Thank you Netgalley, Rhys Bowen and Lake Union Publisher for the ebook! This was a crazy and wild mystery that unraveled thanks to a determined journalist trying to make it big. I really couldn't believe what she discovered and how it ended up being personal for her as well!

Thank you UplitReads and Rhys Bowen for my #gifted copy of The Rose Arbor! #RhysBowen #TheRoseArbor #uplitreadscampaign #lakeunionpublishing #lakeunionauthors

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐫
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐑𝐡𝐲𝐬 𝐁𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐧
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟔, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

𝟦.𝟧★

What. A. Page. Turner! Rhys Bowen has combined two of my favorite genres, to create a masterpiece with her latest historical suspense novel. This book was set up so well and I love how there were some twists infused throughout to keep me so invested. On top of that, there was a hint of romance which I thought was such a perfect added element. Bowen is such a talented author and this book was perfectly crafted like her other books. You are in for a real treat with this one and I guarantee you will not be able to turn the pages quickly enough!

Posted on Goodreads on August 7, 2024: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144922955?ref=nav_profile_l
**Posted on Instagram - Full Review- on or around August 8, 2024: http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
**Posted on Amazon on August 7, 2024
**-will post on designated date

Interesting tale told in two time frames; WWII and 1968. Based on a real town that was practice bait.

A small town with a manor house on a cliff, beside the ocean is chosen by England for a practice site for D-Day. The townspeople rent their land so they aren't compensated. The owners of the manor house were told that their house wouldn't be damaged, but the entire site needed to be packed and out within 2 week.

1968, two women, both in "mens' jobs" are investigating the disappearance of a young girl. One is a reporter, currently stuck in the obituary department and the other is in policing. The lead detective remembers the cases of 3 missing girls from WWII when people were sending their children on trains, hopeful that temporary homes could be found for the children.

As Liz and her roommate. Marissa, they find similarities, but there may not be any connection. They travel to the destroyed town, Liz has a couple of flashback memories that indicate that she had been there before the town was destroyed.

This is a story of perseverance and creative follow up with both Liz and Marissa contributing to solving some mysteries. I enjoyed it a great deal, as I've enjoyed other books by Rhys Bowen.

I love to read stories about the war time and how common people lived extraordinary lives. Liz is an intrepid young journalist who gets involved in the search for a little girl who has been kidnapped in 1968 during which she also learns about three other girls who disappeared during WWII and believes that the cases might have a connection. Little does she know that this search will bring recognition for her work but also great pain. The Rose Arbor mingles historic facts with fiction and the result is a very entertaining and emotional story. Loved it!
I thank the author, her publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.

I've enjoyed Bowen's cozy mysteries and her standalone historical fiction and this was a lovely mix of both! At the beginning we start in the little village of Tydeham right before it is evaculated for use in the war effort. I deeply sympatized with the characters as they faced being suddenly upended out of their homes as they also deal with all the chaos or the war in general.
25 years later we meet Liz who after a failed attempt to break a big story is booted down to obituaries and her career is hanging by a thread. She jumps at the chance to follow her friend Marisa, a police detective, to track down a lead on the most important kidnapping case in the news.

I was quickly pulled into this one. I love a historical mystery and this one is not only historical but is looking into a potential wartime mystery which is so many of my favorite things in one. There are also past and present day missing person cases and so many threads and stories for the characters to sift through.

I liked Liz and her drive to find out what happened as well as her confusion with what everyone around her is telling her. I found the story and pacing compelling and while I had several theories of waht was happening I wasn't fully sure until the very end. I've read a number of books by this author but have been neglecting her standalones. I won't be making that mistake in future!

Rhys Bowen’s “The Rose Arbor” is a standalone mystery featuring reporter Liz Houghton who has been relegated to the obituary section of the newspaper. This, of course, happened after she uncovered a government scandal and her work was quickly sent to the trash bin to protect the guilty. Liz is looking for her next big break and thinks she has it in the story of a missing girl in 1960s London. But then she learns about missing girls from World War II, when she was a very young child. Are the cases similar? Can she solve the mystery in time to save Little Lucy?

This book has mysteries within mysteries and questions within questions. When Liz has a strange flashback she fears that her own story is somehow connected to those of the missing girls from across two decades. This is a story with more twists than a corkscrew!

“The Rose Arbor” is engaging and keeps the reader wondering “what’s the REAL story here.” I enjoyed the complex characters who often make morally gray choices in the name of the greater good. Rhys Bowen has done it again with another page-turner!

This story is great for those who like historical mysteries and a bit of slow burn romance.

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

🌹 This book offers a mix of historical fiction and mystery, for an overall enjoyable, and engrossing read. Thanks to @authorrhysbowen and @uplitreads for my #giftedcopy. It’s out today!

