The Girl in the Garden

Publisher Grand Central/Hachette, June 15, 2011

At once a powerful family saga and compelling personal odyssey, Kamala Nair’s debut novel tells the story of a haunted young woman who, in an effort to seek clarity about her impending marriage, confronts one fateful summer from her childhood.

When Rakhee Singh is just ten-years-old, her world is shaken irrevocably when her beautiful yet troubled mother spirits her away from her father and their Minnesota home to visit her ancestral estate in an Indian village untouched by the centuries. It is there that Rakhee meets her enigmatic relatives for the first time, seeks adventure with her three cousins, and learns the devastating truth about why her mother fled the childhood home she loved. During the course of that scorching summer, Rakhee will discover in the mysterious jungle behind the house, a walled-up garden holding a terrifying secret. It is a secret that will expose long-hidden family skeletons and forever influence her beliefs about fidelity and love.

Kamala Nair brings enormous powers of description to her first novel, infusing scenes with potent emotional depth. Lush and sensual, THE GIRL IN THE GARDEN is a dark, grown-up fairy tale that will enchant and resonate long after the last page has been read.

“Lush and mysterious, The Girl in the Garden casts its spell from the first page. Kamala Nair weaves an intricate tale of family bonds, buried secrets, and the pain that comes when we must leave the innocence of childhood behind. This is a deeply satisfying novel.”
–Kelly O’Conner McNees, author of The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott

“Kamala Nair has crafted an evocative, passionate, tragic novel about love, loss, and the terrible cost of family secrets. An impressive debut.”
–Thrity Umrigar, bestselling author of The Space Between Us