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The Savage Garden

3.44 of 5 stars 3.44 · rating details · 2,827 ratings · 392 reviews

Tuscany, 1958

Behind a villa in the heart of Tuscany lies a Renaissance garden of enchanting beauty. Its grottoes, pagan statues and classical inscriptions seem to have a secret life of their own - and a secret message, too, for those with eyes to read it.

Young scholar Adam Strickland is just such a person. Arriving in 1958, he finds the Docci family, their house and the un...more

Paperback, 388 pages

Published 2007 by Harper (first published 2006)

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Jun 14, 2010 Hayes rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2010

3.5 stars, more or less, but gets an extra half star for mentioning things I love (in no particular order):

ancient villas in Tuscany
good wine
la fiorentina (T-Bone steak, Tuscan style)
The Boboli Gardens
Siena
the Dorothy L. Sayers translation of The Divine Comedy
The Bomarzo Gardens
natural hot springs

I would have been just as happy without the sex, but that's just me.

A decent mystery, nice story telling. Motivations and plot a little thin at the end, but not so as you'd notice overly much.

A nice r...more

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Aug 30, 2007 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: art lovers, people interested in classical studies, mystery readers

Andrew Strickland is a somewhat unfocused art history student at Cambridge University. His work is rather lackadaisical, drawing heavily on his source material without coming to many original conclusions. He prefers to spend his days drinking with friends and has given little thought to his thesis. After all, it’s not due for a year.
Everything changes when Andrew’s mentor, Professor Leonard, assigns him to a special summer project. The owner of a famous memorial garden in Tuscany has requested...more Andrew Strickland is a somewhat unfocused art history student at Cambridge University. His work is rather lackadaisical, drawing heavily on his source material without coming to many original conclusions. He prefers to spend his days drinking with friends and has given little thought to his thesis. After all, it’s not due for a year.
Everything changes when Andrew’s mentor, Professor Leonard, assigns him to a special summer project. The owner of a famous memorial garden in Tuscany has requested that Professor Leonard find someone to write a scholarly monograph exploring the symbolism in the garden. Andrew accepts the assignment, hoping he’s on the track of a good thesis.
The Docci garden, dedicated to the memory of a fifteenth century nobleman’s young wife, is peaceful, secluded and filled with classical symbols. Previous scholars have drawn parallels between the garden’s statuary and Ovid’s Metamorphoses.
As Andrew delves into the garden’s meandering paths and shadowy grotto, however, he comes to suspect that the hidden meaning is much more sinister. Could it be that the garden serves as much more than a memorial to a tragically deceased young woman? Is it possible that the carefully chosen references and precisely placed ornaments describe the method and motive of her murder? Do the clues in the garden point to the identity of her murderer?
Signora Docci is the matriarch of the Docci family. She resides in the family villa, built shortly before the death of the nobleman’s wife. She is the keeper of the family history, leading Andrew gently towards the truth and doling out information in tantalizingly small morsels.
Andrew’s investigation into centuries-old events unearths a much fresher murder hidden in the shadows of the Docci villa. Signora Docci’s eldest son, Emilio, was murdered by Nazis on the third floor of the villa during the final days of German occupation. The rooms, sealed off by Signore Docci, are frozen in time. They forever provide a precise snapshot of the rooms as they were the evening of Emilio’s murder.
After Signore Docci’s death, Signora Docci abided by his wishes, keeping the rooms under lock and key. Like the garden, the untouched rooms contain clues – clues that might lead an inquisitive mind to wonder who really killed Emilio, and why.
In The Savage Garden, Mark Mills has created a fascinating and conflicted world. The beauty of the garden, the villa and the Tuscan countryside belies the brutality that lies just beneath the surface. Blood spilled, whether it was 400 years ago or in recent memory, will have its voice.
Mills masterfully reveals each piece of the puzzle, drawing his readers along at an almost leisurely pace. The story reads like a lazy summer afternoon – each new clue is discovered in its own time. Yet the murders add an urgent undercurrent to the narrative, pulling the readers forward until all is understood.
I enjoyed this novel. It was a change of pace from the suspense fiction I read so often. The Savage Garden forced me to slow down. The beautiful descriptions, intriguing mystery and references to classical literature demanded that this story be savored rather than devoured. Mills’ vivid descriptions brought his people and places to life, allowing me to completely lose myself in his story each time I opened the book.
I can’t think of a better way to spend a long, hot summer afternoon!

