Disappointing and repetitive
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I scanned the reviews here looking for someone else who found the repetition of blood spots, stains, ragged hems, cracked leather shoes and above all that, oysters, but no one appears to have picked up on that. Oysters, heaven help us, you would think people in Boston at that time ate nothing else. Buffet evening, oysters, in the scrofulous inns, oysters, way too many of them being consumed. I doubt there was an oyster bed left at that time if we are to believe Ms Gerritson.
I found the 'padding' of information about Oliver Wendell Holmes to be out of sync with the story. OK so she wanted to tell us about medical practice, but really, it was done as lectures, not as part of the story and as such stood out as padding. I am sure the editor said 'Tess, you can make this book a third as long again if you throw in all your OWH research' so she did. The strict rule is, (I know this as an historical novelist) you do not allow the reader to know how much research you have done. That is your foundation, not the backbone of your story. The story was the buried skeleton. At times that is totally overlooked. The somewhat flamboyant and OTT descriptions of the West End Reaper were suspect, the interplay between Julia and Henry in modern times at the beginning were not believable - he asked her to go, she went, they snapped at each other, no, sorry, it doesn't work like that. So, overall, the feeling was 'I need to write another book, I have all this information, I know ...' and it didn't work. This is my first Gerritson book and accordingly, it will be my last. I got it on Smiths '2 for 1' offer so my hard earned money went on a book I really did enjoy, not this one. This will hit either ebay or the charity shop any time soon.
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Entertaining
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You can pretty much rely on Tess Gerritsen to weave a good tale (although I really didn't like 'The Mephisto Club) and this one is no exception. However, the theme, to my mind, is rather played out now. I had earlier read 'The Resurrectionist' and, for a while, I thought I was back into that book: student doctor finding cadavers on which to experiment back in the early 1800s, falling foul of a murky group of wealthy individuals. Then, we have the interweaving of current day events linking us to that period in 1832 by, surprise, surprise, somebody randomly digging up human remains.
Most of the story is set in the 19th. century and it's no worse for that. The characters were more sympathetic than those to be found in the other book I mentioned and it is, in its own way, an endearing story of strength and determination amidst terrible social odds. But all is not what it appears to be and it seems rather churlish for the author to kill off perhaps the most sympathetic of them all. But there we are. It's a good paperback read. I gather the next book is a return to safer ground with Dr. Maura Isles.
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Tess Gerritsen, The Bone Garden
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I absolutely loved this book. I have read all her previous novels and enjoyed them. Like others i was suprised that Maura Isles part in this was very small, but from the moment I picked it up I couldn't put it down. This was unusal for me as I normally just read on my train journey to and from work, I don't get the chance to read at home with 2 children. I had just finished a Karen Rose book (equally brilliant)so was still thinking about it when I started this book. I quickly forgot it. Something about this book was quite gripping and I found myself reading it late at night. I was, and still am, sad that I have finished it, hopefully some of the characters will be in her future books. I wont write about the story line as others have done this already. Needless to say, it sounds a bit dull, set in the 1800's in Boston, but it is not dull at all. I absolutely cannot recommend this book enough. It is so much better than the recent efforts from Patricia Cornwall and Linda Fairstein, so I am glad that Tess Gerritsen is still writing so well.
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The Bone Garden
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I have only read one other Tess Gerritsen book Body Double,and I enjoyed it very much.
When i read the back of The Bone Garden i felt captivated by it straight away, its the best book ive read all year and would recommend it to anyone.
I really felt for Norris and Rose,and even when i had finished this book it played on my mind for days, which i feel is always the sign of a great book.
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Atypical Gerritsen novel,
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This latest effort from Gerritsen is nothing like her previous books but I still very much enjoyed it. It gives a fascinating insight into life in 1830 Boston. The medicine practised and thought is still in the dark ages. The poverty and appalling conditions of recent immigrants is described in gorey detail as is the racism and xenophobia which they are subjected to. Dirt, blood, pus, and urine form the backdrop this pageturner and I have no problems giving Tess the thumbs up again.
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