THE GARDENS OF THE DEAD
William Brodrick
Viking
Mystery
Hardcover: 0670034983
Paperback: 9780143112402

A Franciscan friar turned barrister writes this thorny mystery whose central character is a barrister turned Benedictine monk.

Father Anselm handled a case a decade ago, back when he was still at the bar, and now it comes back to haunt him. He wondered about the outcome at the time, but a victory is a victory. Now, news of the death of his co-counsel and dear friend, Elizabeth Glendinning, is accompanied by a puzzling message. Before she died, she had begun looking into their last case together. Apparently, what she found disturbed her a great deal. There seems to be nothing surrounding her death that would suggest foul play --- just a bad heart. But an early demise of another person connected with the case might figure into the picture. And Elizabeth left behind a cryptic message: Leave it to Anselm.

Anselm would like nothing more than to understand her meaning. He follows instructions left in a letter from her, blindly groping for answers, but he needs more information.

The star witness against their client, the defendant Gilbert Riley, fled the courtroom under questioning by Anselm. He not only walked out of the courthouse, but also walked out of his private life, running from a past he did not want to face. Elizabeth found him living on the streets and enlisted his help in bringing Riley to justice, a move that went against the code of ethics at the very least, but one that she believed would put her mind at rest. If the law couldn't take care of Riley, she figured she could. Unfortunately, she died before she could complete her mission. Is that what she meant by "Leave it to Anselm," or was it something else entirely?

Anselm sets out to do what he can, hoping to fulfill Elizabeth's last wish. He hears that the missing witness is now a street person going by the name of Blind George. This news is not encouraging. Besides, finding Blind George proves to be quite a challenge. Then getting anything from him that is useful is an even larger challenge, since he has been kicked senseless and has very little left in the way of memory. But sometimes help comes from the oddest places, and this is just such a time.

Pay close attention. The past sneaks in upon the present and switches back again, which isn't surprising since the past is so interwoven with the characters' lives in the here and now that the two seem nearly inseparable. Just be sure to know what time it is that you're reading about.

   --- Reviewed by Kate Ayers

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