(Review published in the Burlington Times-News, 7/22/2007)(less)

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Nov 28, 2007 Rachel Hawes rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2007, general-fiction

Another book about a house with a dark past -- and another reference to Jane Eyre!

Set in Tuscany in 1958, Adam - an art history undergrad - goes off to stay at a villa to study the sculpture in the gardens for his thesis. As he uncovers the message of the gardens, and subsequently a crime committed 400 years ago, he also begins to uncover a similar crime much closer to home.

Whilst the plot is a little far fetched, this is beautifully written and the descriptions of the Tuscan landscapes, and th...more

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Dec 05, 2008 Blair rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical, mystery-thriller-etc

A quick, easy and absorbing read with a mildly compelling plot and an interesting cast of characters. I wasn't too impressed with the quality of the writing, though; one of the reviews quoted on the jacket makes the rather outlandish claim that it's of Booker nominee standard, but there's noticeable repetition of several phrases, the sex scenes are frankly terrible, and the dialogue is littered with slang that I don't think would have even existed in 1950s Britain, let alone been understood by a...more

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Oct 11, 2007 Cecilia rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: thriller readers/mystery fans

Shelves: favorites

This book uses the magic and allure of Tuscany to its advantage by setting a taut mystery within one of the region’s gardens. Mills does a great job of setting the stage for his mystery…which is much more psychological than action. Mills’ main character, Adam Strickland, is a Cambridge grad student who is given what appears to be the assignment of a lifetime. While in the gardens of Tuscany which he is to write about, he uncovers a mystery several centuries past. This mystery of long ago leads h...more

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May 25, 2008 LindyLouMac rated it 3 of 5 stars

Despite the very slow pace of this novel I found it hugely atmospheric. Maybe especially so because I know some of the places mentioned personally, A particular favourite being Bomarzo, The Sacred Wood.

Will definitely appeal to lovers of Italy, Gardens their histories and thrillers. It was only my interest in these first two that kept me turning the pages at first because I found I was almost halfway through before the mystery pulled me in properly. I was pulled in very slowly by the mystery of...more

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Sep 07, 2009 Elaine Dowling rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is an unusual book abut an English college student in the 1950's who goes to Italy to write a thesis on a Renaissance garden that still exists. The garden was created by the original owner of the attached house in memory of his dead wife. The student quickly figures out that all is not as it appears -- either in the garden's symbolism and the story it tells or in the locked up 3rd floor of the attached house.

In all honesty, a lot of things about this book could have been better. I would hav...more

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Mar 29, 2009 Lourdes Fernandez Venard rated it 4 of 5 stars

Young art scholar Adam Strickland is sent to Italy by his thesis adviser to study a Renaissance garden built by a Florentine banker in memory of his wife, who died in 1548 under mysterious circumstances. The garden, filled with statues, a temple and grotto, is indeed interesting as art. But it becomes even more interesting when Adam hits upon the key to deciphering it: Dante’s “The Divine Comedy” – the nine-tiered garden is modeled on the nine circles of hell. Following the clues, he suspects th...more

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Feb 23, 2009 Susy rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book –that I thought was a romantic tale- provided a nice surprise. Well written, the romantic overtones tempered by some irony and an interesting plot. There are three time frames: the Renaissance, the end of WW II and 1958. Adam, an art student from Cambridge, is set by his professor with a subject for a thesis: the study of an old garden in a villa near Firenze. There is something wrong with the garden, erected by a rich Florentine in memory of his wife, died very young. There are scatte...more

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Jan 14, 2013 Sandra rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 4-star, asa, meu, 2009

