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The Bone Garden
This is an updated cover of this Kindle here.
Present day: Julia Hamill has made a horrifying discovery on the grounds of her new home in rural Massachusetts: a skull buried in the rocky soil–human, female, and, according to the trained eye of Boston medical examiner Maura Isles, scarred with the unmistakable marks of murder. But whoever this nameless woman was, and whatever befell her, is knowledge lost to another time.
Boston, 1830: In order to pay for his education, Norris Marshall, a talented but penniless student at Boston Medical College, has joined the ranks of local “resurrectionists”–those who plunder graveyards and harvest the dead for sale on the black market. Yet even this ghoulish commerce pales beside the shocking murder of a nurse found mutilated on the university hospital grounds. And when a distinguished doctor meets the same grisly fate, Norris finds that trafficking in the illicit cadaver trade has made him a prime suspect.
To prove his innocence, Norris must track down the only witness to have glimpsed the killer: Rose Connolly, a beautiful seamstress from the Boston slums who fears she may be the next victim. Joined by a sardonic, keenly intelligent young man named Oliver Wendell Holmes, Norris and Rose comb the city–from its grim cemeteries and autopsy suites to its glittering mansions and centers of Brahmin power–on the trail of a maniacal fiend who lurks where least expected . . . and who waits for his next lethal opportunity.
With unflagging suspense and pitch-perfect period detail, The Bone Garden deftly interweaves the thrilling narratives of its nineteenth- and twenty-first century protagonists, tracing the dark mystery at its heart across time and place to a finale as ingeniously conceived as it is shocking. Bold, bloody, and brilliant, this is Tess Gerritsen’s finest achievement to date.
Present day: Julia Hamill has made a horrifying discovery on the grounds of her new home in rural Massachusetts: a skull buried in the rocky soil–human, female, and, according to the trained eye of Boston medical examiner Maura Isles, scarred with the unmistakable marks of murder. But whoever this nameless woman was, and whatever befell her, is knowledge lost to another time.
Boston, 1830: In order to pay for his education, Norris Marshall, a talented but penniless student at Boston Medical College, has joined the ranks of local “resurrectionists”–those who plunder graveyards and harvest the dead for sale on the black market. Yet even this ghoulish commerce pales beside the shocking murder of a nurse found mutilated on the university hospital grounds. And when a distinguished doctor meets the same grisly fate, Norris finds that trafficking in the illicit cadaver trade has made him a prime suspect.
To prove his innocence, Norris must track down the only witness to have glimpsed the killer: Rose Connolly, a beautiful seamstress from the Boston slums who fears she may be the next victim. Joined by a sardonic, keenly intelligent young man named Oliver Wendell Holmes, Norris and Rose comb the city–from its grim cemeteries and autopsy suites to its glittering mansions and centers of Brahmin power–on the trail of a maniacal fiend who lurks where least expected . . . and who waits for his next lethal opportunity.
With unflagging suspense and pitch-perfect period detail, The Bone Garden deftly interweaves the thrilling narratives of its nineteenth- and twenty-first century protagonists, tracing the dark mystery at its heart across time and place to a finale as ingeniously conceived as it is shocking. Bold, bloody, and brilliant, this is Tess Gerritsen’s finest achievement to date.
530 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 18, 2007
1923 people are currently reading
13746 people want to read
About the author
Tess Gerritsen
204 books21.1k followersInternationally bestselling author Tess Gerritsen took an unusual route to a writing career. A graduate of Stanford University, Tess went on to medical school at the University of California, San Francisco, where she was awarded her M.D.
While on maternity leave from her work as a physician, she began to write fiction. In 1987, her first novel was published. Call After Midnight, a romantic thriller, was followed by eight more romantic suspense novels. She also wrote a screenplay, "Adrift", which aired as a 1993 CBS Movie of the Week starring Kate Jackson.
Tess's first medical thriller, Harvest, was released in hardcover in 1996, and it marked her debut on the New York Times bestseller list. Her suspense novels since then have been: Life Support (1997), Bloodstream (1998), Gravity (1999), The Surgeon (2001), The Apprentice (2002), The Sinner (2003), Body Double (2004), Vanish (2005), The Mephisto Club (2006), and The Bone Garden (2007). Her books have been translated into 31 languages, and more than 15 million copies have been sold around the world.
As well as being a New York Times bestselling author, she has also been a #1 bestseller in both Germany and the UK. She has won both the Nero Wolfe Award (for Vanish) and the Rita Award (for The Surgeon.) Critics around the world have praised her novels as "Pulse-pounding fun" (Philadelphia Inquirer), "Scary and brilliant" (Toronto Globe and Mail), and "Polished, riveting prose" (Chicago Tribune). Publisher Weekly has dubbed her the "medical suspense queen".
Now retired from medicine, she writes full time. She lives in Maine.
While on maternity leave from her work as a physician, she began to write fiction. In 1987, her first novel was published. Call After Midnight, a romantic thriller, was followed by eight more romantic suspense novels. She also wrote a screenplay, "Adrift", which aired as a 1993 CBS Movie of the Week starring Kate Jackson.
Tess's first medical thriller, Harvest, was released in hardcover in 1996, and it marked her debut on the New York Times bestseller list. Her suspense novels since then have been: Life Support (1997), Bloodstream (1998), Gravity (1999), The Surgeon (2001), The Apprentice (2002), The Sinner (2003), Body Double (2004), Vanish (2005), The Mephisto Club (2006), and The Bone Garden (2007). Her books have been translated into 31 languages, and more than 15 million copies have been sold around the world.
As well as being a New York Times bestselling author, she has also been a #1 bestseller in both Germany and the UK. She has won both the Nero Wolfe Award (for Vanish) and the Rita Award (for The Surgeon.) Critics around the world have praised her novels as "Pulse-pounding fun" (Philadelphia Inquirer), "Scary and brilliant" (Toronto Globe and Mail), and "Polished, riveting prose" (Chicago Tribune). Publisher Weekly has dubbed her the "medical suspense queen".
Now retired from medicine, she writes full time. She lives in Maine.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,699 reviews
November 3, 2015
You know the problem of writing reviews for books like this? It makes you stupid. Like "What am I going to write?How am I going to explain to them that this book makes me feel fucking lonely and satisfied at the same time?
Side note: I never thought that loneliness and satisfaction combined is like floating in the middle of the Dead Sea contemplating life and shit. Does it makes sense? No? Then good. It doesn't make sense to me either.
When I finished The Bone Garden my face is exactly like this:
No fucking joke.
I'm going to tell you why this book deserves my 5 star.
1. The fact that Tess Gerritsen knows how to make you crazy. You're like reading this chapter of a certain era and it's getting scary and full of suspense and she'll be like:
"Wait, lemme end this chapter and transfer you back to the other time.Trololol!
Isn't it adorable?
2. Rose Connolly
This is going to be a character appreciation:
Rose, as you can say, is the heroine of this book( not Julia). She belonged in Boston 1830 and I just want to tell those who can read this review:
She rocks.
She's not the normal badass heroine that I usually like.You have to remember, this is 1830, the time when horses were treated more fairly than women. She didn't start a revolution. She didn't end a war. She just endured and fought for her and her niece's life.
Remember that saying that men may be stronger but it is women who endure. Rose Connolly endured and with that she shows her strength.
*bow*
*cue exit*
January 18, 2023
A solid, gripping, historical mystery!
Tess Gerritsen's THE BONE GARDEN is a thoroughly entertaining, historical thriller that begins with the admittedly prosaic literary device of divorcée Julia Hamill finding a human skeleton buried in the back yard of her recently purchased century home in Boston. The local forensic examiner makes the determination that the skeleton was a female who had been brutally murdered over 100 years earlier. Naturally, Hamill's concern and curiosity is aroused. When a neighbour suggests she seek the help of an elderly relative of the former owner of the home who had kept boxes and boxes of old photos, newspaper clippings and personal correspondence, Julia finds herself enamoured with the story of the lives of the people from Boston's past and positively riveted with the possibility of finding the truth behind a murder that had taken place a century and a half ago.
The story, revealed to the reader in the form of flashbacks, alternates with the progress that Julia Hamill and her newfound elderly friend make in their historical researches into the history of the home and the family that owned it.
Norris Marshall is a medical student in 1830s Boston, a time when anatomy studies were carried out almost surreptitiously on cadavers supplied by less than scrupulous resurrectionists, more correctly known as grave robbers. He meets (and, of course, ultimately falls in love with) Rose Connolly, an Irish immigrant and the sister of a woman who died of childbed fever in the hospital where Marshall is studying. A gruesome killer, dubbed the West End Reaper by the journalists of the day, has begun to stalk the streets of Boston and Marshall and Connolly are the only witnesses to have caught a glimpse of the killer. But with single minded tunnel vision, the Boston constabulary come to believe that Marshall is the killer and Marshall's only hope for escape is to find the true killer before the police find him.
