I enjoy Rhys Bowen books. Her stories are usually pretty captivating. This book is no exception. It is about a little girl’s disappearance and then leads one of the main characters Liz ends up finding three additional children missing. These three girls were being evacuated from London. The story kept me very interested and a couple of nights I read later than I intended. It will not be long before I am looking for another Rhys Bowen books to get lost in. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy for my honest review.

I devour each and every one of Bowen's books and this one was really good! It was a little different than her typical wartime reads. The Rose Arbor is more of a mystery and told in the present POV of Liz during the year 1968. I was expecting maybe dual timelines, but there were only brief mentions of the war and its destruction. The main focus of this story is discovering what happened to the missing girls from the past and little Lucy from the present. It was a fast, easy read that hooked me like a fish from the first page. Instead of trying to solve one mystery, Bowen served us up with quite a few. I felt like I was playing detective right alongside the characters. My only disappointment was that the story ended too soon without giving me the closure that I wanted. Not all of the mysteries were solved with finality, and I desperately need to know about Tottie's book and Ben. Despite the ending, this was an enjoyable read and I would definitely recommend it.  

Thank you to the author, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley for granting me digital access in exchange for my honest review!

Liz is a journalist in 1968 London whose career is at a standstill. She decides to accompany her flatmate Marisa, a police officer, on the search for a missing child in an effort to find a good story and jumpstart her career. Their search takes them to a village abandoned after World War 2 when it was used for livefire military drills. Liz realizes several unsolved cases from the 1940s could be linked to the current missing child, and she starts to question her own family history.

The plot was well-constructed, with flashbacks to illuminate both the cold cases and the current search. The author included interesting details about life during WW2 and in 1960s London. There are several plot threads brought together neatly at the end, and Liz and her friends must confront moral dilemmas about how much of the past should be left undisturbed for the benefit of the living - questions with no easy answers. Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC.

The Rose Arbor is a wonderful historical fiction. While a small part of it takes place during World War. 2, the majority of the book is set in the 1960’s. The story is about journalist Liz and her quest to figure out what happened to a missing child in London. This book is an excellent mystery that will keep you reading to see what happened to little Lucy.

The Rose Arbor is a haunting and suspenseful mystery spanning decades set in the aftermath of World War II in England. Following the disappearance of a little girl, Liz Houghton, a newspaper reporter, follows the mysterious story to the small village of Tydeham and uncovers a string of events that would change the course of her life forever.

Rhys Bowen’s writing is both engaging and entertaining. I felt myself instantly drawn into the mystery and character as we follow Liz on her journey. However, because there were so many intricate layers to the mystery, I felt that Liz’s development as a character was a bit sidelined. In particular, throughout the entire book, Liz’s relationship with her parents were hardly explored until the last third which felt odd as a reader and left me struggling to feel invested in some of the events that unfolded.

I would definitely recommend this book for lovers of historical mysteries mixed with a little bit of romance, and one filled with plot twists that will leave you eager to find out what happens next.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this eArc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions in this review are my own.

Having never read a Rhys Bowen book before, I will definitely look out for her in the future! Crime is not typically a genre I read, but The Rose Arbour kept me hooked. I loved the multiple levels of mystery involved including the missing girl, the unsolved cases decades beforehand, and the protagonist's childhood. The flashbacks to those unsolved cases especially kept me reading and I found that I was more interested in the missing children from the war if anything- particularly when Bowen includes the perspectives from the missing children to create more mystery in the plotline. I enjoyed the historical aspect set in 1968 and the main character that stubbornly gets involved with the case despite her job as a journalist and therefore not the sort of person that should have access to information on the cases let alone solve them. Overall, I wouldn't say this is a high tension plot, but rather something I read when I wanted some down time and I like it better because of that! The romance was also subtle and sweet and I'm glad it didn't become a huge factor to the narrative because there was already so much depth to the mystery to get your head around.
The only reason I'm not giving it a higher rating is because it isn't a genre that I usually read and, even though I mostly enjoyed the ending as it certainly wasn't what I was expecting, I think I would have liked more exploration of the relationship between the main character and her parents who, for most of the narrative, seemed a bit too side-lined. Saying that, I'm glad I have read it and it has made me want to read more like it.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC of this book and the chance to write a review on it!

Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union for the opportunity to read The Rose Arbor by Rhys Bowen, an author to be counted on - always - when it comes to Historical Fiction. I loved it.

I loved immersing myself in this mystery book, a masterful fusion of history, romance, and tantalizing plot twists! Set in both WWII and 1968, this was a both a sweet story and a sad one. It is set partially in a real place, abandoned in the 1940s but mysteriously remembered by the main character, Liz. She first visits while investigating the disappearance of a little London girl. It also leads to her researching the disappearance of three other girls and answering questions about her own past.

The infusion of history enriches the narrative, lending it a profound sense of authenticity and depth. With every turn of the page, one finds themselves transported to different eras, exploring the mysteries of bygone times while unraveling the complexities of timeless human relationships.

Romance adds a layer of emotional resonance, infusing the story with warmth, passion, and heartache. The character descriptions made me care about them sufficiently to follow their drama, their struggles and triumphs. Amidst the twists and turns of the plot, the love story between James and Liz develops slowly, which I was pleased about!

