nestled between the Isle of Angelsey and Snowdonia, Wales.
Eden’s Garden follows Carys in the present day, returning to her childhood village to attend her mother who is convalescing from a broken hip. She has little choice being the unmarried sister, though the unplanned return stirs a long dormant memory in her, pulling her back towards the estate of Plas Eden, it’s garden, the mysterious statues, the old farm house and David Meredith, the young man she left for a career many years before.
The two become involved in researching a possible family link that takes them south to Cornwall to another garden, that leads them on a shocking search through a piece of Victorian history that will leave you grateful to be living in the 21st century (especially if you are a woman).
The character of Ann we meet in 1898, on a bridge overlooking the Thames at a low point in her life, seeking refuge at a Charity Hospital.
Greenwood keeps the mystery of this intriguing character just out of reach throughout the novel, we know there is a connection, she leaves a few clues to allow forward predictions, cleverly increasing the tension and desire to know both her past and her future.
Within the first few pages, we are drawn into Carys’ experience as if it were our own, that not so comfortable feeling of returning to a childhood environment as an adult, without the husband and/or children that society expects, and on the verge of heartbreak.
The suspense of a family secret soon replaces the discomfort of village gossip and Greenwood keeps up the pace and intrigue all the way through.
Driving through Wales
For me this was not only a wonderful and engaging read, but one that brought back fond memories of driving through the Welsh countryside and witnessing many of the memorable landmarks of Cornwall.
‘The Importance of Being Ernest’ at the open air Minack Theatre, Cornwall
Word by Word 