Aside from crafting a superb mystery, Gerritsen has also provided warm, romantic love story as well as a compelling and utterly convincing historical backdrop - 1830s Boston medical school, student life, ressurectionism, early feminism vs the standards of male chauvinism of the day, disease, filth, class distinctions, upstairs-downstairs, police practice, immigration, friction between Catholics (disparagingly called "Papists") and Protestants, and even the story of the grudging development of hand-washing as a standard practice in hospitals as knowledge of germs and their spread slowly grew out of infancy.
This is not the normal medical thriller genre that Gerritsen fans will have come to expect but it is good solid, gripping fiction - equal parts mystery, romance and history. Well done and easily recommended.
Paul Weiss
Tess Gerritsen's THE BONE GARDEN is a thoroughly entertaining, historical thriller that begins with the admittedly prosaic literary device of divorcée Julia Hamill finding a human skeleton buried in the back yard of her recently purchased century home in Boston. The local forensic examiner makes the determination that the skeleton was a female who had been brutally murdered over 100 years earlier. Naturally, Hamill's concern and curiosity is aroused. When a neighbour suggests she seek the help of an elderly relative of the former owner of the home who had kept boxes and boxes of old photos, newspaper clippings and personal correspondence, Julia finds herself enamoured with the story of the lives of the people from Boston's past and positively riveted with the possibility of finding the truth behind a murder that had taken place a century and a half ago.
The story, revealed to the reader in the form of flashbacks, alternates with the progress that Julia Hamill and her newfound elderly friend make in their historical researches into the history of the home and the family that owned it.
Norris Marshall is a medical student in 1830s Boston, a time when anatomy studies were carried out almost surreptitiously on cadavers supplied by less than scrupulous resurrectionists, more correctly known as grave robbers. He meets (and, of course, ultimately falls in love with) Rose Connolly, an Irish immigrant and the sister of a woman who died of childbed fever in the hospital where Marshall is studying. A gruesome killer, dubbed the West End Reaper by the journalists of the day, has begun to stalk the streets of Boston and Marshall and Connolly are the only witnesses to have caught a glimpse of the killer. But with single minded tunnel vision, the Boston constabulary come to believe that Marshall is the killer and Marshall's only hope for escape is to find the true killer before the police find him.
Aside from crafting a superb mystery, Gerritsen has also provided warm, romantic love story as well as a compelling and utterly convincing historical backdrop - 1830s Boston medical school, student life, ressurectionism, early feminism vs the standards of male chauvinism of the day, disease, filth, class distinctions, upstairs-downstairs, police practice, immigration, friction between Catholics (disparagingly called "Papists") and Protestants, and even the story of the grudging development of hand-washing as a standard practice in hospitals as knowledge of germs and their spread slowly grew out of infancy.
This is not the normal medical thriller genre that Gerritsen fans will have come to expect but it is good solid, gripping fiction - equal parts mystery, romance and history. Well done and easily recommended.
Paul Weiss
August 14, 2017
This was a great story about a lady who buys a house and discovers bones of a body that were long buried there. The book flops between past and present which is one of my favourite types of stories. The story in the past involves a historical medical mystery, that revolves around love and courage that draws together the present story. Definitely a 5 star!
March 30, 2025
Історія сприймалася більше як історичний роман і для мене це, безсумнівно, плюс! Однак здалося, що деякі питання залишилися відкритими. 4.5 ⭐️ за це і затягнутість всередині
July 16, 2024
Більше дописів та інфи в моєму авторському блозі - "Ласкаво просимо в Касл-Рок, штат Мен"
"Сад кісток" Тесс Ґеррітсен - це історичний детективний трилер, який спочатку може здатись трошки затягнутим та нуднуватим, але фінал просто ламає всю початкову думку про книгу, і ,крім "вах, вау, клас" нічого неможливо сказати.
Перша особливість - 2 сюжетні лінії, 2 часових проміжки. Бостон 1830-тих та 2000-них.
Основні події відбувається саме в минулому, де на брудних вулицях Бостона лютує серійний вбивця. А в епіцентрі знаходиться Норріс Маршалл - студент медичного колледжу, талановитий хлопець, який йде на дрібнізлочини заради отримання освіти. А от далі все стає гірше - дві жінки вбито, а хлопчина - головний підозрюваний.
В сучасності все теж цікавенько.
Джулія, жінка середнього віку, після розлучення купує старий будинок з садом недалеко від Бостона. Прибираючи на ділянці, вона випадково наштовхується на жіночий скелет. Кому ж він належав?🤔
А далі минуле і сьогодення заплітаються у витончений таємничий клубок, який точно і обов'язково розплутається, а вся історія складається в один пазл, малюнок.
Що сподобалось? Атмосфера Бостону середини ХІХ століття - це просто щось. Мені дуже б не хотілось жити в ті часи, коли соціальна прірва між бідняками та багатіями була прям настільки глибокою. В мене не вкладається в голові, як люди взагалі виживали в тих нетрях, де пахло смертю та нечистотами, де було обмаль їжі, але купа невиліковних хвороб.
Медична справа того часу також вражала. Тогочасні медики вірили, що допомагають людям, але якби вони знали, як насправдііі...хоча саме на їхніх помилках наступні покоління навчались та робили власні відкриття.
Вже фірмові описи місць злочину, порізаних тіл, бридкі деталі - присутні.
Суть така - це дуже і дуже крута книга. Десь на 350-тій сторінці я подумав, що все аж надто затягнуто. Сюжет тупцює на місце. Далі була 400-та сторінка - і я був майже впевнений в тому, що моя думка не зміниться.
А далі - кульмінація і кінцівка. І це просто розрив. Я не впорався з сюжетною головоломкою, яку запропонувала мені авторка. Я нічого не вгадав. Події завернулись таким чином, яким я і передбачити не міг. Чесно - був момент, коли майже накотились сльози. Дуже потужно і класно.
Результат: мені здається, що "Сад кісток" Тесс Ґеррітсен - це ідеальна книга для знайомства з авторкою для читачів, які не читали "Хірурга" . Для поціновувачів авторки ця книга - ковток свіжого повітря, знайомство з невідомою творчістю Тесс.
"Сад кісток" Тесс Ґеррітсен - це історичний детективний трилер, який спочатку може здатись трошки затягнутим та нуднуватим, але фінал просто ламає всю початкову думку про книгу, і ,крім "вах, вау, клас" нічого неможливо сказати.
Перша особливість - 2 сюжетні лінії, 2 часових проміжки. Бостон 1830-тих та 2000-них.
Основні події відбувається саме в минулому, де на брудних вулицях Бостона лютує серійний вбивця. А в епіцентрі знаходиться Норріс Маршалл - студент медичного колледжу, талановитий хлопець, який йде на дрібнізлочини заради отримання освіти. А от далі все стає гірше - дві жінки вбито, а хлопчина - головний підозрюваний.
В сучасності все теж цікавенько.
Джулія, жінка середнього віку, після розлучення купує старий будинок з садом недалеко від Бостона. Прибираючи на ділянці, вона випадково наштовхується на жіночий скелет. Кому ж він належав?🤔
А далі минуле і сьогодення заплітаються у витончений таємничий клубок, який точно і обов'язково розплутається, а вся історія складається в один пазл, малюнок.
Що сподобалось? Атмосфера Бостону середини ХІХ століття - це просто щось. Мені дуже б не хотілось жити в ті часи, коли соціальна прірва між бідняками та багатіями була прям настільки глибокою. В мене не вкладається в голові, як люди взагалі виживали в тих нетрях, де пахло смертю та нечистотами, де було обмаль їжі, але купа невиліковних хвороб.
Медична справа того часу також вражала. Тогочасні медики вірили, що допомагають людям, але якби вони знали, як насправдііі...хоча саме на їхніх помилках наступні покоління навчались та робили власні відкриття.
Вже фірмові описи місць злочину, порізаних тіл, бридкі деталі - присутні.
Суть така - це дуже і дуже крута книга. Десь на 350-тій сторінці я подумав, що все аж надто затягнуто. Сюжет тупцює на місце. Далі була 400-та сторінка - і я був майже впевнений в тому, що моя думка не зміниться.
А далі - кульмінація і кінцівка. І це просто розрив. Я не впорався з сюжетною головоломкою, яку запропонувала мені авторка. Я нічого не вгадав. Події завернулись таким чином, яким я і передбачити не міг. Чесно - був момент, коли майже накотились сльози. Дуже потужно і класно.
Результат: мені здається, що "Сад кісток" Тесс Ґеррітсен - це ідеальна книга для знайомства з авторкою для читачів, які не читали "Хірурга" . Для поціновувачів авторки ця книга - ковток свіжого повітря, знайомство з невідомою творчістю Тесс.
April 19, 2008
A page-turner historical fiction/whodunit with some fascinating (and gruesome) glimpses of early 1800s medical school training in the US. Written by a physician - a quick read that will make you grateful you live now instead of then! One of the characters is Oliver Wendell Holmes, not the Supreme Court judge, but his father, who, in 1843, introduced a new practice to American medicine in an attempt to control "childbed fever"...suggesting that physicians wash their hands between patients.
