Rhys Bowen is the New York Times bestselling author of two historical mystery series as well as several internationally bestselling historical novels, two of which were nominated for Edgar Award
Rhys was born in Bath, England and educated at London University but now divides her time between California and Arizona. Her books have been nominated for every major mystery award and she has won twenty of them to date, including five Agathas.
Q: What inspired the idea for this story?
Rhys: I read an article on a real abandoned village on which the story is based. The army had come and said to the people who lived there for generations that they had three weeks to get out. Then the army took it. The community was given government housing. Many people thought they could come back after the war. But the army had destroyed it completely after they trained for the invasion there. This village has been army property since WWII. There are still live ammunitions so no one can go there. This is sad. After I saw this, I wanted to write about it.
Q: What would you say is the central theme of the book?
Rhys: The past is not exactly what people think it was and the different types of mothers.
Q: How would you describe the character of Liz?
Rhys: She is in her late 20s. Her father thought it would be a waste of time to educate a girl, so she was sent to a secretarial course. She has been overprotected all her life, being the only child of older parents. She has lacked confidence all her life. She is ambitious and wants to make her way in the world. She now has a job as a newspaper reporter. She jumps at the story where a little girl has vanished from London. She sees this as a way to redeem herself with her employer. Her parents are controlling and manipulative. She is curious, angry at times, and would like to be more daring than she is. She does feel that her parents are smothering.
Q: What role does Marisa play in the story?
Rhys: Marisa is a detective and Liz’s roommate. She is the opposite of Liz, who had a privileged upbringing. Marisa has come from a working-class family. Liz envies her because Marisa’s family is very close. Liz would like to be Marisa.
Q: How would you describe James?
Rhys: He, like Liz, has been wounded by his upbringing. He lost his mother early on, but she was a woman who made it quite clear she did not love him. He lost his two siblings. Now he is trying to be the support for his father. He and Liz both feel responsible for their parents as they get older. He is a nice and caring person.
Q: Can you describe the relationship between Liz and James?
Rhys: They click immediately because they both come from similar backgrounds. They bond early on. They take it slowly.
Q: Why did you include the dementia-like illness of Liz’s mother in the story?
Rhys: It plays into the plot because her mother does not remember something terrible that happened. But Liz’s discovery triggers something that has terrible consequences. It helps me plant the clues for the reader that things are not exactly as we thought they were. Liz feels very guilty that her mom is slipping away more and more. It is very hard to take for Liz.
Q: What can we expect from your upcoming books?
Rhys: It will be in the Royal Spyness series titled We Three Queens coming out in November. King Edward announced he wants to marry Mrs. Simpson, causing a huge Constitutional crisis.
The next Molly comes out in March. It is about the early days of the movie industry. Most of the people in the book are real characters. It is titled Silent as The Grave.
My next big stand-alone is a historical novel about a woman who has the perfect wife. One day he announces he wants a divorce. She drives to the South of France and creates a whole new life for herself. The working title is Mrs. Endicott’s Excellent Adventure. It takes place from 1938 to 1947. It will be out in August of next year.
The Rose Arbor by Rhys Bowen is more of a suspenseful novel that a historical one. There is a mystery, but also a dose of romance along with the serious topic of memory loss.
The book opens in London 1968 where Liz Houghton has been demoted to obituary writer for a London newspaper. After a young girl has disappeared, Liz decides to investigate, hoping for a scoop. Helping her is her best friend and roommate Marisa who happens to be a police detective.
They venture to Tydeham where during WWII the Army had all the residents relocated because they needed the area for military operations. Now it is a ghost town. But through her investigation Liz discovers that there were three girls who disappeared during WWII while evacuating London for the countryside. One was found murdered in the woods and the other two were never seen again. Helping with her desire to get to the bottom of what happened is James, someone who grew up in Tydeham and is now back trying to salvage some of his parents’ items.
The multiple interrelated story lines raise questions that will keep people engrossed.
