Eglin's engaging third horticultural cozy (after 2006's Lost Gardens) pits retired London botanist Lawrence Kingston against rapacious, lawless foes when his longtime friend and colleague, Stewart Halliday, goes missing. Drawing on his cruciverbalist skills, Kingston interprets a coded message in his friend's date book that leads to another cryptogram. Clues indicate that Halliday discovered how to desalinate seawater with a unique crossbred water lily, a scientific breakthrough with potentially far-reaching benefits-and profitability. Kingston believes Halliday has been kidnapped because of the salt-sucking lilies, and even when Kingston is nearly shot down on a helicopter flight, he remains dogged in pursuit of his missing friend. Fans of the brave and erudite Kingston will savor his latest breakneck botanical adventure. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

A missing botanist friend and a horticultural breakthrough has Lawrence Kinston embroiled in corporate greed and intrigue in the third series title. Eglin lives in Sonoma, CA. Regional tour. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In this third in the series, after The Blue Rose 2004) and The Lost Gardens (2006), retired botany professor Lawrence Kingston of London will not be deterred from searching for missing friend and former colleague Stewart Halliday, despite Kingston's being shot down in a helicopter, knocked on the head, and warned explicitly to desist. Halliday's disappearance, as Kingston rightly suspects, is linked to his secret research to crossbreed a giant water lily that can remove salt from water, a scientific breakthrough with huge financial potential. Descriptions of notable English gardens and information about desalination processes add interest to this mystery, in which--in the cozy tradition--violence is limited, and murders occur offstage. Series fans will be intrigued by the appearance of a mysterious woman, somehow involved in the wrongdoing, who adds a the possibility of romance for widower Kingston. Overlook the occasional dangling participle, and enjoy seeing justice prevail in the English manner. --Michele Leber Copyright 2007 Booklist

A missing botanist, a giant water lily and the Russian mafia are all mixed up with murder. When botanist Stewart Halliday goes missing, his wife asks his old friend Lawrence Kingston for help. The usual inquiries yield no results until Kingston discovers that Stewart, who was supposed to be spending his time at garden-club activities, never turned up for them. Crossword clues Stewart left behind reveal that he was secretly working on an attempt to use giant water lilies to desalinate water, a project that could be worth billions. As they shoot video for a TV show on famous gardens, Kingston and his helicopter pilot are shot down, raising suspicions that someone wants to keep something on the ground hidden. Even after this warning, Kingston keeps on sleuthing, arriving just barely too late to talk to the wealthy man, shot dead, who might have been providing the large water area and money to work on the lily project. An attractive mystery woman, another wealthy investor and a Russian reputed to be an international crook are among the wild cards in a complex plot Kingston must unravel to save Stewart and himself from a sticky end. Aficionados will love the descriptions of famous plant grounds. But the unlikely, ill-plotted mystery isn't up to the standard of The Lost Gardens (2006). Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.