April 30, 2017
Newly divorced, Julia Hamill, buys a house and discovers a skeleton in her front garden. Looking for answers to the ancient mystery dating back to 1830, she soon connects with the family of the previous owners. In a parallel tale, the mystery is solved, leaving the reader in utmost surprise and awe.
This is one of those perfect suspense thrillers with a nerve-tingling impact reminiscent of the best of the all-time crime writers. The standard of the writing is just way above average. I started this book about five years ago, and forgot about it.
This morning, during a power cut, I was looking through my book shelves for something entertaining to read(at least a book which did not need batteries, for crying out loud!) and rediscovered this book. For some or other reason I had to put it aside and I couldn't remember why. I immediately got lost between the pages again. I just couldn't believe that I did not finish it five years ago.
The power cut lasted the entire day. I ended up reading the final chapters in the light of candles. A perfect setting to enjoy a book playing itself out in the 1800s with candles in old windows and dark streets full of bad people. :-) I sat on the edge of my seat in the kitchen, serving guests, running back to the book in the kitchen, then out at the tables again, so happy to see 'normal' people. lolol. The tale was just too mesmerizing, too gripping to leave me alone. But was I glad when the power switched on again!. Oh dear, I almost did not make it with this book in hand.
The plot is masterfully done and the ending was unexpected. The whole atmosphere of the book is so real! It reminded me once again of Dr. Kay Scarpetta's murder mystery series by Patricia Cornwell, and a little bit of Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese.
I was surprised afterwards to learn that the author is also a medical doctor, which explains my initial thoughts about the writing style and execution of the plot. (The Reaper executed the characters in the plot!!) :-))
An amazing read! A grizzly, but really unforgettable experience!
This is one of those perfect suspense thrillers with a nerve-tingling impact reminiscent of the best of the all-time crime writers. The standard of the writing is just way above average. I started this book about five years ago, and forgot about it.
This morning, during a power cut, I was looking through my book shelves for something entertaining to read(at least a book which did not need batteries, for crying out loud!) and rediscovered this book. For some or other reason I had to put it aside and I couldn't remember why. I immediately got lost between the pages again. I just couldn't believe that I did not finish it five years ago.
The power cut lasted the entire day. I ended up reading the final chapters in the light of candles. A perfect setting to enjoy a book playing itself out in the 1800s with candles in old windows and dark streets full of bad people. :-) I sat on the edge of my seat in the kitchen, serving guests, running back to the book in the kitchen, then out at the tables again, so happy to see 'normal' people. lolol. The tale was just too mesmerizing, too gripping to leave me alone. But was I glad when the power switched on again!. Oh dear, I almost did not make it with this book in hand.
The plot is masterfully done and the ending was unexpected. The whole atmosphere of the book is so real! It reminded me once again of Dr. Kay Scarpetta's murder mystery series by Patricia Cornwell, and a little bit of Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese.
I was surprised afterwards to learn that the author is also a medical doctor, which explains my initial thoughts about the writing style and execution of the plot. (The Reaper executed the characters in the plot!!) :-))
An amazing read! A grizzly, but really unforgettable experience!
February 20, 2023
Book 13/100 for the 2023 Goodreads Challenge.
Was really wanting a solid, dependable novel to read so went back to another Gerritsen book that I've had for some time. So glad I chose The Bone Garden because it was phenomenally written: the historical accuracy, the precise medical detail (PUKE 🤮AT THE AMPUTATION SCENE), the gentle love, the courage, THE ENDING. 😍
Before I talk more about why this was a great book.. the 1️⃣ reason this wasn't a 5 star was that I wish there could have been more scenes set in the present. Probably 2/3s of the book is set in the 1800s.
Moving on! This novel is about a woman who moves to a new house during her divorce and unearths a skeleton. Once investigated, it is determined that that the body has been buried for decades and was not a recent murder. Through this investigation, the woman connects with the family that originally built her house who has historical documents from around the time of the buried body. Together they find out who is buried in her yard and maybe why.
So to counter this storyline, we also go back to the 1800s when medical schools are popping up around the country and are in dire need for cadavers. MC Norris is the son of a farmer and is working for his schooling by unearthing dead bodies and selling them for science. MC Rose watches her sister die 😭after childbirth and then has to protect her niece from the baby's father. Among all of this, there is someone murdering medical professionals tied to Rose's niece... Oliver Wendall Holmes also plays a part in this story which is a fun little twist (thank goodness for germ theory.. yikes). 🦠
The ending is beautifully tragic. 💔
4.5 stars rounded down. Spectacular book!
Was really wanting a solid, dependable novel to read so went back to another Gerritsen book that I've had for some time. So glad I chose The Bone Garden because it was phenomenally written: the historical accuracy, the precise medical detail (PUKE 🤮AT THE AMPUTATION SCENE), the gentle love, the courage, THE ENDING. 😍
Before I talk more about why this was a great book.. the 1️⃣ reason this wasn't a 5 star was that I wish there could have been more scenes set in the present. Probably 2/3s of the book is set in the 1800s.
Moving on! This novel is about a woman who moves to a new house during her divorce and unearths a skeleton. Once investigated, it is determined that that the body has been buried for decades and was not a recent murder. Through this investigation, the woman connects with the family that originally built her house who has historical documents from around the time of the buried body. Together they find out who is buried in her yard and maybe why.
So to counter this storyline, we also go back to the 1800s when medical schools are popping up around the country and are in dire need for cadavers. MC Norris is the son of a farmer and is working for his schooling by unearthing dead bodies and selling them for science. MC Rose watches her sister die 😭after childbirth and then has to protect her niece from the baby's father. Among all of this, there is someone murdering medical professionals tied to Rose's niece... Oliver Wendall Holmes also plays a part in this story which is a fun little twist (thank goodness for germ theory.. yikes). 🦠
The ending is beautifully tragic. 💔
4.5 stars rounded down. Spectacular book!
September 9, 2021
The Bone Garden is surprisingly a historical thriller. I have been so used to her Rizzoli and Isles series of books that the Bone Garden felt a totally different author. Told in dual timelines of the present and the 1830s the Bone Garden takes us to an era where being in a hospital was akin to signing one’s death warrant.
As I have never read any novels with a history of medicine being evolved, The Bone Garden was an eye-opener. As the author delves into the deploring conditions of childbirth and the ignorance of the doctors treating them and the kind of treatment practices being used, the huge black market of dead bodies, and the resurrections who ply the trade, she gives the readers a glimpse into the difficult circumstances via which the study of medicine could progress.
By intertwining a murder mystery thru the narrative of the past, the author simply spikes the reader’s interest and keeps them glued to the pages. But it is just not the history or the mystery that comes alive in this story, but also the subject of women and childbirth and the many ways out of wedlock pregnancies can cause disruptions in one’s life.
Rose is the star of the story, at a time when Irish people were looked down on as worse than garbage, she displays exemplary strength to fight for her nieces’ life but it is Norris who took away my heart and if not for that sweet ending in the present, I would have bawled my eyes out. I loved the camaraderie between Holmes, Charles, and Norris and the ways they help each other out. The love that develops between Rose and Norris is kept in the background but even then Tess Gerritsen conveys the kind of love that transcends time. The murderer when revealed was an ultimate shocker, to say the least, which is exactly what you expect from the author. The twists and turns in the story are just crazy and unpredictable.
On-your-toes 5 stars worthy read. ⛈️⛈️⛈️⛈️⛈️
This review is published in my blog https://rainnbooks.com/, Goodreads, Amazon India, Facebook, and Twitter.
As I have never read any novels with a history of medicine being evolved, The Bone Garden was an eye-opener. As the author delves into the deploring conditions of childbirth and the ignorance of the doctors treating them and the kind of treatment practices being used, the huge black market of dead bodies, and the resurrections who ply the trade, she gives the readers a glimpse into the difficult circumstances via which the study of medicine could progress.
By intertwining a murder mystery thru the narrative of the past, the author simply spikes the reader’s interest and keeps them glued to the pages. But it is just not the history or the mystery that comes alive in this story, but also the subject of women and childbirth and the many ways out of wedlock pregnancies can cause disruptions in one’s life.
Rose is the star of the story, at a time when Irish people were looked down on as worse than garbage, she displays exemplary strength to fight for her nieces’ life but it is Norris who took away my heart and if not for that sweet ending in the present, I would have bawled my eyes out. I loved the camaraderie between Holmes, Charles, and Norris and the ways they help each other out. The love that develops between Rose and Norris is kept in the background but even then Tess Gerritsen conveys the kind of love that transcends time. The murderer when revealed was an ultimate shocker, to say the least, which is exactly what you expect from the author. The twists and turns in the story are just crazy and unpredictable.
On-your-toes 5 stars worthy read. ⛈️⛈️⛈️⛈️⛈️
This review is published in my blog https://rainnbooks.com/, Goodreads, Amazon India, Facebook, and Twitter.