Um jovem estudante da universidade de Cambridge é convidado por um professor para realizar uma tese baseada num misterioso jardim. De início a ideia parece absurda, mas depois de considerar todas as possibilidades Adam aceita o convite e viaja para a Toscana, Itália, a fim de concretizar esse projecto. Mas tudo o que parece ser, não o é. E a viagem de Adam, desde o primeiro minuto, está programada por alguém que necessita dele, que precisa urgentemente de uma marioneta de modo a conseguir o que...more

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Oct 10, 2012 Big Book Little Book rated it 4 of 5 stars

Helen for www.bigbooklittlebook.com

Having read Mark Mills’ The Information Officer for Book Club and having heard that this was better I thought I’d give it a try, and I have found it gripping! It has been one of those books where you sneak off for five minutes just to read a bit more.

Adam Strickland is looking for a thesis subject and one of his tutors sends him off to Italy to research a memorial garden. The garden has never been examined like this before and is full of statues, layers and mys...more Helen for www.bigbooklittlebook.com

Having read Mark Mills’ The Information Officer for Book Club and having heard that this was better I thought I’d give it a try, and I have found it gripping! It has been one of those books where you sneak off for five minutes just to read a bit more.

Adam Strickland is looking for a thesis subject and one of his tutors sends him off to Italy to research a memorial garden. The garden has never been examined like this before and is full of statues, layers and mysteries. Adam is soon under its spell but as the garden begins to reveal itself to him he begins to find it is hiding more than he bargained for. On top of this the Docci family who own the garden and Villa to which it belongs begin to toss up a few mysteries of their own. As Adam gets more intrigued he becomes more and more enmeshed in what could be a very dangerous situation.

Set in Italy in 1958 the backdrop for the story is beautiful and often pivotal to the plot as the countryside and Florentine Art speak to Adam. But even more interesting was the way in which Mark Mills used other stories to inform his own narrative. Adam finds that Dante’s Inferno seems to have special significance and hunts through Dante’s work for clues to the gardens secrets. As he discovers the memorial garden is put there to commemorate a murder, not just a death, he is desperately searching for clues as to what happened, and of course who did it. It is not often that someone might be on the verge of resolving a 400 year old crime but this is so intelligently written that it is very plausible.

Alongside this is the puzzle of the Docci’s. The top floor of the Villa is sealed off following the death of the oldest son at the end of the war in tragic circumstances. Adam realises the very people he is working for have hidden depths and secrets and he can’t leave it alone! The unfolding of the events in the present day is what brings the air of menace and the feeling of danger to the story. Although for me I wasn’t scared by it, I did really want to know what had happened and how it would all turn out. This feeling was increased by the interesting characters, they are very believable with many sides. There is always more being revealed about the people, not just about the mystery.

On top of all of this, the plot twists and turns cleverly, building up to a myriad of them in the last quarter of the tale and, it has to be said that, many of them I just didn’t see coming. As you journey with Adam and see through his eyes this means that despite his brilliance in figuring out many things he doesn’t work it all out either. I really liked the flawedness of him as a character. I also liked his brother Harry who added a little light relief and the enigmatic Signora Docci who always keeps you guessing.

Verdict: So overall, the great use of myth, history and older writings combined with great characters, a little romance and a little humour come together to create a complex, multi-layered crime novel with a difference.
(less)

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Jul 19, 2012 Doreen Fritz rated it 4 of 5 stars

A friend had recommended this mystery, saying she "couldn't put it down." I was between books, so decided to try it. I was leery because this particular friend has sometimes encouraged me to read books that felt a little too smart for me - i.e. I often felt too ignorant to appreciate the subtleties. The Savage Garden tells the story of Adam Strickland, a lackluster art history student at Cambridge, who travels to Italy to study a 16th century garden at Villa Docci for his thesis. The first owner...more

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May 07, 2012 Kristen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

The Savage Garden fits nicely into a subgenre I've begun to think of as the Academic Mystery. In this genre, there's usually some kind of old text that needs to be unraveled, while at the same time, a contemporary mystery or crime also presents itself. (Some favorites in this genre include Possession and Gospel.) In the Savage Garden, we follow a college student as he travels to Italy to study a 16th Century garden that harbors a mystery in its use of symbolism and mythology -- and stumbles acro...more

