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The Sea Garden
The Walton-Jones family have inherited a beautiful garden set on an island off the southwestern tip of England. Upon digging up a skeleton that could be an archaeological find or a murder victim, a series of events unfolds that shatters their idyll.
503 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
8 people are currently reading
100 people want to read
About the author
Sam Llewellyn
103 books49 followersSam Llewellyn is a British author of literature for children and adults.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
January 23, 2019
I understand the notion that if you have patience and give to a book, it will give back to you. I had patience with Sam Llewellyn's The Sea Garden and it did give back to me. I liked his writing style. At times, short and choppy sentences. At times, longer and more colorful prose. Concentration on characters versus description.
Admittedly, I learned a few new words and learned a thing or two about story structure. I found the characters well-drawn and at times interesting.
But that's pretty much where it stopped.
The tale is really two tales. Two stories, one in the past and one in the present, written in such a way that they seem to occur contemporaneously. But, in the end, I found that the constant flashbacks to the island's sordid past detracted from the main narrative of an Englishman and an American woman trying to forge a life on the island of Trelise, off the coast of Cornwall, England. I found the constant interruptions, many in the form of antiquated written correspondence inserted into the novel, jarring. They also served to distance me from the main narrative and were at times difficult to follow and confusing.
At page 209 of a 376-page novel, I gave up.
Maybe some time in the future, I'll revisit it. I understand much research went into the novel and Llewellyn was trying to achieve something epic in scale and scope. But, at least at this juncture in my life, the story failed to hold my interest.
Admittedly, I learned a few new words and learned a thing or two about story structure. I found the characters well-drawn and at times interesting.
But that's pretty much where it stopped.
The tale is really two tales. Two stories, one in the past and one in the present, written in such a way that they seem to occur contemporaneously. But, in the end, I found that the constant flashbacks to the island's sordid past detracted from the main narrative of an Englishman and an American woman trying to forge a life on the island of Trelise, off the coast of Cornwall, England. I found the constant interruptions, many in the form of antiquated written correspondence inserted into the novel, jarring. They also served to distance me from the main narrative and were at times difficult to follow and confusing.
At page 209 of a 376-page novel, I gave up.
Maybe some time in the future, I'll revisit it. I understand much research went into the novel and Llewellyn was trying to achieve something epic in scale and scope. But, at least at this juncture in my life, the story failed to hold my interest.
May 31, 2017
This book has a little of everything: mystery, history, and family saga, all centred around an intriguing garden on an island off the Cornish coast.
I'm a sucker for anything that involves gardens and mysteries anyway, and in this case I loved the way the different strands wove together, with the present-day heroine investigating a skull discovered in the garden and uncovering all sorts of family skeletons-in-closets in the process. I got so engrossed with some of the historical characters (Joshua, Guido) that I was quite sad when those sections came to an end.
I also loved the dry humour that hits you when you least expect it, and which reminded me at times of Dorothy Dunnett - which is no mean achievement.
The ending was perhaps a tad melodramatic, but did fit well with the more historical elements of the book, and wrapped everything up very well. I'd happily read more by Mr Llewellyn.
I'm a sucker for anything that involves gardens and mysteries anyway, and in this case I loved the way the different strands wove together, with the present-day heroine investigating a skull discovered in the garden and uncovering all sorts of family skeletons-in-closets in the process. I got so engrossed with some of the historical characters (Joshua, Guido) that I was quite sad when those sections came to an end.
I also loved the dry humour that hits you when you least expect it, and which reminded me at times of Dorothy Dunnett - which is no mean achievement.
The ending was perhaps a tad melodramatic, but did fit well with the more historical elements of the book, and wrapped everything up very well. I'd happily read more by Mr Llewellyn.
September 24, 2020
This is the 2nd time of reading. First time was when it was first published almost 20 years ago. It has sat on my bookshelf ever since calling me to reread it. But in all honesty, it's not that great. The plot is nothing like I imagined from the title or the blurb, and hasn't changed in the 20 years between readings (sadly). It's a very clunky and disjointed read and I don't really care for any of the characters, except perhaps, Alice Jenkins. The rest of them are all pretty vile.
What I do love about this book though is the location and the descriptions of the garden and the island. To be reading this is to be spending time in a beautiful place and if you can find a space without any island inhabitants, especially at sunset, it's a lovely place to be.
What I do love about this book though is the location and the descriptions of the garden and the island. To be reading this is to be spending time in a beautiful place and if you can find a space without any island inhabitants, especially at sunset, it's a lovely place to be.