August 1, 2023
This is my first Tess Gerritsen novel. It will not be my last. Gerritsen marries perfectly historical detail with a compelling fictional story. The Bone Garden is horrifyingly realistic with gruesome details. The story is told in the present, but mostly transpires in the late 1800s with Oliver Wendell Holmes Senior playing a pivotal role in the mystery. Gerritsen is telling two stories simultaneously with bitter-sweet reverence and respect for her characters. She situates us in both timelines with deft skill and completes both stories in a way I will not soon forget. Brilliant!
February 6, 2020
This book offers readers a glimpse into the sacrifice, powerlessness and horror of the gruesome world of women in the 1800’s.
I was completely fascinated by the informative foray into the study of medicine presented during this time. I was previously unaware of the insatiable need for cadavers required with it’s expansion, and of the desperate methods employed to meet the demand.
In addition to the wealth of historical detail, this book was overflowing with vivid imagery and engaging characters.
I could not get enough of Holmes, Henry and Rose! I would just absolutely love to watch the ocean and drink a bottle of wine with Henry. Jack was a terrifyingly real character, who increasingly repulsed me the more he was portrayed.
If you enjoy historical fiction mysteries, this one is a stand alone must read!
I was completely fascinated by the informative foray into the study of medicine presented during this time. I was previously unaware of the insatiable need for cadavers required with it’s expansion, and of the desperate methods employed to meet the demand.
In addition to the wealth of historical detail, this book was overflowing with vivid imagery and engaging characters.
I could not get enough of Holmes, Henry and Rose! I would just absolutely love to watch the ocean and drink a bottle of wine with Henry. Jack was a terrifyingly real character, who increasingly repulsed me the more he was portrayed.
If you enjoy historical fiction mysteries, this one is a stand alone must read!
November 26, 2024
Я думала, що авторка може писати лише детективи. Хороші, але детективи.
Але це ж теж детектив.
Ні, це значно більше. Якщо ви прочитали, ви знаєте про що я.
Дві часові лінії (і 19-го сторіччя було більше)
Легка ненав'язлива любовна лінія
На додачу, якщо ви любите читати про те, як раніше лікували, та на реальних подіях, ця книга - для вас.
Я вже з середини книги готувалась до сумного фіналу. Так і сталося. Такий життєвий фінал.
Просто хочу сказати, рада, що у Рози та Маргарет було стільки добрих людей, котрі допомогали їм.
Але це ж теж детектив.
Ні, це значно більше. Якщо ви прочитали, ви знаєте про що я.
Дві часові лінії (і 19-го сторіччя було більше)
Легка ненав'язлива любовна лінія
На додачу, якщо ви любите читати про те, як раніше лікували, та на реальних подіях, ця книга - для вас.
Я вже з середини книги готувалась до сумного фіналу. Так і сталося. Такий життєвий фінал.
Просто хочу сказати, рада, що у Рози та Маргарет було стільки добрих людей, котрі допомогали їм.
July 17, 2024
Книжка про 2 періода події (бачу Тесс це дуже любить) про теперішнє та 200 (здається) років назад. І от яка старіша, мені нагадує «Анатомія. Історія кохання», особливо з копачами трупів та тим, що жінкам не треба лізти кудись (тут не має жінки лікарки, нажаль), і ще дежавю з пістолетом. Було цікаво в принципі спостерігати за всіма подіями, деякі обурливі були, деякі милі. Цікаві моменти були з медициною, а особливо з ампутацією кінцівки (привіт знову «Анатомія»). Шкода було ота хлопця Біллі наче, не справедливо якось з ним.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 9, 2013
This is my second foray into Tess Gerritsen's books. I enjoyed about eighty percent of this one. As anyone who has read The Bone Garden, they can guess which eighty percent I'm talking about.
I really don't see what the present day tie in had to do with the story. Essentially (not really a spoiler), a woman buys a house, finds a skull when gardening. The famous Maura Isles shows up, appears on two pages to tell the reader she has nothing to do with the story. The rest of the present day segments revolve around going through a dozen boxes of old newspapers. At the end, the main story is tied to the present day one with some kind of mystical reincarnation link.
Now that complaint is out of the way, the main part of the story, the medical history/mystery in 1830 was first rate. Learned something about the sad state of medicine in the era, graverobbers, the plight of the poor and had a pretty good whodunit thrown in. I'm always a little disappointed when the murderer turns out to be a character that's pretty much been on the sidelines. Not giving anything away but the motive for the killing is barely plausible and the killer manages to be perfectly normal except when they are out killing people.
It seemed to me the author created the present day scenes simply to put Isles in the story as a cameo.
I really don't see what the present day tie in had to do with the story. Essentially (not really a spoiler), a woman buys a house, finds a skull when gardening. The famous Maura Isles shows up, appears on two pages to tell the reader she has nothing to do with the story. The rest of the present day segments revolve around going through a dozen boxes of old newspapers. At the end, the main story is tied to the present day one with some kind of mystical reincarnation link.
Now that complaint is out of the way, the main part of the story, the medical history/mystery in 1830 was first rate. Learned something about the sad state of medicine in the era, graverobbers, the plight of the poor and had a pretty good whodunit thrown in. I'm always a little disappointed when the murderer turns out to be a character that's pretty much been on the sidelines. Not giving anything away but the motive for the killing is barely plausible and the killer manages to be perfectly normal except when they are out killing people.
It seemed to me the author created the present day scenes simply to put Isles in the story as a cameo.
August 19, 2018
The Bone Garden is yet another example of Tess Gerritsen at her finest. It is the second standalone novel written by this author that I picked out after my experience of Playing with Fire from two years ago. While I am a big fan of the Rizzoli and Isles series, as I have emphasized in previous reviews as well as through either 4 or 5-star ratings, I am happy to tell you that the standalone books are equally good and acquaint the reader with a fairly different facet of Gerritsen's remarkable story-telling skills.
The Bone Garden is an excellent and gripping read, a well-penned mystery taking in the medical aspects that have come to be considered the author's hallmark, given her physician background, as well as in a partial historical look at Boston in 1830s. Temporally, the novel shifts back and forth between past and present, with the latter time period being less extensively covered, having the role to direct the focus towards past events. The historical component pays homage to Oliver Wendell Holmes, a physician renowned for his straightforward and revolutionary, hygiene-related proposition that medical practitioners should wash their hands properly before and after attending patients so that unnecessary disease transmission and subsequent deceases could be avoided. Gerritsen crafted a character mirroring Holmes at the start of the medical school and furthermore, she explored certain realities of 1830s, among them the scarcity of corpses for anatomical dissection at the American medical students' disposal, the unlawful practices of snatching and selling cadavers for the sake of medicine and the general stigma associated with Irish immigrants. All these are conveyed in the fictional context of a series of gruesome murders as well as the menacing, mysterious interest in a newborn, motherless baby girl.
Tess Gerritsen wrote an eventful and twisted tale, featuring well-developed, likeable characters whose experiences throughout the book were riveting. She has also linked intelligently the characters to one another, which in turn resulted in a satisfying, well done denouement. My only criticism relates to the way the romance aspect from the past was carried out. Even though I anticipated the development of a romantic relationship between Norris and Rose at an early stage of the book, I thought the build-up of romance culminating in a mutual declaration of love was too sudden and slightly unrealistic, especially as regards Norris. For this reason, I will stick to a 4/4.5 rating. Finally, I highly recommend you to read The Bone Garden and everything else Gerritsen has written. She can do no wrong and has always been a safe bet for me.
The Bone Garden is an excellent and gripping read, a well-penned mystery taking in the medical aspects that have come to be considered the author's hallmark, given her physician background, as well as in a partial historical look at Boston in 1830s. Temporally, the novel shifts back and forth between past and present, with the latter time period being less extensively covered, having the role to direct the focus towards past events. The historical component pays homage to Oliver Wendell Holmes, a physician renowned for his straightforward and revolutionary, hygiene-related proposition that medical practitioners should wash their hands properly before and after attending patients so that unnecessary disease transmission and subsequent deceases could be avoided. Gerritsen crafted a character mirroring Holmes at the start of the medical school and furthermore, she explored certain realities of 1830s, among them the scarcity of corpses for anatomical dissection at the American medical students' disposal, the unlawful practices of snatching and selling cadavers for the sake of medicine and the general stigma associated with Irish immigrants. All these are conveyed in the fictional context of a series of gruesome murders as well as the menacing, mysterious interest in a newborn, motherless baby girl.
Tess Gerritsen wrote an eventful and twisted tale, featuring well-developed, likeable characters whose experiences throughout the book were riveting. She has also linked intelligently the characters to one another, which in turn resulted in a satisfying, well done denouement. My only criticism relates to the way the romance aspect from the past was carried out. Even though I anticipated the development of a romantic relationship between Norris and Rose at an early stage of the book, I thought the build-up of romance culminating in a mutual declaration of love was too sudden and slightly unrealistic, especially as regards Norris. For this reason, I will stick to a 4/4.5 rating. Finally, I highly recommend you to read The Bone Garden and everything else Gerritsen has written. She can do no wrong and has always been a safe bet for me.
