Monday 31 October 2011

Thoughts: The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen

A little bit of crime, a little bit of mystery, a little bit of sentiment and you have this: a suspenseful page-turner, faster read than you can say "The Bone Garden".

Julia Hamill, a 38 year-old divorcée, is working in her garden when she thrusts on bones. Those turn to belong to a female long dead, the fractured bones suggest murder. Julia is intrigued. Who was that woman? Why was she murdered? Boston 1830: Norris Marshall is a student at Boston Medical College, but unlike his classmates he is a modest young man, forced to support himself with one of the most secretive jobs. He is a 'body snatcher' at night, a robber of cadavers to ensure his further study of human anatomy and because medical institutions pay well for corpses as they are always short of research objects. Soon Norris is hunting one of the most notorious killers of his time, not recognizing that the reaper is closer than he thinks. And what about the bones in Julia's garden?

One could not fight about the literary merit of this book. Because there is none. Which does not mean that it isn't entertaining and fast-paced. But this novel also crams a lot of human suffering in only 400 pages, which I didn't like too much. As this is one of Gerritsen's newer, stand-alone books I would opt to read one of her older books, as they are sad to be cracking reads.

Final words: Solid thriller with cleverly plotted mystery. Just too corny for my taste.

2 comments:

  1. Ohhh ... I loved the book! Sure it's got some minor flaws, but it's refreshingly different compared to her Rizzoli & Isles books.

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  2. Sometimes I like to read books like this, that don't require me to think too much.

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