🌹 This story starts in 1960’s, post WWII London. A disgraced journalist jumps on the story of a missing girl, only to discovery there are similar cases that happened during the war, that are still unsolved.

🌹 There’s a lot of red herrings in this one— which as a reader— keep you on your toes! It’s fun to try to figure things out along the way, alongside the MC. I also enjoyed the historical background you get out of the story.

🌹 My one complaint is there’s a lot of build up, and quite a windy path, to a very sudden end. While it stretched the believability of the MC’s talents a bit— it didn’t ruin the experience. I’d definitely recommend this to anyone whose interests may be piqued by what I’ve said here! And can we take just a minute for this cover?! Both the dust jacket and the book itself are 😍😍😍

The Rose Arbor by Rhys Bowen is a Post-World War II story outlining the confusion that reigned in England during and after the war. I tells the story of a hamlet, Tyneham, and it’s manor house that were requisitioned by the crown military as a place to rehearse the invasion in Normandy. None of them were given a choice and the move-out was hurried and inadequate. The manor house was to be spared but it’s inhabitants were moved as well. Much had to be left behind as they were moved from a mansion to a cottage. The whole place was destroyed, despite promises made and no compensation. Liz Houghton, a disgraced reporter accompanied her roommate, a police officer and her partner to hunt for a missing little girl who might have been spotted nearby. No little girl but Liz had flashes of being there earlier in her life. When she returned alone to search more carefully, she met the son of the owner of the manor house who was there salvaging. Then she had a vision that horrified her. She saw a woman being buried right there under the rose arbor. They went to the police and eventually the skeleton of a woman was found, but couldn’t be identified. The are so many subplots in this novel that they can’t be explained in a summary. Please, read the book. You won’t be sorry.

This book was so carefully plotted it is almost mind-boggling. Bowen was kept busy keeping all the balls in the air. It was a complex story with may moving parts, told by a master story teller. The main characters were well-fleshed out and interesting, with back stories that rounded out the personalities. It was extremely readable and interesting. I can’t say enough about how much I liked this book. Thanks, Rhys Bowen, for this lovely book!

I was invited to read The Rose Arbor by Lake Union Publishing. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #LakeUnionPublishing #RhysBowen #TheRoseArbor

1943 - the inhabitants of the small village of Tydeham are informed by the army that it has been chosen for invasion drills which will include the use of live ammunition. They have two weeks to vacate the village.

1968 - Liz Houghton is a reporter for the Daily Express in London but after uncovering a political scandal regarding a politician friend of the paper’s owner, she has been relegated to Obituaries. When her flat mate, Marissa, a member of the police is assigned to follow a lead on a missing child case, a little girl named Lucy, near the abandoned village, Liz decides to skip work and tag along, hoping it will lead to a scoop that will get her out of obits and back as a real reporter. Along the way, Marissa’s partner discusses an earlier but similar case of his regarding three little girls who went missing during the war years. The body of one was found but the other two still remain missing. The lead about Lucy turns out to be a dead end but Liz decides to remain in the area and do her own investigation of the earlier case. While in the abandoned village, she starts having strong feelings that she was here in this village before including the belief she witnessed a body being buried near the manor house. Except she was only a toddler in 1943 and her parents tell her they were never in the area.

The Rose Arbor is the latest historical mystery by author Rhys Bowen and it was one heck of a page turner. Although most of the story takes place in 1968, Bowen’s description of life in 1943 was fascinating especially the requisition by the army of an entire village which was actually based on a real place and the evacuation of children to the countryside and the anxiety, chaos, and confusion this created.

Bowen is a master of dropping clues and breadcrumbs, giving the reader plenty to follow to keep them engaged. The characters are all well drawn and I particularly enjoyed the relationship between Liz and Marissa. The story does, at times, seem to deviate into too many side forays and, at others, stretched my willing suspension of disbelief almost to the breaking point but, in the end, Bowen brings it all together for a satisfying ending and provides an entertaining and compelling tale that kept my attention throughout.

Thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

The Rose Arbor is anamazing book which blends historical fiction and mystery in a superbly executed dual timeline tale. I cannot believe this is the first book I have read by this author. She completely wowed me!

Liz is a newspaper reporter in London, and she follows her investigative hunches to help find a missing little girl. With her roommate Marissa who is a police officer, they find links to 3 girls who disappeared in WWII. While trying to solve these cases, Liz stumbles upon some secrets from her own life that she must resolve as well. She is lead to a deserted village that was ruined during the war and that is an actual village called Tydeham.

