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.

Solve another case with medical examiner Dr. Maura Isles.©2007 Tess Gerritsen (P)2007 Random House, Inc.

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!

one of the best

I have listen to audiobooks on tape for many years now ,back when they were on tapes . I also read books, but I have to tell you this was one of the most intriguing books I have ever read.I loved all the People in it I thought the reader was great,

Depressing

The Bone Garden audio is one of the most depressing books I have ever listened to. Gerritsen goes way over the top with death, betrayal, horror and loss. The autopsy scenes are too graphic: guts “plopping” into a bucket or the stench of death from young women dying of childbirth fever are more than I want to visualize or hear. Love gained and lost too quickly adds to the somber theme of this book. With all the horror and negativity, it would have been worth the time if the "fairy tale" ending had actually worked. But the relationship between the secondary characters wasn’t developed enough to make it believable. If I had known that this book was so negative about life, I wouldn’t have bothered. There are other authors out they that can write a good thriller/mystery and when you finish, you feel that it was worth the time to listen or read. That was not the case with this book.

Great story intertwining the present with the past

This story was a mixing of the past with the present. Great author and narrator. Hard a difficult time putting this down.

Great storyteller, and the narrator nailed it!

I loved the story, how the author was able to describe things so we'll I was there. The two time periods really wove a multidimensional world. Couldn't put it down

Another keeper!

Another great book by this author and just love the narrator.