Overall, what did you think of The Rose Arbor?

Overall, what did you think of The Rose Arbor?

I loved it. It has everything you would want, historical fiction plus a mystery. It kept me guessing throughout the book.

I liked it. The characters were well drawn and believable. The plot line was interesting and kept me guessing. However, I thought some things were unnecessarily drawn out - for example, descriptions of meals and traveling back and forth.

I liked it, but didn't love it. It was like a C+ version of a Ruth Ware novel.

I did like this book even though some of it was a bit unbelievable. It was a fast read that kept me interested, and I certainly wanted to read to the finish, to have all the many questions answered. It actually will be a good book for book club discussion. I did like the author’s amazing main character Liz. I have not read this author before and do anticipate reading more of her books.

I really enjoyed this book. I gravitate to historical fiction quite frequently and this certainly did not disappoint. Admire a book more when it leads me to go down the rabbit hole after reading to learn even more about something.

While I have read many books set in this period, this one seemed different in the way it was approached from a journalist and detective perspective. It was a big darker than I like, but the author really draws you in to the characters. Her books feature strong, capable women and this one did as well. Thanks to Bookbrowse for the opportunity to read the advance copy.

It was a slow start for me. About half way through I became very engaged and the end was a shocker, which I love in a mystery.

I thought it was typical for Rhys Bowen, I've read quite a few of her books - they're usually good for a happy ending - but they are not really my preferred genre.

I enjoyed this book very much. I had never read anything by Rhys Bown before and I was pleasantly surprised. It was an easy but interesting book and kept my attention until the very end.

I thought the book was OK, but not stellar. As much as I liked the characters, I found some of the events implausible. I would not recommend it to my book club.

I enjoyed the book but didn't love it. I liked most of the main characters and found them interesting but some of the events were a stretch. I did enjoy learning about some of the historical events that were presented.

I liked the story, although the reader was really only able to scratch the surface when it came to the depth of the characters.

I've been wanting to read something by this author since a friend was reading one of her other books. It was a bit slow in the middle but glad I continued to see the story through.

I agree with what most people said that though it was a good book it was somewhat unbelievable. There were too many children born to different mothers than they believed were theirs. There were also too many coincidental findings in Liz's quest for the truth.

I really enjoyed the book. A 4 star read for me. My favorite genre is historical fiction. I do like a mystery once in a while. Of course a touch of romance is welcome too. This book did have it all. In terms of the history, I was introduced to the practice of the government taking over villages in preparation for the invasion. I was aware of the children who were evacuated to the country addressed in several novels I have read. The mystery was was very well done. Although not as intense as many mysteries are, this novel was well paced with many winding pathways. I loved all those different paths. The author kept me guessing. I had to keep turning the pages! Who to trust....James, DI Jones, Mr. Bennington? I knew the author would pull it together at the end. I got the theme of adoption vs birth mother; Lucy, Katie Binks, and Liz herself....Child abuse (the unwanted child?), Gloria Kane, who was presumably buried in the back yard.. I was left with two loose ends ...Was Gloria Kane buried in the yard? Who killed Valerie Hammond? Who was the man in the uniform in the car that she got in ? Was it really the man who was arrested and served time? Still, a well done novel.

This was my first Rhys Bowen novel, and I enjoyed it. As others have said, some things seemed a bit unbelievable, but there was nothing that I couldn't roll with. The enjoyable characters, intriguing storyline, and twists kept me turning the pages at a pretty swift rate.

I enjoyed reading The Rose Arbor. I thought it was nicely written and paced with just the right amount of mystery. Like jillg, I enjoy going down the rabbit hole.

Overall , I enjoyed the book until close to the end which I found to be a bit sensational and which turned me off.

I would probably not read another book by this Author.

I've read almost everything by Rhys Bowen and as usual with her writing, once I started reading I had to read through to the end. It wasn't my favorite of her books...the ending was a bit disappointing. I thought this was an interesting slant on WW2 and I am glad I read it.

I have read many Rhys Bowen books and this was my least favorite of her writing. The premise of the book was great, but I think it got bogged down with too many characters, a love story that really wasn't necessary, and very slow in the middle. If she had maintained the original premise of the book and delved deeper into how the village was overtaken, and how those lives were effected, children being transported out of cities, and the lives changed after the war, I think I would have enjoyed it more.

This is my first book by this author. I love historical fiction and learned several things that I didn't know before I read it -- like the Army confiscating a town for target practice during the war. I liked the main characters but found some of the plot very unbelievable. This book was a solid 4 stars for me.

While I enjoyed the book, I felt it was light reading. Not great character development. Felt it was ok for a light read.

Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres so I loved the story about Tydeham, but I wish the author had spent more time with that part of her book, telling about the time when the town was evacuated and more about the characters who lived there then, and what happened to them. I lived in England for 8 years and would have liked to known about this town then, and certainly would have gone looking for it. I liked the characters of Liz and Marisa but there were too many baby girls who may or may not have been murdered, etc so that the story really became too complicated with too many coincidences to tie it up, but I would like have a another different story about them working together.

I thought it a bit contrived. Too many coincidences!

This is the second book I've read by this author, and it was good, but not wonderful. I liked the main female characters very much, but there were so many characters who were superficially drawn (at least until the very end).The book also dragged at the beginning, although I was compelled to read to the end.

I don't recommend it. It's not horrible, but it is not a book that I would say to my neighbor, whom I share books with, "hey, this is a good one, try it". I read it immediately when I got it over a month ago, so now sharing what I remember feeling while reading it, and when finished.
I thought the roommate character was not necessary. She added nothing interesting to the story. She was just there to get the police involved when convenient. The hippie thing did not work for me - I've been one. And the searching of the house for items was, well, just boring.
There was just not enough backstory on the characters to have any investment in them to hold my interest. And the talk of makeup, clothes, and food in the refrigerator did not help.
The interesting parts were two: The plight of the children who fled to the countryside, and the sexist police inspector dialogue and attitude. Neither of these two topics were discussed enough. For example, it would have been interesting to learn why the dectective was so sexist, and how he might have changed given the success of the main character in her investigations. That dynamic would have interested me, instead of the two roommates discussing apartment living - messy, food, dates, etc.
I almost gave up on page 270. I remember the page number thinking that eventually I would be asked to participate in the discussing the book. By page 270, I felt totally uninterested in the outcome, but I kept reading out of a sense of obligation.
Anyway, that's my take. I am not an English major and not an academic. I am 72 and no longer working so I have a lot of time to read, which I do a lot. This is the first time I have ever commented about a book so I hope this is appropriate. As a comparison, I am currently reading Wastelands, by Corbin Addison, which I think is very good, and a book I would highly recommned.

It was a light read. Enjoyed the historical content. Characters okay.

It was enjoyable, but the pace was not as fast as I would have liked and, as others have noted, some aspects were not believable, especially the details about the investigation. It felt like there was just too much thrown in -- too many story threads all plopped into one book. But I understand she was trying to make a point about coincidences. Liz and Marisa were likable characters, as was James, and their friendship was one of the book's most credible aspects, along with DI Jones' misogyny.

I enjoyed the novel and learning some new historical information. It was interesting to have the modern-day timeline take place in the 1960s. This was the first novel I've read by Rhys Bowen and I would be interested in picking up more of her work.