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The nitty-gritty: A trio of ghosts seek their revenge in this atmospheric but uneven story.

At the Bottom of the Garden was just OK for me. I loved some of the ghostly elements, and the overall story idea was intriguing, but the execution didn't quite work. What appears to be a more serious plot—two orphans are forced to move in with their selfish, unfeeling aunt—has many oddly silly moments that just didn’t fit the tone of the story. It didn’t help that the aunt comes across as a caricature of a villainess, a bombastic, unappealing woman who I hated from the first chapter. The orphans, fourteen year old Lily and nine year old Violet, were the best part of the story, and I thought Camilla Bruce did some interesting things with ghosts and hauntings.

Clara’s half brother and his wife have disappeared on a mountain climbing expedition, leaving their two young daughters without a guardian. Clara just happens to be their only living relative, and so she reluctantly agrees to take them in, simply because the girls are due to inherit a huge fortune once they turn eighteen. Clara wants to start a diamond jewelry design company, but that takes money. Maybe there’s a way to finagle the inheritance away from them, and if anyone can do it, it’s Clara.

Lily and Violet are distraught at losing their parents and having to leave their home to move in with an aunt they don’t even know. Aunt Clara’s house is run down and filled with dead, taxidermied animals, and for some reason, Violet can hear them calling to her. She can also see a very angry man (a ghost) at the bottom of the garden, who appears to be stuck and is trying to get out. When Violet realizes that the man is asking her to help him, she sets loose a flurry of vengeful spirits, all who seem to be going after Aunt Clara. 

The story starts out strong with a few mysteries. Why are there ghosts in Aunt Clara’s house, and who are they?  Why can Violet see and communicate with them, and why does Lily seem to have the ability to see people’s moods and auras? I loved the idea of the sisters having paranormal gifts, unbeknownst to Aunt Clara (at first, anyway), and the details about how Violet “releases� the ghosts were fascinating. Eventually we find out their agenda, mostly through flashbacks told in Clara’s first person narrative. The first half of the book is filled with creepy ambiance and some unsettling descriptions of the ghosts, so the haunted house vibe was strong.

I also enjoyed the characters of Lily and Violet, two young children who have to rely on each other because they’ve found themselves in an awful situation. Neither one knows why they can see and do the things they can, but they use their abilities to help them deal with living with Aunt Clara, and they always stick together and support each other no matter what.

Clara, however, almost ruined the story for me. Yes, she’s despicable and has a questionable past, and I didn’t mind the “evil aunt� persona. Unfortunately she comes across as a bumbling woman who doesn’t know how to handle her nieces. For some reason, she’s obsessed with diamonds, a trait that I just couldn’t wrap my head around, it was so odd. Her antics come across as comical rather than diabolical, especially the scenes where one of the ghosts won’t let her eat, and food goes flying as the ghost flings it away before it gets to her mouth. There are several flashback chapters where Clara explains her sad childhood, perhaps suggesting that she is the way she is because of her horrible upbringing. But honestly, I couldn’t dredge up any sympathy for her, so those chapters were sort of dull.

The middle section stalls as Clara, Lily and Violet seem to be caught in a loop, performing the same things over and over, and it isn’t until the last section when the story gets back some momentum. Clara and Lily make an interesting discovery that explains their abilities, and I did like the way Bruce resolved everything. So not my favorite of Camilla Bruce’s work, but it won’t stop me from reading her next book.

With thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.