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Apr 03, 2012 David rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book is mainly set in Cambridge, South London and Tuscany in 1958. The sense of place and timing are impeccable and Mills weaves in connections to Dante, Machiavelli and Florentine art masters with love. Those who know Florence will enjoy the references to familiar places. The only false chord, which did substantially detract from my enjoyment of the book and that other reviewers have noticed is that the writing veers at times into a very modern style, including some very explicitly describ...more

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Mar 08, 2012 Karen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime, united-kingdom

During the German occupation of Italy in the Second World War, the Villa Docci was taken over by them as a command post. The German Officer in charge of the contingent was a lover of art and culture and he, and the Docci family were able to come to an arrangement that meant that the beautiful fresco's, artworks and antiques in the house were respected and the gardens were allowed to be maintained. As the Germans withdrew and the Allies moved forward, a couple of German soldiers left behind to de...more During the German occupation of Italy in the Second World War, the Villa Docci was taken over by them as a command post. The German Officer in charge of the contingent was a lover of art and culture and he, and the Docci family were able to come to an arrangement that meant that the beautiful fresco's, artworks and antiques in the house were respected and the gardens were allowed to be maintained. As the Germans withdrew and the Allies moved forward, a couple of German soldiers left behind to destroy the unit's records unfortunately didn't honour the gentleman's agreement and in a drunken rampage started shooting up the house and destroying valuable antiques. Emilio, eldest son of the Docci's, lost his temper with the German soldiers, in turn they shot him dead on the top floor of the villa, in full view of his younger brother and a gardener from the Estate. Grief-stricken, Emilio's father shut off the top floor of the villa and it remained that way, even after the father's death.

In 1958 Adam Strickland is a student at Cambridge University in England. Basically a good and caring young man at heart, Adam's a haphazard student, unfocused and distracted by life. His professor Crispin Leonard has great faith in his student though, and he has an idea for Adam's PhD Thesis. In the grounds of the Villa Docci there is a mid-sixteenth century garden, laid out by a grieving husband to honour the memory of his dead wife. It is a fascinating and very mysterious garden, laid out in terraces with statues, grottoes, meandering rills and classical inscriptions. But there also seems to be some riddle about the meaning and message of the garden which Adam quickly becomes obsessed with solving.

THE SAVAGE GARDEN is a novel of intrigue. There are two central intrigues – firstly the garden. Is there something more to that garden than a memorial? Secondly, the death of Emilio, is that really a crime of war, or is it a crime somewhat closer to home. At the centre of the family is the frail, elderly Francesca, old friend of Professor Leonard and mother of Emilio, Maurizio and Caterina. Antonella is Caterina's daughter – she lives part of the time in an old farm-house not far from the villa. Maria has been working for the Docci's for many years – she is part housekeeper, part cook, part nurse and companion and sounding board for Francesca.

THE SAVAGE GARDEN is also a love story of sorts, although that love is often intermingled with lust and obsession – in fact it seems that the Docci family have been controlled by love and lust since the time the garden was first established.

In fact THE SAVAGE GARDEN has an overall feeling of obsession – the garden holds Adam firmly from the first moment he sees it – he knows above everything else that there is a riddle to be solved, a meaning to the layout of that garden that isn't immediately obvious and that quest becomes totally compelling. There is also a strange obsession in the Docci family with the death of Emilio. Despite her husband's death many years before, Francesca keeps the top floor of the villa closed off and she continues to resist pressure to move to the smaller farmhouse and hand control of the villa over to Maurizio.

Not a traditional crime story in that there is no immediate crime to be resolved, rather THE SAVAGE GARDEN is an extremely well executed story of detection. Adam must solve the riddle behind the meaning of the garden. Along the way he finds himself strangely compelled to answer the riddle behind the death of Emilio. Highly recommended.(less)

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Feb 16, 2011 Sarah Norman rated it 2 of 5 stars

Well, this is one of those books that makes me feel like I better become an author. Seriously, can any old crap become a bestseller? If so, let me start writing. That's a bit mean, but DUDE. It was a bit rubbish.