February 14, 2023
Good book, a lot of suspense, some points were very thrilling. Great story once your involved. Lots of jumping back and forwards in time which is sometimes confusing . There was 2 points in the book where I had limited idea on what was happening at that point but on continuing reading I worked it out. All in all it was good.
November 28, 2017
I'm still intrigued by the mystery, and this book is really lushly written. The partner in it turned out to be obnoxious very early on and started pulling nasty cis white dude shit on the lead character. I decided I don't need that in my life right now.
January 19, 2022
I enjoyed this gritty thriller.
I enjoyed that it was set in Cornwall, the writing, the descriptiveness and the dark feeling to the story .
It’s been an intricately weaved plot , suspenseful and full of history with a touch of Arthurian legend chucked in which made me very happy .
I enjoyed that it was set in Cornwall, the writing, the descriptiveness and the dark feeling to the story .
It’s been an intricately weaved plot , suspenseful and full of history with a touch of Arthurian legend chucked in which made me very happy .
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 18, 2023
Leest over het algemeen langzaam, op momenten sleept het je opeens mee! Veel interessante tijdssprongen; je leest als het ware naar het eind toe vanuit zowel het verleden als het heden? Ook: moord, tuinen, plottwists! Goed geschreven, een aardig niveau:)
May 16, 2017
The idea is go but the ending doesn't work for me.
August 7, 2019
terrible. not worth reading.
August 23, 2020
Just couldn't get into this at all. Irritatingly stereotypical characters, slow moving. Shame, I was looking forward to it.
June 12, 2025
DNF, I gave it 100 pages but didn't really care what happened so decided to stop reading.
July 16, 2025
The main story is not so bad, but it hangs in so much twisted language and words that don't come well together, comparissons that make very little sense.
The second half of the book is so full of descriptive sex and each and every time it's all revenge sex. After the 2-nd scene I was already thinking it's too much, but apparently all revenges in the book are closed with sex (and they're at leat 4) and take many many years to materialize... that's a total lack of imagination and such idiotic characters.
Soooooo full of cheeseness, that's definitely not what I look for in a book
Seems like the author wanted to mix too many genres and politically correctness into one single book. Way too much.
The writing is not bad here and there, but it needs more work. Too many scenes don't bind, the places seem to have no fixed dimensions. And the very start of the story, the archeologist binding events based on letters and correspondence to wobble the net of the origines of the garden, is really not convincing at all. Letters are presented like being sent out from the place, however, they were gathered at the place itself. And they're dated 130 years before... not convincing.
The story didn't manage to get me in. I felt like descripttions of the same places and people were different as presented more than one time.
It was not worth my time at all
The second half of the book is so full of descriptive sex and each and every time it's all revenge sex. After the 2-nd scene I was already thinking it's too much, but apparently all revenges in the book are closed with sex (and they're at leat 4) and take many many years to materialize... that's a total lack of imagination and such idiotic characters.
Soooooo full of cheeseness, that's definitely not what I look for in a book
Seems like the author wanted to mix too many genres and politically correctness into one single book. Way too much.
The writing is not bad here and there, but it needs more work. Too many scenes don't bind, the places seem to have no fixed dimensions. And the very start of the story, the archeologist binding events based on letters and correspondence to wobble the net of the origines of the garden, is really not convincing at all. Letters are presented like being sent out from the place, however, they were gathered at the place itself. And they're dated 130 years before... not convincing.
The story didn't manage to get me in. I felt like descripttions of the same places and people were different as presented more than one time.
It was not worth my time at all
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 27, 2012
This book was handed to me on a sunny afternoon, sat in the garden trying to enjoy the hazy weather that UK usually has to offer. It pulled me right in, with its snappy repertoire and stubby sentences it is fast, easy to follow, and intriguing. As we follow the young American woman Victoria and her seemingly love at first sight Romance and Marriage with Guy the Englishman, she is delighted at finally finding the man of her dreams. Until they inherit the Stately home at Trelise, who's property is by inheritance theirs after the death of a relative, and they need to become the Blakeney-Jones.
The house gardener however, finds a skeleton in the overgrown garden, and Victoria is puzzled and curious, and starts digging further for the identity of the skeleton. In doing so she uncovers papers of the family, its deceitful and troubling past, and as Guy increasingly acts suspicious and becomes withdrawn, Victoria can't help but see her investigation to the very end, even if it means risking to loose everything she has.
It is an intriguing book, one that jumps back and forth like a yo yo and has short snappy sentences. There is little emphasis on surroundings unless talked about the garden how it used to be in the past, the focus is more on the actual characters.
I enjoyed this book, it was an exciting read, but not one that I will remember. It was short, quick and with a high and low point that was both shocking and anticipated at the same time.