October 25, 2015
This is an interesting story of two time periods that will ultimately converge through the characters. Julia Hamill, newly divorced, has just purchased a new home and is working the garden when she discovers human remains. It's determined that they are over 100 years old. Julia, with the help of the brother of the previous owner, researches old letters that provide a compelling story of Rose Connelly, a young seamstress living in Boston in the 1830s.
Rose Connelly's story is the substance of the mystery. She struggles to keep and take care of her newborn niece after her sister dies soon after childbirth. Medical students Norris Marshall and Oliver Wendell Holmes become involved when Rose and Norris both witness the Grim Reaper at separate murderous occasions. Meanwhile, someone has an inordinate interest in finding Rose's niece, Meggie.
The transitions between present day and the year 1830 were done pretty seamlessly. Including Oliver Wendell Holmes in this tale provided an interesting medical backdrop, giving us insight into the crudeness of the field of medicine in that era. There are surprising twists that you won't see coming but are completely plausible. The present day story, however, lacks the depth and character substance found in the 1830s story but it doesn't detract from the strength of the book overall. The suggested connections at the end were not sufficient to salvage the one-dimensional aspect of the present day characters.
I enjoyed this story made more pleasurable by listening to the audiobook, even with the issues described earlier.
Rose Connelly's story is the substance of the mystery. She struggles to keep and take care of her newborn niece after her sister dies soon after childbirth. Medical students Norris Marshall and Oliver Wendell Holmes become involved when Rose and Norris both witness the Grim Reaper at separate murderous occasions. Meanwhile, someone has an inordinate interest in finding Rose's niece, Meggie.
The transitions between present day and the year 1830 were done pretty seamlessly. Including Oliver Wendell Holmes in this tale provided an interesting medical backdrop, giving us insight into the crudeness of the field of medicine in that era. There are surprising twists that you won't see coming but are completely plausible. The present day story, however, lacks the depth and character substance found in the 1830s story but it doesn't detract from the strength of the book overall. The suggested connections at the end were not sufficient to salvage the one-dimensional aspect of the present day characters.
I enjoyed this story made more pleasurable by listening to the audiobook, even with the issues described earlier.
January 6, 2014
Opening line: “So this is how a marriage ends, thought Julia Hamill as she rammed the shovel into the soil.”
This was a very good read although not quite what I was expecting. The Bone Garden is two stories woven into one; starting with Julie Hamill in present day who has just purchased a new (old) house in Boston following her divorce. While attempting to dig a garden she makes a horrifying discovery –a human skull. According to medical examiner Maura Isles (who only has a cameo in this book) the skull is very old, belongs to a woman and has the unmistakable marks of murder. This information sends Julia on a quest to find the story behind her death and sends the reader back to the 1830’s and the hunt for the West End Reaper.
Back in 1830 we follow Rose Connelly, a poor Irish immigrant trying to care for her newly orphaned niece and Norris Marshal, a struggling medical student. Their paths intersect at a teaching hospital as Rose’s sister lies dying from childbed fever and then again later when Rose witnesses a murder and Norris unwittingly becomes the chief suspect after he stumbles across the latest victim. Together they join forces to solve the murders and protect the baby which seems to be at the heart of the mystery.
I really enjoyed the beginning of this book, setting things up in both timelines and Gerritsen plays with the reader by ending each section on a bit of a cliff-hanger, forcing you to keep turning the pages. There are many well developed secondary characters in both time lines including a resurrectionist (grave robber) who digs up corpses from graveyards for sale on the black market (worth 25$ and totally gruesome)Speaking of which, Gerritsen goes into graphic 1830’s medical detail here, I mean I learned everything I didn’t want to know about childbed fever and how to amputate an arm. And you will be shaking your head (and shuddering) as the simple concept of washing your hands didn’t exist. Imagine the consequences of handling diseased corpses and then going from bed to bed checking pregnant woman!
In modern Boston Julia teams up with Henry, an ornery 89yr old with a cellar full of wine and boxes of documents and personal letters belonging to the previous owner of her house and dating back to the time of the murders. -Henry was one of my favourite characters in the book. We also see the spark of a romance beginning with her cute dog walking neighbor.
As the book progressed we spent more and more time in 1830 until those sections took over completely. I actually would have preferred a more balanced split between the two as modern day Julia was left a little vague and honestly I was ready for the olden day mystery to wrap up long before it did. The attention to the detail of that time is astonishing, especially the medical stuff and the brutality of living in a Boston slum.
Gerritsen‘s writing is always topnotch, with persistent suspense, a touch of romance, well developed characters, attention to detail and as usual she puts her medical training to chilling good use. Cheers.
396jb4
This was a very good read although not quite what I was expecting. The Bone Garden is two stories woven into one; starting with Julie Hamill in present day who has just purchased a new (old) house in Boston following her divorce. While attempting to dig a garden she makes a horrifying discovery –a human skull. According to medical examiner Maura Isles (who only has a cameo in this book) the skull is very old, belongs to a woman and has the unmistakable marks of murder. This information sends Julia on a quest to find the story behind her death and sends the reader back to the 1830’s and the hunt for the West End Reaper.
Back in 1830 we follow Rose Connelly, a poor Irish immigrant trying to care for her newly orphaned niece and Norris Marshal, a struggling medical student. Their paths intersect at a teaching hospital as Rose’s sister lies dying from childbed fever and then again later when Rose witnesses a murder and Norris unwittingly becomes the chief suspect after he stumbles across the latest victim. Together they join forces to solve the murders and protect the baby which seems to be at the heart of the mystery.
I really enjoyed the beginning of this book, setting things up in both timelines and Gerritsen plays with the reader by ending each section on a bit of a cliff-hanger, forcing you to keep turning the pages. There are many well developed secondary characters in both time lines including a resurrectionist (grave robber) who digs up corpses from graveyards for sale on the black market (worth 25$ and totally gruesome)Speaking of which, Gerritsen goes into graphic 1830’s medical detail here, I mean I learned everything I didn’t want to know about childbed fever and how to amputate an arm. And you will be shaking your head (and shuddering) as the simple concept of washing your hands didn’t exist. Imagine the consequences of handling diseased corpses and then going from bed to bed checking pregnant woman!
In modern Boston Julia teams up with Henry, an ornery 89yr old with a cellar full of wine and boxes of documents and personal letters belonging to the previous owner of her house and dating back to the time of the murders. -Henry was one of my favourite characters in the book. We also see the spark of a romance beginning with her cute dog walking neighbor.
As the book progressed we spent more and more time in 1830 until those sections took over completely. I actually would have preferred a more balanced split between the two as modern day Julia was left a little vague and honestly I was ready for the olden day mystery to wrap up long before it did. The attention to the detail of that time is astonishing, especially the medical stuff and the brutality of living in a Boston slum.
Gerritsen‘s writing is always topnotch, with persistent suspense, a touch of romance, well developed characters, attention to detail and as usual she puts her medical training to chilling good use. Cheers.
396jb4
February 27, 2015
Sometimes you take a chance on a book and it pays off, sometimes you regret it. This was a case of regret. Though the book started with a promising mystery the protagonist in the current-day plot line was a namby-pamby and hard to identify with. The storyline in the past was more interesting but the contrast between the two left the book off-balance.
It was OK until nine-tenths of the way through it took a turn toward romantic drivel in the past plot line which soon ended tragically. I don't have a problem with the tragic end but it was tempered by the intimation that the romance continued reincarnated in the modern day plot which was just lame. There was a plot twist that had me moderately interested for a short time but when the evildoer was finally revealed the mystery seemed to lose interest in itself. There was no final answer given as to whether that person committed the Ripper-style murders or was only behind them. Characters actually considered not telling the public which strained credulity. To have limped through the entire book and have this be the payoff felt like a punishment for making a poor choice!
It was OK until nine-tenths of the way through it took a turn toward romantic drivel in the past plot line which soon ended tragically. I don't have a problem with the tragic end but it was tempered by the intimation that the romance continued reincarnated in the modern day plot which was just lame. There was a plot twist that had me moderately interested for a short time but when the evildoer was finally revealed the mystery seemed to lose interest in itself. There was no final answer given as to whether that person committed the Ripper-style murders or was only behind them. Characters actually considered not telling the public which strained credulity. To have limped through the entire book and have this be the payoff felt like a punishment for making a poor choice!
January 14, 2016
Yay new shelf! So this is what I'm gonna call a "kitchen sink" book. Meaning Ms. Tess Gerritsen decided to throw everything and the kitchen sink into this pretty average but well written mystery. We've got;
1.)A modern day heroine going through a difficult divorce that is ENTIRELY the fault of her awful husband who's bought a fixer upper that of COURSE has a body in the backyard. Oh no!!!! How did that happen!? There's something weird going on around here!
2.)And of course said body is a few hundred years old which propels us right back into a whole lot of 1830's flashbacks where we get to learn all about how horrible practicing medicine was! We learn all sorts of interesting historical tidbits about body snatching and childbed fever and how crazy everyone thought it was to wash their hands!
