Title: Garden of
Madness
Author: Tracy L.
Higley
Pages: 400
Year: 2012
Publisher: Thomas
Nelson
Note: I received a
complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed therein are my
own. Other reviews can be read at http://seekingwithallyurheart.blogspot.com/
Every
time I hear that an author has published another novel or is in the works to
produce one, my excitement mounts. Tracy
Higley’s writings have continued to excel with each story that unfolds. Here, in the Garden of Madness, readers
will find themselves getting lost in history.
This is a history that actually occurred though most of the story is
fictional and based on imagination. The
historical part is based on the writings of Daniel in the Old Testament as well
as other sources used by the author. Due
to the current world situation and actual location of Babylon, the writer
couldn’t travel to that area; however, her story takes intrigue and mystery to
new heights in this setting.
Nebuchadnezzar
was a Babylonian king who raided Jerusalem three times, each time taking
captives back with him, until the final time when Jerusalem was left in
ruins. Daniel was taken with the first
wave of captives, and Ezekiel was taken later.
Jeremiah was even a prophet during this time though he wasn’t located in
Babylon. Some scholars believe he may
have been in Egypt. Regardless, the
characters in this novel are of both non-fictional and fictional backgrounds.
During
one period of this particular king’s reign, he was foretold that unless he
acknowledged the one true God, forsaking all other gods, he would be removed
from his throne for a time. Then, when
he looked up, he would regain his sanity.
The gardens in this story are well-described and central in some ways to
the story’s plot. As the pages turn we
learn that there is a very deep and devious plot being planned for the benefit
of one who seeks the power of darkness.
Tia is portrayed as a princess, but is she really? She feels that there are many lies being told
and sets out to discover the truth. What
she finds and gets entangled in will keep many turning pages until the end of
the novel. The queen and many others are
hiding the king’s true illness, but where is he and who knows what is going on?
Within
the palace there are murders, lies, anger, threats of harm and more. Tia seeks true answers, but what she finds
and whom she finds changes her future in ways she couldn’t ever conceive. Tia is a rebellious princess, but one with
courage to really know the truth no matter the cost. What is the cost she will have to pay if she
wants to fulfill her heart’s desire, to change the world? During all of this, she meets one of the
Jewish princes and longs to know more about their God, but something keeps
getting in the way of her finding out. Will
her father, the king, ever be the man she once knew? How can the plot and those involved be found
out and stopped? Who should Tia trust? Who shouldn’t she trust?
