Audiobook Review: The Rose Arbor by Rhys Bowen

The Rose Arbor
Author: Rhys Bowen
Narrator: Nicola Barber
Publication: Audible Studios (August 6, 2024)
Length: 10 hours and 38 minutes

Description: An investigation into a girl’s disappearance uncovers a mystery dating back to World War II in a haunting novel of suspense by the bestselling author of The Venice Sketchbook and The Paris Assignment.

London: 1968. Liz Houghton is languishing as an obituary writer at a London newspaper when a young girl’s disappearance captivates the city. If Liz can break the story, it’s her way into the newsroom. She already has a scoop: her best friend, Marisa, is a police officer assigned to the case.

Liz follows Marisa to Dorset, where they make another disturbing discovery. Over two decades earlier, three girls disappeared while evacuating from London. One was found murdered in the woods near a train line. The other two were never seen again.

As Liz digs deeper, she finds herself drawn to the village of Tydeham, which was requisitioned by the military during the war and left in ruins. After all these years, what could possibly link the missing girls to this abandoned village? And why does a place Liz has never seen before seem so strangely familiar?

My Thoughts: Dual timeline mystery in which a young reporter gets involved in the disappearance of a child and manages to unearth a number of long-held secrets. 

It's 1968 and Liz Houghton has been relegated to writing obituaries because her previous investigation unearthed secrets that the paper's owner want keep secret. Her roommate Marisa is a police detective who bring home the case of the disappearance of a young child. The nation is in upheaval about this disappearance. When Marisa goes to the country to follow up on a possible sighting, Liz tags along to see if there is a story there. 

The clue takes the detective and her older, more-experienced partner to the town of Tydeham which as abandoned during World War II to be used as a practice site for the upcoming invasion. Liz recalls an old memory of seeing a body buried and brings her information to the police who locate a skeleton. Liz is baffled because her parents tell her that she was never at Tydeham. She begins to think that she might be psychic.

Liz also meets the son of the local landowner who was also displaced by the evacuation. He's now an architect who has come to see what he can salvage from the heavily damaged manor house. The two become partners in the investigation of the skeleton. 

Liz also gets involved in an old investigation in which three young girls were evacuated from London to the country during World War II. They disappeared. The older partner has been haunted by his failure to find the girls. Liz has more success, but her victories lead her to some secrets her parents have been keeping from her all of her life. 

This was an enjoyable mystery and romance with some happy endings and some issues as yet unresolved. 

I bought the Kindle and the audiobook November 13, 2024. You can buy your copy here.