3.)In the present our heroine meets a lovable curmudgeon who happens to have all of the history about her fixer upper stored in boxes in his house! Even though no one else likes him she gets him! They're friends! They read lots of old letters and he acts like a curmudgeon! Awwww! Ooohhhhh and he has a cute nephewwwwww...watch out there heroine!!!!!
4.)Back in the past no one likes Irish immigrants! They steal things! Everyone calls them "Bridget!" We meet a "Bridget" with red hair who doesn't cater to the establishment! She's plucky! She has red hair! She won't let these mean doctors tell her what to do!
5.)We also meet a farm hand who wants to be a doctor! He's reaaalllyyy handsome and he's smarter then EVERYONE!!! He thinks bleeding people is stupid!!! Watch it there uppity farm hand!!!
6.)Uh oh someone is skulking around in a long black cloak killing women in a vaguely ritualistic manner!!! Uh oh farm hand and Bridget keep arriving on the scene at inconvenient times!!! the "night watch" thinks they did it!!!! Mean "night watch!"
7.)Ohhhh the police are so stupid!!! There's one who's so stupid he keeps arresting the wrong people!!! Stupid police!
8.) Hey is that Oliver Wendall Holmes? What's he doing here? Who cares!
9.) Back in the present curmudgeon and heroine keep on reading letters and the nephew is a doctor!!! Ohhh snap him up heroine!!!
10.)Awwww Bridget and the farm hand are in love! What? They've only had one conversation? Who cares!!!!
11.)Hey how about a random subplot about body snatching so we can make a weird joke about Burke and Hare!!!!
12.)Does anybody still care about that skeleton in heroine's backyard? Oh you'll conveniently wrap that up on the literal last page of the book!? Okay then!
1.)A modern day heroine going through a difficult divorce that is ENTIRELY the fault of her awful husband who's bought a fixer upper that of COURSE has a body in the backyard. Oh no!!!! How did that happen!? There's something weird going on around here!
2.)And of course said body is a few hundred years old which propels us right back into a whole lot of 1830's flashbacks where we get to learn all about how horrible practicing medicine was! We learn all sorts of interesting historical tidbits about body snatching and childbed fever and how crazy everyone thought it was to wash their hands!
3.)In the present our heroine meets a lovable curmudgeon who happens to have all of the history about her fixer upper stored in boxes in his house! Even though no one else likes him she gets him! They're friends! They read lots of old letters and he acts like a curmudgeon! Awwww! Ooohhhhh and he has a cute nephewwwwww...watch out there heroine!!!!!
4.)Back in the past no one likes Irish immigrants! They steal things! Everyone calls them "Bridget!" We meet a "Bridget" with red hair who doesn't cater to the establishment! She's plucky! She has red hair! She won't let these mean doctors tell her what to do!
5.)We also meet a farm hand who wants to be a doctor! He's reaaalllyyy handsome and he's smarter then EVERYONE!!! He thinks bleeding people is stupid!!! Watch it there uppity farm hand!!!
6.)Uh oh someone is skulking around in a long black cloak killing women in a vaguely ritualistic manner!!! Uh oh farm hand and Bridget keep arriving on the scene at inconvenient times!!! the "night watch" thinks they did it!!!! Mean "night watch!"
7.)Ohhhh the police are so stupid!!! There's one who's so stupid he keeps arresting the wrong people!!! Stupid police!
8.) Hey is that Oliver Wendall Holmes? What's he doing here? Who cares!
9.) Back in the present curmudgeon and heroine keep on reading letters and the nephew is a doctor!!! Ohhh snap him up heroine!!!
10.)Awwww Bridget and the farm hand are in love! What? They've only had one conversation? Who cares!!!!
11.)Hey how about a random subplot about body snatching so we can make a weird joke about Burke and Hare!!!!
12.)Does anybody still care about that skeleton in heroine's backyard? Oh you'll conveniently wrap that up on the literal last page of the book!? Okay then!
September 1, 2024
Це не те, що я чекала від Геррітсен. Але непогано. класне занурення в атмосферу 19 століття. Цікава ідея таємничого Вестендського женця, який вирізав на тілах жертв хрест.
April 13, 2023
Iš pat pradžių labai sunkiai skaitėsi, rodos nebuvo tos liepsnelės, kuri sudomintų ir skatintų toliau skaityt. Visgi tęsiau, nepalikau neperskaitytos ir kažkaip įsibėgėjau su šia knyga ir galiausiai atsirado tas įdomumas, patiko pabaiga, nes visai ne tokios tikėjausi. Bendrai, vidurys ir pabaiga atpirko tą nesudominusią (man asmeniškai) pradžią. Pati istorija tikrai gera, kadangi čia koreliuoja praeitis su dabartimi ir visos tos anų laikų detalės, aplinka, veiksmas labai gražiai "sugulė ". 4/5⭐️
July 23, 2009
I just finished reading The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen. As I thought about writing a review of the book I decided to mention where I had read an interview with her--the one that led me to select this book to read. As happens more and more often, I couldn’t locate the darn magazine or remember which one the article was in. My thoughts drifted farther afield to consider in my review, how had I missed reading Gerritsen until now? One more step lodged itself in this zigzagging brain, what is my criteria for a reading list? How many more wonderful authors are there out there that I have yet to read? How do I find them?
All of these considerations are to say: how have I missed reading anything by Tess Gerritsen until now? Tearing up (that is, tears) as a book is ending is definitely a sign that my emotions have been engaged. As The Bone Garden was ending, those tears welled up as I sensed such a satisfaction as to how she knitted together the skeins: characters, plot, history, and the true-to-life facts of a real life historical person. This is a tour-de-force.
First, the novel. Weaving the past with the present, using a century’s batch of letters to further her story, drawing the reader into the lives of her characters from the present and the past--truly, these are the hallmarks of a seasoned writer. Pleased am I to write that this book is going to become a favorite of mine. The title of the book? It directly relates to the story. There were bones she discovered as she was digging in her garden. The title is not like one of those book titles that really is clever but fails to bring to mind what the book is about. Do I really need to supply examples here?
Gerritsen is a physician. This book contains grizzly operating room scenes where handfulls of internal organs are pulled out of dead bodies and deposited quickly into buckets so as to not plop onto floors. How medicine was practiced, and learned, in the 19th century is a central feature of the book. Not a very pretty history the medical learning curve, yet the truth leads ultimately to solving serious health issues that were horrible then but their remedies are today accepted as common practice. Gerritsen deftly leads her reader along, crediting one of her characters with reforms that are undeniably normal procedure in today’s medical setting. I wash my hands after every visit to the restroom, I wash them after every session of digging in the dirt, again after chopping up a chicken; these are accepted standards of cleanliness. Such standards were not always known or accepted, were even scoffed at before common acceptance. This novel dwells on situations of cleanliness in the operating setting, but they are not oppressively drawn out in such a way as to make the reader say “enough, already”.
Second for consideration, how do I decide what I want to read? I have changed my standards over the years to accept the influence of the internet. Formerly, when I read a book I liked I would search the author’s other works and read them. This technique worked handily when I had access to the Main Library stacks at the University of Texas at Austin. I plowed through all the works of all the authors, sequentially, because they were all in the library.
So it seems I’ve always used a system of finding worthy books to read. Another system I used was recommendations I heard while listening to public radio. Then again when I was heavily into mysteries and discovered that various organizations made annual awards for their best of the year books, their selections became my criteria. With the rise of the internet I learned to sort through lists on Amazon which relied upon readers’ criteria. Lately, as I have been writing my own story I have read writer’s magazines and interviews with authors. Though I still can not locate the interview, that is how I stumbled upon Tess Gerritsen’s works.
Third point: how am I going to continue to find new authors of merit? The field is now strewn with so many best sellers whose books I’ve read and felt wasted my time that I’ve discarded the category of ‘best seller’ as a criterion. Interviews of authors on public radio frequently lead me to read works I’d normally miss, or not choose to read. Reviews of books I’ve heard on public radio often lead me to search for those books. Recommendations by friends often lead me to look at authors I’ve not read. Reading magazine articles by certain writers sometimes leads me to their other longer works. A couple of times, an interview of public television has led me to an author of interest.
Do I go to the library and browse for a title that looks interesting. Nope. Do I check out the New York best seller list? Yes. Do I follow up by selecting a book on the list? Not unless I recognize the author. Do I follow Oprah’s selections? Not after I read a couple of them and they were not that interesting.
I recently began writing myself after joining an organization that enourages women to write their memoirs. The network was founded by an author so I decided to read several of her books. They are what I consider light-weight mysteries, interesting because of their localized setting, and each one has a bit of a deeper message once past the chatty and high volume of characters. If I was into cooking there are many recipes scattered through the various books and that is fun. But am I gripped by the books, not really.
So I will now proceed through some of Tess Gerritsen’s writings, keeping an eye out for some of my favorite author’s latest publications. I’ll hope to be surprised by discovering an author of uncompromising worth as I daily pick up something good to read.