It tells the story of a young man who as a university project goes to study a Renaissance garden in Italy. It's written in the past, and opens with him in university, and the narrator says of his past self: "Try as he might, he couldn't penetrate the workings of that stranger's mind, let...more

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Dec 04, 2010 Jennifer (JC-S) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: librarybooks

‘Abandon all hope, ye who enter.’

Adam Strickland is drifting towards his degree in art history in 1958 when he is called to his professor's office one afternoon. Adam is assigned a special summer project: to write a scholarly monograph about a famous garden built in the 1500s. This garden, dedicated to the memory of Signor Docci's dead wife, is a mysterious world of statues, grottoes, meandering rills, and classical inscriptions. But during his three-week sojourn at the villa, Adam comes to susp...more

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Sep 25, 2010 Linda rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-crime, hist-fic

Cambridge student Adam Strickland is handed the opportunity of a lifetime, a two week trip to Tuscany to study the 17th century garden at the Villa Docci. Never before studied, it's the perfect thesis topic. When he arrives, Adam finds both villa and garden enchanting, and somehow mysterious. The elderly Signora Docci and her granddaughter Antonella are equally charming. But as Adams delves into the garden's many enigmatic features, he begins to question the reasons behind its design. The garden...more

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Aug 12, 2010 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars

Another fun historical novel with a slightly far-fetched plot but a good pace of events. Is this a cozy? I can't decide. Great art, pretty buildings, a dark-eyes stranger, but it resists the formula of a cozy mystery. It's more subtle.

There were several times in the story where the author, I think, just forgot that he was writing about an English student and the Italians he meets in 1958. A man confronts drunk, armed German soldiers because they are breaking up his antiques. The sexual mores ar...more

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Aug 18, 2012 Mary-ellen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Adam Strickland is studying art history at Cambridge University in 1958 when his tutor approaches him with a thesis topic that sends him to study in Florence. In Florence, he stays at the villa of Francesca Docci within which the Renaissance garden that is to be his thesis subject stands. The garden was built by a Florentine banker in memory of his wife, who died in 1548 at the age of 25. Mills creates an enchanting landscape with references to well-known Renaissance art and famous gardens like...more

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Jun 25, 2011 Bev Hankins rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: academic-mystery, mystery

The Savage Garden, the second novel by British author Mark Mills, is a literary mystery in the tradition of juxtaposing historical and contemporary events. Set in the post-World War II era, it focuses on Cambridge student Adam Strickland who is in search of a subject for his art history thesis. His mentor suggests that he research an Italian garden found on the estate of Signora Francesca Docci. The garden was built by the villa's first owner, Federico Docci, and has been recognized as a tribute...more The Savage Garden, the second novel by British author Mark Mills, is a literary mystery in the tradition of juxtaposing historical and contemporary events. Set in the post-World War II era, it focuses on Cambridge student Adam Strickland who is in search of a subject for his art history thesis. His mentor suggests that he research an Italian garden found on the estate of Signora Francesca Docci. The garden was built by the villa's first owner, Federico Docci, and has been recognized as a tribute to his wife Flora, who died when she was only 25. From the moment Strickland first walks through the garden he begins to suspect that there is more to the tranquil setting that meets the eye and that the statues placed in various sections may be more than a tribute to the mythological guardians as has been assumed for hundreds of years. As he endeavors to unravel the puzzle of the garden, his conversations with Signora Docci, her family, and her long-time companion make him aware of a more recent mystery. Emilio, the Signora's eldest son, was killed during the German occupation--apparently by drunken German soldiers. But there have already been two versions told of the murder. Is there a third, more accurate version yet to be told?