The Rose Arbor by Rhys Bowen was an outstanding story!
I loved the mystery which kept me glued to the pages.
Along with the romance, secrets and family made for a very entertaining read.

I’m a great fan of this author and this book was as good as anything else she has written. She writes with realism and such descriptions that with a few words she tell you a lot. Loved it.

It was 1943 when the tiny village of Tydeham on the south coast of England, was requisitioned by the military to use as invasion practice. The tenants and owners of the properties were given two weeks to vacate, to move somewhere else with only the belongings they could carry. There was anger and tears, devastation and heartache - but they were told they could return after the war. What they weren't told was that the ammunition used would be live...

In 1968, budding newspaper reporter, Liz Houghton, was investigating three missing children from back in the war years. Her flatmate, Marisa, was a police officer and with a young girl currently missing, Liz wondered if they were connected. Travelling to Devon, she accompanied Marisa and her DI to the small, abandoned village of Tydeham, where she suddenly had memories of having been there before. She knew the name of the old pub and knew the rose arbor in the grounds of the old manor house. What was going on? Liz was determined to find answers - her career at the paper depended on it. But so did some children, both from long ago and one who'd been missing for two weeks.

Based on a true story, The Rose Arbor is an outstanding read by Rhys Bowen, one I thoroughly enjoyed. I couldn't put it down, needing to know what was happening. Liz is an excellent character, with determination and grit, as well as being known for not taking orders - pushing her all the way. I think The Rose Arbor would be a great start to a new series! Highly recommended.,

With thanks to NetGalley & Lake Union Publishing for my digital ARC to read.

Liz Houghton wants to do investigative journalism. For no fault of her own, she has been relegated to obituaries. She is not giving up the fight though. When a little girl goes missing, and there is a sighting of her, Liz joins her police friend Marisa and the wary DI to unofficially go behind the scenes to find the girl.

When the conversation turns to three little girls who went missing during the war, Liz’s interest is piqued, whether there are any links. Liz also wonders why the village of Tydeham and especially the abandoned area (requisitioned by the military) brings back a flashback memory of her as a two year old. Equally perplexing is that her flashback leads to the discovery of a body and the strange news that her father insists that she had never visited this part of England as a child.

The story has several strands woven together with Liz as its focus. The present day disappearance of Lucy and the hidden story of Lucy’s mother. The disappearance of three little girls and the fact that it is a cold case now after decades of investigation, the romance that arises between James and Liz and the fact that Liz’s childhood was built on a facade of lies, leading to the murder of a young woman and later Liz’s own mother, that Liz’s father feels that it is all perfectly justified because he just wanted to protect his wife (and their reputation). It is a lot to put together in one story but it is a cohesive whole.

The settings were very descriptive and characterization was spot on.

In 1968, obituary writer, Liz, finds herself with an opportunity to get involved with a search for a missing girl, which leads her to Dorset.

While there, she starts to have flashbacks that some people believe could be psychic channeling, but Liz is certain they are memories. Her father assures her that they never visited Dorset when she was a young child and it’s impossible that she could recognise the area, but when she recognises a burial site and a skeleton is unearthed, she knows she needs to find out the truth.

I loved the writing, the immersive descriptions of Dorset (I live here) and the characters. Through Liz’s memories, the story is also told in part in 1943, when children were being evacuated to Dorset.

The story is captivating with plenty of intrigue, gripping twists, fabulous historical fiction and a drop of romance. Thoroughly enjoyable.

4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Rhys Bowen and Lake Union for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Bowen does a fantastic job of telling this story without shifting timelines. I was fascinated through the entire read, and really enjoyed the mixture of two genres: crime and historical fiction.
I will definitely be recommending this book!

This book struck me as grimmer in some ways than Bowen's other books set in the same time period. The idea of the town that was abandoned and then destroyed, combined with the mother's mental problems, the deprivation of the time, and the protagonist's woo-woo of seeing a body buried seemed to overwhelm the underlying romance. I also didn't believe that the police would go along with her so easily.

An intriguing dual time line historical mystery that moves between 1968 and 1943, The disappearance of. young girl sends Liz, an obit writer who aspires to more, to a small village with secrets dating back to WWII, when other young girls disappeared. It's a good read which uses the WWII secrecy to advantage. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Rhys Bowen for early access in exchange for an honest review. What a unique story. It’s marketed as historical fiction but it read more like a mystery with historical elements. The story follows obituary journalist Liz Houghton who learns of a missing girl and she wants to be the one to break the story. The writing was great and I found the historical elements to be super interesting as it didn’t focus on the normal aspects of a World War II story. The author did a good job at sprinkling in information at the right time. The characters were all interesting and I was eager to learn what had happened. Would recommend!

4/5 Stars