All of these considerations are to say: how have I missed reading anything by Tess Gerritsen until now? Tearing up (that is, tears) as a book is ending is definitely a sign that my emotions have been engaged. As The Bone Garden was ending, those tears welled up as I sensed such a satisfaction as to how she knitted together the skeins: characters, plot, history, and the true-to-life facts of a real life historical person. This is a tour-de-force.
First, the novel. Weaving the past with the present, using a century’s batch of letters to further her story, drawing the reader into the lives of her characters from the present and the past--truly, these are the hallmarks of a seasoned writer. Pleased am I to write that this book is going to become a favorite of mine. The title of the book? It directly relates to the story. There were bones she discovered as she was digging in her garden. The title is not like one of those book titles that really is clever but fails to bring to mind what the book is about. Do I really need to supply examples here?
Gerritsen is a physician. This book contains grizzly operating room scenes where handfulls of internal organs are pulled out of dead bodies and deposited quickly into buckets so as to not plop onto floors. How medicine was practiced, and learned, in the 19th century is a central feature of the book. Not a very pretty history the medical learning curve, yet the truth leads ultimately to solving serious health issues that were horrible then but their remedies are today accepted as common practice. Gerritsen deftly leads her reader along, crediting one of her characters with reforms that are undeniably normal procedure in today’s medical setting. I wash my hands after every visit to the restroom, I wash them after every session of digging in the dirt, again after chopping up a chicken; these are accepted standards of cleanliness. Such standards were not always known or accepted, were even scoffed at before common acceptance. This novel dwells on situations of cleanliness in the operating setting, but they are not oppressively drawn out in such a way as to make the reader say “enough, already”.
Second for consideration, how do I decide what I want to read? I have changed my standards over the years to accept the influence of the internet. Formerly, when I read a book I liked I would search the author’s other works and read them. This technique worked handily when I had access to the Main Library stacks at the University of Texas at Austin. I plowed through all the works of all the authors, sequentially, because they were all in the library.
So it seems I’ve always used a system of finding worthy books to read. Another system I used was recommendations I heard while listening to public radio. Then again when I was heavily into mysteries and discovered that various organizations made annual awards for their best of the year books, their selections became my criteria. With the rise of the internet I learned to sort through lists on Amazon which relied upon readers’ criteria. Lately, as I have been writing my own story I have read writer’s magazines and interviews with authors. Though I still can not locate the interview, that is how I stumbled upon Tess Gerritsen’s works.
Third point: how am I going to continue to find new authors of merit? The field is now strewn with so many best sellers whose books I’ve read and felt wasted my time that I’ve discarded the category of ‘best seller’ as a criterion. Interviews of authors on public radio frequently lead me to read works I’d normally miss, or not choose to read. Reviews of books I’ve heard on public radio often lead me to search for those books. Recommendations by friends often lead me to look at authors I’ve not read. Reading magazine articles by certain writers sometimes leads me to their other longer works. A couple of times, an interview of public television has led me to an author of interest.
Do I go to the library and browse for a title that looks interesting. Nope. Do I check out the New York best seller list? Yes. Do I follow up by selecting a book on the list? Not unless I recognize the author. Do I follow Oprah’s selections? Not after I read a couple of them and they were not that interesting.
I recently began writing myself after joining an organization that enourages women to write their memoirs. The network was founded by an author so I decided to read several of her books. They are what I consider light-weight mysteries, interesting because of their localized setting, and each one has a bit of a deeper message once past the chatty and high volume of characters. If I was into cooking there are many recipes scattered through the various books and that is fun. But am I gripped by the books, not really.
So I will now proceed through some of Tess Gerritsen’s writings, keeping an eye out for some of my favorite author’s latest publications. I’ll hope to be surprised by discovering an author of uncompromising worth as I daily pick up something good to read.
March 5, 2019
Tess vardas linksniuojamas bene kas antro skaitytojo paskyrose, na tiesiog, man rodos šio vardo nebuvo galima negirdėti, nematyti ir nepastebėti socialinėje erdvėje. Tiesa - pati šios pavardės nei linksniavau, nei asmenavau, nei aptarinėjau - paprasčiausiai, prisipažinsiu - autorės knygų dar nebuvau skaičiusi. Galbūt ir nebūčiau perskaičiusi, nes retai detektyvinis romanas būna mano nuperkamas. Bet, kad jau radau "Kaulų sodą" savo tėvų namuose (mat ši knyga buvo padovanota broliui), ėmiau vat ir perskaičiau.
Tokia tatai įžanga, o dabar prie įspūdžių. Man patiko. Aš išties nelabai dėjau lūkesčių, bet istorija nenuvylė. Pirma, mano simpatijas turbūt pasivogė todėl, jog knygos veiksmas pagrinde vyksta 19 amžiaus pradžioje, na o istorinius romanus tai aš tikrai mėgstu. Tiesa paraleliai pasakojama (ačiū dievui kur kas mažiau) ir apie dabartį, kurioje bandoma išsiaiškinti minėtoji praeitis. Nežinau ar to reikėjo, ar tai buvo būtina, man asmeniškai - įspūdžio nesustiprino, nors manau, būtent tai ir buvo bandoma padaryti. Atrodo, jog tie dabarties žmonės - praeities narpstytojai, turėjo mums vis sukelti tokią emociją - AHA! Tai va kaip čia... Bet realybėje tai man jokių jausmų nepažadino, o norėjos greičiau versti puslapius ir grįžti į praeitį..
Įdomus faktas - kuris paaiškino ir knygos turinį, jog autorė - yra gydytoja. Aš neabejoju, jog be medicininio išsilavinimo tokią knygą būtų parašyti nelengva, nenuslystant tuo realybės ir neprifantazuojant nebūtų ligų ir simptomų. BET kas dar man patiko, ir ką vertinu, sužinojus šį faktą, jog tas "mediciniškumas" nebuvo per aukštoj materijoje, viskas buvo suprantama eiliniam skaitytojui (kaip aš) ir tos pateiktos medicinos ir istorijos žinios buvo tikrai labai įdomios, nepaisant visos romano linijos. Na tikrai jautėsi, jog knygos autorė protingas, išsilavinęs, kupinas žinių žmogus. Nors tiesa, kai kurios detalės buvo atskleistos gal net per daug aiškiai, ir šiek tiek buvo nuspėjamos pasekmės ir priežastys. O gal specialiai taip sugalvota, jog pasijaustume gudriais skaitytojais?
Meilės linija - buvo graži, ne per įkyri, negadino reikalų tikrai. Intriga nors ir nebuvo aukščiausiame lygyje, bet man jos kaip tai užteko. Siužetas - įtraukiantis, nepagalvokite, jog jei jau apie 19 amžių, tai puslapiai versis lėtai, visai ne! Nors - gal gal kiek ir ištęsta istorija, manau buvo galima kai ką sutrumpinti.
Ar pirkčiau Tess knygas? Turbūt ne, bet jei pasitaikytų panaši proga kaip ši, mielai skaityčiau.
Tokia tatai įžanga, o dabar prie įspūdžių. Man patiko. Aš išties nelabai dėjau lūkesčių, bet istorija nenuvylė. Pirma, mano simpatijas turbūt pasivogė todėl, jog knygos veiksmas pagrinde vyksta 19 amžiaus pradžioje, na o istorinius romanus tai aš tikrai mėgstu. Tiesa paraleliai pasakojama (ačiū dievui kur kas mažiau) ir apie dabartį, kurioje bandoma išsiaiškinti minėtoji praeitis. Nežinau ar to reikėjo, ar tai buvo būtina, man asmeniškai - įspūdžio nesustiprino, nors manau, būtent tai ir buvo bandoma padaryti. Atrodo, jog tie dabarties žmonės - praeities narpstytojai, turėjo mums vis sukelti tokią emociją - AHA! Tai va kaip čia... Bet realybėje tai man jokių jausmų nepažadino, o norėjos greičiau versti puslapius ir grįžti į praeitį..
Įdomus faktas - kuris paaiškino ir knygos turinį, jog autorė - yra gydytoja. Aš neabejoju, jog be medicininio išsilavinimo tokią knygą būtų parašyti nelengva, nenuslystant tuo realybės ir neprifantazuojant nebūtų ligų ir simptomų. BET kas dar man patiko, ir ką vertinu, sužinojus šį faktą, jog tas "mediciniškumas" nebuvo per aukštoj materijoje, viskas buvo suprantama eiliniam skaitytojui (kaip aš) ir tos pateiktos medicinos ir istorijos žinios buvo tikrai labai įdomios, nepaisant visos romano linijos. Na tikrai jautėsi, jog knygos autorė protingas, išsilavinęs, kupinas žinių žmogus. Nors tiesa, kai kurios detalės buvo atskleistos gal net per daug aiškiai, ir šiek tiek buvo nuspėjamos pasekmės ir priežastys. O gal specialiai taip sugalvota, jog pasijaustume gudriais skaitytojais?
