The Bone Garden

A Novel

By: Tess Gerritsen

Narrated by: Susan Denaker

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.

Boston, 1830: In order to pay for his education, medical student Norris Marshall has joined the ranks of local “resurrectionists”–those who plunder graveyards and harvest the dead for sale on the black market. But when a distinguished doctor is found murdered and mutilated on university grounds, Norris finds that trafficking in the illicit cadaver trade has made him a prime suspect.

With unflagging suspense and pitch-perfect period detail, The Bone Garden deftly traces the dark mystery at its heart across time and place to a finale as ingeniously conceived as it is shocking.©2007 Tess Gerritsen; (P)2007 Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

Praise for The Mephisto Club

“Equally fascinating and horrifying . . . The pages seem to turn themselves.”
–The Boston Globe

“Powerful . . . white-knuckle suspense at its finest.”
–Mississippi Clarion-Ledger

“A potpourri of thrills.”
–Orlando Sentinel

“A tale that will keep readers feverishly turning pages.”
–Newsday

Riveting...

This book started slowly, but has so many wonderful elements in it. The story was unique, interesting, and enlightening. The writer made me really care about characters from 2 vastly different eras (1830's and current-day), and kept teasing me with chapters that ended with cliffhangers. I had other things to do, and I couldn't stop listening in places. It was well-written, tense in places, and very poignant in others. I highly recommend this book for people who like mysteries with a little intrigue, murder, some noble and not-so-noble behaviors, and a love story thrown in the mix. (There is also a wonderful old man in the story and an awesome dog, too--if you like that sort of thing!) Great story; in fact, it is one of the best I have ever heard through Audible.

Not much Maura?

I purchased this book because I have enjoyed the Maura Isles series by this author. Don't waste your time or money for the 30 seconds. The book was somewhat difficult to follow and it jumped from present to past. There is only one mention of Maura at the very beginning and nothing for 9 more hours.

Not for the squeamish but worth it!

This story should be rated R for its graphic descriptions of the early days of medicine’s acquisition of knowledge of the human body. The story jumps back and forth between the early 1800s and the present day, weaving an intricate tale of past and present lives. It starts out slowly but builds momentum and I found myself fascinated by midway through. Best of all was the amazing performance of the narrator! She made every character come alive and I marveled at her range. Looking forward to finding more of her work.

Great book

I loved the story. The reader was good too. I need to read more from Tess Gerritsen now.

Plot Phenominal!

Expertly written. I don't like books that switch eras. It's difficult to keep track of all the characters. Not so with this book. It grab me from the beginning. There could have been 50 characters and I would be able to follow!