I had a very rocky start with this novel. The first chapter has, what seems to me, a completely pointless scene with Strickland and his then girlfriend. She is a writer and they are discussing a portion of her book when all of sudden Mills throws in a description of how her breasts were straining against the fabric of her shirt. And I'm thinking "Have I stumbled into a bodice-ripper when I wasn't looking? Will there be 'throbbing' next?" Totally unnecessary description and it almost caused me to stop reading. Because if every time a female character was brought onstage we were going to be given unnecessary sexual descriptions, then I was not interested. It didn't help that the girlfriend was pretty much not essential at all and that it didn't matter that she was a writer. She dumps him...and that makes him all the more eager to go to Italy for his research, but that could have been established in a much better way.

Fortunately Mills gets the torrid romance novel prose out of his system early on (he handles future romance scenes much more deftly) and soon gets down to business with the literary mystery. I was completely enthralled with the secrets of the garden and the quest to discover its hidden meaning. Given my reading over the past year, I should have picked up on the literary clues that were essential to the solution, but even though I missed those references I did see the basic secret long before Strickland. Mills does a very good job balancing the historical and contemporary mysteries, although I must admit that I was more interested in the secrets of the garden than I was in the murder of Signora Docci's son. Overall, Mills also does very well with his characterization--giving the individuals depth and making the reader interested in their motives. The only reservations I have are with the character of the contemporary villain--we aren't given enough to provoke either sympathy or revulsion--and I would have liked to have seen a bit more of Strickland's mentor, Professor Crispin Leonard.

This was a very satisfying and interesting literary mystery. I learned quite a bit about Italian art and history. There was plenty of action and adventure and (after that first chapter) even a bit of romance. A fast-paced, good summer-time read. Three and a half stars. (less)

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Oct 10, 2009 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was another great recommendation from Shannon. There were so many things to like about this novel: the setting in Tuscany, the art/literature/mythological history, the multiple intrigues - all in all, a great read that was both entertaining and even a bit educational as well. The ending had a bit of a surprise twist; those are the kind that I like best!
It was a short book, and that contributes to my only critique, which is that the characters, setting and events could have been given more d...more

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Oct 12, 2010 Rebecca rated it 4 of 5 stars

The majority of the plot is a mysterious garden in Tuscany which a young English student is sent over to investigate for a potential thesis at university. It almost reads a bit like a mini mystery of symbols like a David Langdon adventure of Dan Brown style. Yet it is interrupted occasionally by the history of world war two and the influence of warfare and german soldiers on the family and household of Villa Docci. Simmering beneath the mystery of the garden is the mystery of the top floor of th...more

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Jul 24, 2009 Jthink rated it 4 of 5 stars

I agree with many of the other reviews: slow paced, but the atmosphere and the story's setting in beautiful Tuscany, a place I have visited, created by Mark Mills more than makes up for the pacing. It is also extremely erudite: a cultured and well-written story. Well done Mr. Mills. I enjoyed it.

ADDENDUM: Coming across this book again in sorting out a few bookshelves (in real life), I re-read it. The reason being that it turned out the author had successfully evoked images in mind when reading i...more

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Oct 17, 2012 S rated it 4 of 5 stars

I had never read a book by Mark Mills before and I stumbled across this one in our staff room. I was intrigued by the subject matter and became quickly immersed in the story.
The book follows Adam, a university student who is encouraged to travel to Italy by his lecturer to write about Villa Docci, an old historic family home. Adam travels to Italy to write a thesis on the 400 year old memorial garden in Villa Docci. The garden contains grottos and statues depicting Greek gods and goddesses and A...more

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Jun 12, 2011 TwoDrinks rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: a-bookcrossing-catch, book-club-stickered, read-in-2011, a-waste-of-my-time

Note to self: you didn't like this book. It is tedious for several reasons. Firstly, I'm not in to Greek or Roman mythology and sadly this is central to the story. Secondly, it's set in 1958 but you keep forgetting because this isn't tied in to the tale enough. Thirdly, what are the three sex scenes about? They seem to be written in a different voice by a different author. Fourthly, the writer is really mean about giving the reader clues to help you piece together the crime (or maybe I missed th...more

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Apr 19, 2010 Jill rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

A relatively strong read, The Savage Garden follows the story of Andrew, a lackluster English art student who travels to Italy to discover his true talents any maybe solve a murder.