Meilės linija - buvo graži, ne per įkyri, negadino reikalų tikrai. Intriga nors ir nebuvo aukščiausiame lygyje, bet man jos kaip tai užteko. Siužetas - įtraukiantis, nepagalvokite, jog jei jau apie 19 amžių, tai puslapiai versis lėtai, visai ne! Nors - gal gal kiek ir ištęsta istorija, manau buvo galima kai ką sutrumpinti.
Ar pirkčiau Tess knygas? Turbūt ne, bet jei pasitaikytų panaši proga kaip ši, mielai skaityčiau.
September 1, 2017
Tess'e ne kadar yıldız verseniz de hakettiğinin yanında az kalır. Bu zamana kadar okuduğum Tess romanlarının hiçbirine benzemiyordu.
Bir Tess hikayesinin sonunda ağladım, hala şoktayım. 1830 da geçen hikayeyi nasıl bir beyin tasarlar, kalema alır anlam veremedim. Tüm detaylar çok güzel anlatılmış, hiçbir ayrıntı boş yere verilmemiş. O kadar güzel bir kurgu var ki kitap bitince ağzı açık kalıyor insanın. Nefes almadan okunuyor, katil kim ya da olaylar nereye gidecek diye merak etmeye vaktiniz kalmıyor. Sonunda da 😳😳😳😱😱😱şok şok...
Şimdiki zamanda geçen hikayenin bağlandığı yer de tam benim gibi aşk romanlarını seven okurlar için yazılmış. Gözü yaşlı bir şekilde sonunu okurken yüzümde tebessüm oluşturdu en azından.
Tarzının nadir örneklerinden biri bence bu kitap. Son sayfalara kadar tam bir gizem içeriyor. Üstüste açıklanan olaylarla, kitabı merak içinde okuyanları tatmin ediyor.
Bir Tess hikayesinin sonunda ağladım, hala şoktayım. 1830 da geçen hikayeyi nasıl bir beyin tasarlar, kalema alır anlam veremedim. Tüm detaylar çok güzel anlatılmış, hiçbir ayrıntı boş yere verilmemiş. O kadar güzel bir kurgu var ki kitap bitince ağzı açık kalıyor insanın. Nefes almadan okunuyor, katil kim ya da olaylar nereye gidecek diye merak etmeye vaktiniz kalmıyor. Sonunda da 😳😳😳😱😱😱şok şok...
Şimdiki zamanda geçen hikayenin bağlandığı yer de tam benim gibi aşk romanlarını seven okurlar için yazılmış. Gözü yaşlı bir şekilde sonunu okurken yüzümde tebessüm oluşturdu en azından.
Tarzının nadir örneklerinden biri bence bu kitap. Son sayfalara kadar tam bir gizem içeriyor. Üstüste açıklanan olaylarla, kitabı merak içinde okuyanları tatmin ediyor.
August 30, 2018
TESS GERRITSEN - KAULŲ SODAS ☠️🍃
Tikriausiai daugeliui iš Jūsų jau yra pažįstama ši rašytoja, o ypač jos serija su detektyve Džeine Ricoli. Ši knyga nėra iš tos serijos, bet ne ką mažiau įdomesnė.
Džiulija po skyrybų su vyru nusiperka naują namą ir darbuodamasi sode atkasa kaulus. Norint išsiaiškinti kieno kaulai buvo palaidoti sode, Džiulija leidžiasi kelione į praeitį, kuri siekia net 1830 metus. Taip praeitis susipina su dabartimi.
Tai buvo iš ties puikiai sukurptas detektyvas. Su daug detalių, intriguojančiais veikėjais, paslaptimis, bei įtraukiančiu pasakojimu. Detektyvas patiko, bet iki tobulo kažko vis gi pritrūko. Bet apskritai gana neblogas. Man patiko.
Tikriausiai daugeliui iš Jūsų jau yra pažįstama ši rašytoja, o ypač jos serija su detektyve Džeine Ricoli. Ši knyga nėra iš tos serijos, bet ne ką mažiau įdomesnė.
Džiulija po skyrybų su vyru nusiperka naują namą ir darbuodamasi sode atkasa kaulus. Norint išsiaiškinti kieno kaulai buvo palaidoti sode, Džiulija leidžiasi kelione į praeitį, kuri siekia net 1830 metus. Taip praeitis susipina su dabartimi.
Tai buvo iš ties puikiai sukurptas detektyvas. Su daug detalių, intriguojančiais veikėjais, paslaptimis, bei įtraukiančiu pasakojimu. Detektyvas patiko, bet iki tobulo kažko vis gi pritrūko. Bet apskritai gana neblogas. Man patiko.
July 22, 2024
Важко писати було відгук, але я спробую.
Ця історія мене вразила!
Я зовсім не очікувала чогось подібного від Тесс: це поєднання сучасного та минулого.
Ця книга залишила шрами у моєму серці, я дуже полюбила її, хоча вона відкрила багато-багато таємниць, які не хотілось б ніколи знати та бачити.
Кінець мене розчулив, тому 5/5
Ця історія мене вразила!
Я зовсім не очікувала чогось подібного від Тесс: це поєднання сучасного та минулого.
Ця книга залишила шрами у моєму серці, я дуже полюбила її, хоча вона відкрила багато-багато таємниць, які не хотілось б ніколи знати та бачити.
Кінець мене розчулив, тому 5/5
February 23, 2023
"Keista, kad krūvelė senų kaulų gali suvesti draugės du žmones. Žmones, visiškai neturinčius nieko bendro".
Dvi istorijos viename. Dabartis ir praeitis, kurios pasirodo yra labai susijusios. Patiko skaityti apie mediciną, kokia ji buvo 1830 metais. Bet aišku man kažkaip pritrūko daugiau veiksmo,bet šiaip gera knyga. 😉
Dvi istorijos viename. Dabartis ir praeitis, kurios pasirodo yra labai susijusios. Patiko skaityti apie mediciną, kokia ji buvo 1830 metais. Bet aišku man kažkaip pritrūko daugiau veiksmo,bet šiaip gera knyga. 😉
October 6, 2010
Not an author or a genre I would have picked up on my own, if she was not a Featured Author in the RRRC group.
The Bone Garden weaves two stories in two different time - one in the past and the other in the present. In the past, it follows the lives of Rose Connelly, a poor Irish girl trying to protect her newly-orphaned niece and Norris Marshall, a struggling student doctor, and how fate had intertwined their paths, both joyous and poignant. We read about them through letters read by our modern heroine Julia Hamill while going through old papers, related to her house and the bones she found in her garden.
The novel was written with sharp precision, keeping me on edge all along. There are times the details are too graphic and gory for my weak stomach, but I have to continue on. By the time, I reached the last disc, I was too involved with Rose and Norris relationships that I was crying at how their story ended.
Part of the five stars that I gave to this book is due to the narrator of the audiobook, Susan Denaker (spelling?). Wonderful narrator and really brought the book to life for me.
I may not read another book by Tess Gerritsen - too little romance for my romantic heart, too much gore for my weak constitution - but I did not regret listening to this novel.
The Bone Garden weaves two stories in two different time - one in the past and the other in the present. In the past, it follows the lives of Rose Connelly, a poor Irish girl trying to protect her newly-orphaned niece and Norris Marshall, a struggling student doctor, and how fate had intertwined their paths, both joyous and poignant. We read about them through letters read by our modern heroine Julia Hamill while going through old papers, related to her house and the bones she found in her garden.
The novel was written with sharp precision, keeping me on edge all along. There are times the details are too graphic and gory for my weak stomach, but I have to continue on. By the time, I reached the last disc, I was too involved with Rose and Norris relationships that I was crying at how their story ended.
Part of the five stars that I gave to this book is due to the narrator of the audiobook, Susan Denaker (spelling?). Wonderful narrator and really brought the book to life for me.
I may not read another book by Tess Gerritsen - too little romance for my romantic heart, too much gore for my weak constitution - but I did not regret listening to this novel.
December 8, 2008
At first, I was quite perplexed over the present day/historical split as the present day story seemed thin with the majority of the tale taking place in the 1830's. In the end, the story came full circle, providing that connection for the characters in both eras. I thought the details regarding medicine of the 1800's was fantastically gruesome and superbly done (and as many other reviews have stated, made me VERY happy to be a woman today!) with descriptions so rich your could almost smell the air the characters breathed (not always a pleasant thing!) The end of the story introduced a concept not bridged anywhere else in the story, either in present day or the past. This was sort of a 'new age' idea and while I enjoyed it and thought it well written, I am not sure it fit the story completely. It seemed a bit out of place. That being said, it was a subtle reference that added more to the story if the reader doesn't miss it.
All in all, a great and easy read. This book has made me a fan, and I look forward to reading more from Tess Gerritsen.
All in all, a great and easy read. This book has made me a fan, and I look forward to reading more from Tess Gerritsen.
March 30, 2020
A book that came across as formulaic but still quite a a solid crime mystery thriller. The story behind a 200 year old murder via researching in and around the victim's newly found skull is literally unearthed by looking at the past using the available archives. 5 out of 12.
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