Review - Garden of Mysteries by Drake LaMarque

Alistair is looking forward to starting the new term at school with his three boyfriends. Two new professors have been bought in with a view to potentially helping the young man finally break the curse on one of his lovers, William. Unfortunately, there still seems to be someone at the college determined to get Alistair in trouble, or worse.

“Garden of Mysteries” is the second and concluding story of the Misselthwaite College series. It picks up more or less immediately after the first book, Garden of Secrets, so naturally, you need to read the two books in order. Most of the characters from the first book appear in this one, with the addition of several new personalities.

This story is much more of a mystery than the first book. While there's been an element of mystery to most of this author's work, this is definitely a story where the puzzle takes center stage, being a real “whodunit.” We're quite confident that Alistair is innocent, but the real culprit doesn't become apparent until near the very end.

Alistair's three lovers remain his rock, but even they doubt him at times as the plot unfolds. Their concerns about their lover seem quite natural. It makes a pleasant change from the usual unquestioning loyalty found in romances and adds a bit more depth to the plot's drama.

“Garden of Mysteries” is available from Amazon.