The beginning of the novel is slow and somewhat disjointed. In the first twenty-five pages and author shunts us from scene to scene to scene, in what appears to be more of an outline than an actual finished product. (There are also some editing snafus that leave the dialogue somewhat confusing throughout.) But the plo...more

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Feb 08, 2011 Arielle rated it 3 of 5 stars

This novel centers around the story of a somewhat irresponsible student of art history at Cambridge University, Andrew, who is asked to write a thesis about the Villa Docci's famous gardens. The gardens were said to have been built by the villa's original owner in memory of his beautiful wife. As he is conducting his research, Andrew becomes taken with the garden's many statues that tell stories from various scenes of Greek mythology. One part of the garden in particular attracts Andrew's attent...more

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Apr 13, 2011 Brooke rated it 5 of 5 stars

After being introduced to Mark Mills through his first novel, Amagansett, I was thrilled to see that his next novel centered in one of my other favorite places on earth Florence and Tuscany. Can this guy please keep writing stories that take place in my most favorite places?! Leland would be par for the course! Yet another mystery novel this one spans 400+ years and involves a college student from Cambridge's summer spend at a Tuscan villa. He is saddled with uncovering the mystery behind the vi...more After being introduced to Mark Mills through his first novel, Amagansett, I was thrilled to see that his next novel centered in one of my other favorite places on earth Florence and Tuscany. Can this guy please keep writing stories that take place in my most favorite places?! Leland would be par for the course! Yet another mystery novel this one spans 400+ years and involves a college student from Cambridge's summer spend at a Tuscan villa. He is saddled with uncovering the mystery behind the villa's garden built in honor of the original owners wife, "Flora" and while you may have just yawned this storyline is far from a sleeper. The characters all play off of each other very well and add a dynamic element in the course of their interaction. The story is like an artichoke - layered family turmoil, manipulation, vendettas, murder, love affairs present and past in true Italian form! Mills does an excellent job of vividly setting the stage in an almost shakespearan way and even the more flawed characters have redeeming elements that enables the reader to sympathize with them on some level. The reader is drawn into the folds as if a part of the story/play. Watching it unravel and making discoveries alongside the characters. I loved all the historical literary and artistic references and how they are incorporated into the story line but they didn't distract from the story rather enhance it. Although I have decided that I really like Mark Mills writing style the fact that he makes specific references to places I visited when studying abroad in Florence makes me want to transport myself there immediately. If you have ever spent time in Florence/Tuscany my guess is you would like this novel and much as I did. Just finished this book and I loved it, am missing it and sad that it's over. Savage Garden keeps the reader enthralled to the very last page. The only frustrating part was Adam and Antonella's romance which seemed to move painstakingly slow w/ no apparent consideration for the fact that Adam had a limited amount of time at the villa and was leaving supposedly to never return. But that could have just bothered me.(less)

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Jun 10, 2012 Bianca rated it 3 of 5 stars

Adam Strickland is a lazy but extremely promising young art history student who is struggling to pick a topic for his final thesis. His Professor suggests that he go to Italy and study a garden he knew of in Florence.

This story has two mysteries - firstly Adam has to see past the superficial meaning of the garden and delve deeper to understand the garden dedicated to Flora. Secondly, the Villa Docci appears to be cursed which is only heightened by the top floor of the villa bring closed up and i...more

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About Mark Mills

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Mark Mills is a British writer of screenplays and novels. His first screenplay was BAFTA nominated short film One Night Stand starring Jemma Redgrave and James Purefoy in 1993; this won Mills a 'Best Screenplay' award at the Angers European First Film Festival in 1995.

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Books by Mark Mills

Crafting the Very Short Story: An Anthology of 100 Masterpieces

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Trivia About The Savage Garden

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Quotes from The Savage Garden

“It's the job of old people to disapprove of everything young people do. . .If we don't disapprove, then the young have nothing to fight against and the world will never change. It cannot move on.” — 15 people liked it

“When they start killing the men of ideas, you can be sure the Devil is laughing.” — 10 people liked it

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The Savage Garden

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