Product Description

A gruesome secret is about to be unearthed...When a human skull is dug up in a garden near Boston, Dr Maura Isles is called in to investigate. She quickly discovers that the skeleton - that of a young woman - has been buried for over a hundred years. But who was the woman? And how did she die? It is the 1930s, and an impoverished medical student, Norris Marshall, is forced to procure corpses in order to further his studies in human anatomy. It's a gruesome livelihood that will bring him into contact with a terrifying serial killer who slips from ballrooms to graveyards and into autopsy suites. And who is far, far closer than Norris could ever imagine...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14837 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-11
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 528 pages

From the Publisher
This is a really special novel for Tess because it combines her detailed knowledge of the medical world (she was, of course, a doctor in her own right), her love of history and her gift for crime-writing.

It focuses on the single fact that in the 1840s women all over the world were dying in their millions of child-bed fever - and no one knew how or why the infection was being spread. The idea that surgeons - who were performing autopsies and then going into maternity wards without washing their hands - could be responsible was dismissed as scandalous - until a single doctor, Oliver Wendell Holmes, presented a paper on this subject in Boston in 1843. Holmes is one of the main characters in The Bone Garden, which also focuses on a terrifying serial killer who preys on medical students in particular. It is the novel Tess has always wanted to write.

From the Back Cover
A gruesome secret is about to be unearthed…

When a human skull is dug up in a garden near Boston, Dr Maura Isles is called in to investigate. She quickly discovers that the skeleton – that of a young woman – has been buried for over a hundred years.

But who was the young woman? And how did she die?

It is the 1830s, and an impoverished medical student, Norris Marshall, is forced to procure corpses in order to further his studies in human anatomy.

It’s a gruesome livelihood that will bring him into contact with a terrifying serial killer who slips from ballrooms to graveyards and into autopsy suites.

And who is far, far closer than Norris could ever imagine…

About the Author
Bestselling author Tess Gerritsen was a physician and brings to her novels her first-hand knowledge of emergency rooms and autopsy suites.

Customer Reviews

squalor and pain
I haven't read Tess G before - and ordered this book in a large print edition because I was so intruiged by the premise. Then I read disappointing reviews of it on Amazon US.
I read it anyway - and was glad I did so. No, it's not really a page-turning mystery. And the ending is up to the individual reader to judge on its effectiveness.
The real suspense came from the depiction of the true medical horrors which existed in 1830. Doctors arriving straight from autopsy suites after handling diseased cadavers - then inspecting women in childbirth wards. Madness and ignorance. Tess G really handles this aspect of the book brilliantly.
Though it is not Charles Dickens - nor meant to be - she also gets across the poverty, pain and squalor in which her characters live. I was really moved by Rose Connolly's plight throughout.
In the end I read it as a novel rather than a thriller. But I learned a great deal from it and enjoyed it too. I would read another historical book from her.

Bone-chilling stand-alone novel
For the first time in several years Tess Gerritsen has written a one-off novel, so there's no sign of Rizzoli and although Dr Maura Isles does get a mention, it's so insignificant as to be an indulgence on the author's part. Another cause for hesitancy before I hit the 'buy now' button was the knowledge that this story mostly takes place in the early 19th century, and not being one to buy any historical-style novels I did consider giving Tess's latest a miss. I'm glad I trusted her though, because I now realise that she did the right thing to take a break from Rizzoli, the timing was right, and there are enough autopsies to keep the fans of Dr Isles happy too - even if the images they portrayed were even more shocking then ever, such was the brutality and plain crudeness of the profession in Boston 180 years ago.

I wouldn't go as far as to call it a thriller however. Suspense levels were low but the overall style and flavour was different to anything from the Rizzoli series, and I found the atmospheric creations compelling, the characters and language authentic and above all I found the description of the early days of anatomical research and surgical techniques very interesting, if rather saddening. It made me realise how lucky we are today to have the luxuriously high standards of medical treatment and hospital safety that we do. This tale always held my attention, then, but mainly for the impression it gave that much of it was based on fact. It was almost like a fictionalised documentary, and I found the facts more compelling than the fiction. You could regard it as a testament not so much to the pioneering doctors and surgeons of that relatively primitive time, but to the countless victims of their research. If you like Tess Gerritsen's story-telling skills, this latest offering will not disappoint.

Different from Gerritsen's usual style
I agree with the other reviewers that the cover synopsis is somewhat misleading.
I was surprised that so much of the novel was set in the past. It's clear that the historical elements were well researched. The graphic medical descriptions are gruesome.
For me the novel leant too much towards being a historical romance with a thriller aspect to it. However, it is an enjoyable read that is engaging even if not as gritty as Gerritsen's usual style.