And oh, the plot twists! Each subtle turn keeps the reader on the edge of their seat, anticipating the next revelation. While it did seem somewhat predictable, there were enough surprises to keep me wanting to know how it all turned out. After a slow and steady pace, the ending seems a bit abrupt but isn't that how life goes sometimes?

Thank you to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing, and the author for an ARC of this book and the opportunity to provide a review!

I've read and enjoyed several books by the prolific Rhys Bowen, and I also thought that this was an entertaining period piece. Set about 20 years after WW II, the time period allows the main character, Liz, to have some freedom in exploring the cases of missing girls (then and in her present) along with her female roommate, a member of the metropolitan police. This is a cozy mystery as nothing is gory and grizzly, but it does have strong emotional overtones due to missing children and questions about Liz's own family and background. For readers who enjoy English mysteries and explorations of the English countryside.

Interesting and intriguing story featuring a lost wartime village. Flash backs to the past and memories in the present. A good read.

My rating:

Plot: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Writing: 5 out of 5 stars
Character development: 4 out of 5 stars
Overall: 4.5out of 5 stars

Recommended for readers of:

Historical Fiction
Mystery and suspense

Review:

This is a gripping story, with the right amount of mystery,suspense and intrigue, haunting at times. The book is well written and flows well and is in no way predictable, it keeps you guessing till the end.. The characters are interesting and their personalities are explained well this gave them an authentic feel.

Overall and highly enjoyable read that captures you from the start and is hard to put down. You can't help yourself you have to know what happens next.

Review copy provided through Netgalley at no cost to me.

I absolutely loved this story. Then again I love rys Bowens book. Loved the writing and it's a definite recommend

Thank you publisher and netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own and isn't influenced by anyone else

The mystery, intrigue, and suspense pulled me in almost from the very beginning. The book has a dual timeline, one with the demise of a quaint little village and its manor house and three little girls lost during the war, along with another lost little girl in the current storyline and the heroine’s own story, each heartbreakingly poignant. I also love a little romance, and although the love story was more secondary, it was sweet and satisfying with Liz and James, both coming from a heritage of landed gentry, adjusting to post war life. Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing, I received a free ARC copy. These thoughts and opinions are my own.

I recently read The Rose Arbor by Rhys Bowen. This mystery is the story of a young newspaper reporter’s embroilment in a search for a missing child. Treading carefully between those advising her not to get involved and a nearly mystical pull to solve the case, she travels around 1968 England. The reader learns of heartbreaking relocations from the World War II era intended to keep children safe from German bombing. The banter between the main character and her policewoman roommate make the reader chuckle as they meet an interesting batch of characters during the investigation. The flashbacks to the war era are appropriately solemn, but I was hoping to hear a bit about swinging 1968 London by way of a pop culture reference or two. This novel is a nice read and has enough twists to keep the reader guessing. Very enjoyable.

Many thanks to Lake Union Publishing for a copy of The Rose Arbor. It has been great fun to give you my personal views.

Liz Houghton has been reduced to writing obits for The Daily Express due to a great expose she wrote that was. OOPS, about an MP and a call girl who just happened to be an old school chum of the owner of the Express. The story of the day is the kidnapping of Little Lucy, a MP's step-daughter, but there is no chance at all of Liz getting a scoop while stuck in obits. Her best friend and flatmate, Marisa, works as a detective constable at Scotland Yard and has been put on the case to provide "a woman's presence" if Lucy is found. Marisa and her boss are sent to Dorset to check out a tip, so Liz calls in sick and tags along.
That decision unravelled not only Liz's life but solved the current case, several missing persons cases, unearthed a body, and introduced her to a possible love interest, who was NOT married, for once!
This is an amazing historical novel with dual timelines and snippits of the experience of the missing girls. Liz draws on her own experiences to figure out "what if" and more often than not is mostly right about what did happen.
It was a great read with an emotional rollercoaster, but very satisfying at the end.

This was such a good and interesting story. Well written and absorbing. Didn't put it down til i finished it !! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher

Another win by Rhys Bowen!
I always look forward to Ms. Bowen's books, and this one didn't disappoint. In this story, Liz, an obit writer for a newspaper is trying to make it back into the newsroom, She accompanies her policewoman friend Marisa and her boss on a case concerning three missing little girls. Liz delves deep into each case and could lose her job, but she is determined to solve the cases and get a scoop on the latest disappearance. It's a multi faceted story and one I read in two days. Loved it! Highly recommended!

Rhys Bowen is such a fabulous writer. This wartime mystery is full of heartache and surprises with the mysterious disappearance of three little girls and the reporter who with the help of her flatmate, digs up some amazing history. Thank you NG for this page turner.

Good mystery set in 1968. Interesting characters. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

Fictional history is the best way I can describe it. Dual settings in England during World War Two in the 1940s and the hippy years of the 1960s. Three little girls sent to safety in the country side miles away from bombing of London vanished. No one saw or heard from them again. And then in the 1960s a kidnapping of another little girl. Vanished with no trace. The kidnapping is high profile and is in all of the news media. Two young roommates, one a police women at Scotland Yard and a female news lady, who has been relegated to obituarys, pursue the current kidnapping, colliding with the missing children of the past.
I really enjoyed this book. It is witty and suspenseful with a touch of romance. Thank you Ms Bowen for teaching me about the lost children of WW2. I'm sure these fictional little girls were not the only ones missing.