The house gardener however, finds a skeleton in the overgrown garden, and Victoria is puzzled and curious, and starts digging further for the identity of the skeleton. In doing so she uncovers papers of the family, its deceitful and troubling past, and as Guy increasingly acts suspicious and becomes withdrawn, Victoria can't help but see her investigation to the very end, even if it means risking to loose everything she has.
It is an intriguing book, one that jumps back and forth like a yo yo and has short snappy sentences. There is little emphasis on surroundings unless talked about the garden how it used to be in the past, the focus is more on the actual characters.
I enjoyed this book, it was an exciting read, but not one that I will remember. It was short, quick and with a high and low point that was both shocking and anticipated at the same time.
January 11, 2011
I’ve never read this author but saw a review on one of the book blogs I visit and decided to try this.
A young couple marry after a whirlwind romance and then he (unexpectedly) inherits the family estate, which includes the said sea garden. There’s some menacing secret about this garden that staff seem to be in on, but not the wife who determines to “dig up” (in more ways than one) the history of this particular plot of land.
The book lost me after only a couple of chapters when it flash-backed to the founding ancestor (Jonas?) Jones and his life at sea. I can’t follow narratives about boats or the ocean and I thought it highly probable that it was important to the plot to understand this chapter. I looked ahead – and dipped into another sea episode.
I guess I had hoped that the “garden” would have been major part of that title, and not the “sea”. This just wasn’t for me, so I returned it to the library unread.
A young couple marry after a whirlwind romance and then he (unexpectedly) inherits the family estate, which includes the said sea garden. There’s some menacing secret about this garden that staff seem to be in on, but not the wife who determines to “dig up” (in more ways than one) the history of this particular plot of land.
The book lost me after only a couple of chapters when it flash-backed to the founding ancestor (Jonas?) Jones and his life at sea. I can’t follow narratives about boats or the ocean and I thought it highly probable that it was important to the plot to understand this chapter. I looked ahead – and dipped into another sea episode.
I guess I had hoped that the “garden” would have been major part of that title, and not the “sea”. This just wasn’t for me, so I returned it to the library unread.
April 20, 2013
I thought this might be an interesting mystery and the first bit was quite engaging; however, it spiralled into a rather melodramatic family saga that became more and more over the top as it went. It's rathered clichéd to resort to the old "character disappears,considered dead, reappears unrecognised by others" trick; but when an author uses it more than once it's an insult to the reader's intelligence! Some of the characters from earlier generations were interesting in their way but the modern plot line and characters quickly became unrealistic, especially the villain of the piece. The only saving grace was the setting of the garden on the island, which was rendered atmospheric by the author's descriptions.
November 19, 2012
This was a hard one to get into. The writer's style is unique and it would probably help to be British because of what I assumed was slang. Beyond that, his style is definitely not an easy ready . . . choppy sentences that sometimes flowed like stream-of-consciousness thinking but not quite. The narrative moved back and forth between past and present and, at times, it was difficult to tell when the shift occurred.
I generally liked the story and there was something that kept me reading to the end. I don't know that I'd pick another book by this author; it was a little too much work to be pleasurable.
I generally liked the story and there was something that kept me reading to the end. I don't know that I'd pick another book by this author; it was a little too much work to be pleasurable.
September 29, 2013
What a wonderful book if you like historical fiction! It has everything... murder, secrets and a love story. The characters are well thought out and the story lines are convincing, but the pace doesn't drag. I read it a long time ago, but it is one book I haven't forgotten.
October 3, 2013
like the premis about a family who fortunes changed by luck and deceit
Interesting area southwestern tip of England. Animal torture and murder was very objectionable lowered my rating for this book
Interesting area southwestern tip of England. Animal torture and murder was very objectionable lowered my rating for this book
March 15, 2015
Having never heard of this author, I'd read him again. How can you dismiss a book that has Cornwall, gardening, history, genealogy, sailing, mystery, and sex in it? It makes me want to go to the Scilly Isles even more.
March 9, 2013
The Sea Garden by Sam Llewellyn
When will I learn that "romantic thriller" means "Harlequin-like"? It wasn't THAT bad but I can't recommend it.
March 23, 2014
Very slow, complicated layout between then and now and for me never really got going, just a little too dull reallly.
April 1, 2019
A really good read
Very enjoyable and thoroughly engrossing. Sam Llewellyn is a great story teller and very easy to read. Highly recommended. A1
Very enjoyable and thoroughly engrossing. Sam Llewellyn is a great story teller and very easy to read. Highly recommended. A1
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews