I just finished reading The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen. As I thought about writing a review of the book I decided to mention where I had read an interview with her--the one that led me to select this book to read. As happens more and more often, I couldn’t locate the darn magazine or remember which one the article was in. My thoughts drifted farther afield to consider in my review, how had I missed reading Gerritsen until now? One more step lodged itself in this zigzagging brain, what is my criteria for a reading list? How many more wonderful authors are there out there that I have yet to read? How do I find them? All of these considerations are to say: how have I missed reading anything by Tess Gerritsen until now? Tearing up (that is, tears) as a book is ending is definitely a sign that my emotions have been engaged. As The Bone Garden was ending, those tears welled up as I sensed such a satisfaction as to how she knitted together the skeins: characters, plot, history, and the true-to-life facts of a real life historical person. This is a tour-de-force. First, the novel. Weaving the past with the present, using a century’s batch of letters to further her story, drawing the reader into the lives of her characters from the present and the past--truly, these are the hallmarks of a seasoned writer. Pleased am I to write that this book is going to become a favorite of mine. The title of the book? It directly relates to the story. There were bones she discovered as she was digging in her garden. The title is not like one of those book titles that really is clever but fails to bring to mind what the book is about. Do I really need to supply examples here? Gerritsen is a physician. This book contains grizzly operating room scenes where handfulls of internal organs are pulled out of dead bodies and deposited quickly into buckets so as to not plop onto floors. How medicine was practiced, and learned, in the 19th century is a central feature of the book. Not a very pretty history the medical learning curve, yet the truth leads ultimately to solving serious health issues that were horrible then but their remedies are today accepted as common practice. Gerritsen deftly leads her reader along, crediting one of her characters with reforms that are undeniably normal procedure in today’s medical setting. I wash my hands after every visit to the restroom, I wash them after every session of digging in the dirt, again after chopping up a chicken; these are accepted standards of cleanliness. Such standards were not always known or accepted, were even scoffed at before common acceptance. This novel dwells on situations of cleanliness in the operating setting, but they are not oppressively drawn out in such a way as to make the reader say “enough, already”. Second for consideration, how do I decide what I want to read? I have changed my standards over the years to accept the influence of the internet. Formerly, when I read a book I liked I would search the author’s other works and read them. This technique worked handily when I had access to the Main Library stacks at the University of Texas at Austin. I plowed through all the works of all the authors, sequentially, because they were all in the library. So it seems I’ve always used a system of finding worthy books to read. Another system I used was recommendations I heard while listening to public radio. Then again when I was heavily into mysteries and discovered that various organizations made annual awards for their best of the year books, their selections became my criteria. With the rise of the internet I learned to sort through lists on Amazon which relied upon readers’ criteria. Lately, as I have been writing my own story I have read writer’s magazines and interviews with authors. Though I still can not locate the interview, that is how I stumbled upon Tess Gerritsen’s works. Third point: how am I going to continue to find new authors of merit? The field is now strewn with so many best sellers whose books I’ve read and felt wasted my time that I’ve discarded the category of ‘best seller’ as a criterion. Interviews of authors on public radio frequently lead me to read works I’d normally miss, or not choose to read. Reviews of books I’ve heard on public radio often lead me to search for those books. Recommendations by friends often lead me to look at authors I’ve not read. Reading magazine articles by certain writers sometimes leads me to their other longer works. A couple of times, an interview of public television has led me to an author of interest. Do I go to the library and browse for a title that looks interesting. Nope. Do I check out the New York best seller list? Yes. Do I follow up by selecting a book on the list? Not unless I recognize the author. Do I follow Oprah’s selections? Not after I read a couple of them and they were not that interesting. I recently began writing myself after joining an organization that enourages women to write their memoirs. The network was founded by an author so I decided to read several of her books. They are what I consider light-weight mysteries, interesting because of their localized setting, and each one has a bit of a deeper message once past the chatty and high volume of characters. If I was into cooking there are many recipes scattered through the various books and that is fun. But am I gripped by the books, not really. So I will now proceed through some of Tess Gerritsen’s writings, keeping an eye out for some of my favorite author’s latest publications. I’ll hope to be surprised by discovering an author of uncompromising worth as I daily pick up something good to read.
Tess Gerritsen's books are riveting page-turners. I have read all of her Isles/Rizzoli books. I have to say that I much prefer her later stuff to her earlier stand-alones.Back Cover Blurb:Julia Hamill is gardening one afternoon when her spade strikes something soft but unyielding - not a rock but a human skull.Medical examiner Maura Isles quickly determines that the skeleton - that of a woman - dates back to the early 1800s. Forensic evidence indicates foul play. 'But too much time has passed,' Maura warns Julia. 'We may never know the whole story of how she died.'Boston in the 1830s is a place of disease and pestilence - and no one is more aware of this than Norris Marshall, a student at Boston Medical College. Unlike most of his classmates, Norris is a man of modest means, forced to support himself by performing the most secretive job of all.Norris is a resurrectionist - a body-snatcher - who procures cadavers from grave robbers in order to further his study of human anatomy. Soon he finds himself hunting the most notorious killer of his time, a shadowy figure who flits through graveyards and glittering ballrooms. What he does not realize is that the killer is far closer than he thinks....But whose are the bones discovered in Julia's garden? With Maura Isles's help, Julia uncovers a secret more shocking than they can both imagine.
What do You think about The Bone Garden (2015)?
The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen.The story begins with the discovery of a skull in the soon to be garden of Julia Hamill. Maura Isles, medical examiner, is called in to make her estimations on this discovery. Isles reports the skull to be that of a female that has been murdered. The next scene brings the reader back to Boston in the 1930's. A callous doctor glides by the tables of women in various stages of labor. This monstrous excuse for a doctor holds no empathy for the women in agony some for days on end. The author chose to continue on and on with this grotesque scene which I found abhorrent. Totally unnecessary in any good mystery in my opinion.There was no mention of Rizzoli & Isles anywhere in this book, which is the reason why I checked this book out to begin with. This book is something to avoid if you're looking for a mystery with substance.
—Ellen
..so Norris did indeed come back to Rose!This is my first book by the author,and she has rendered me absolutely speechless..I didn't want this book to end..Wanted it to go on and on..Just couldn't get enough of it!If this is the way the author keeps her readers intrigued and captivated,I would say "Tess Gerritsen is my favourite author"!! This book manages to include every single emotion a human heart possesses: the sentiments that involve love,friendship,trust,betrayal,parenthood,blood ties,and even humanity..I would recommend it to every book-lover..I thought it was a mystery-read,but now I am having thoughts as to which genre would best describe the book..mystery, thriller, historical fiction? romance? or.. family? :D
—Suchi
THE BONE GARDEN (Mys/Hist/Cont- Mass- 1830/Cont) – G+Gerritsen, Tess – StandaloneBallantine Books, 2007, US Hardcover – ISBN: 9780345497604First Sentence: Dearest Margaret, I thank you for your kind condolences, so sincerely offered, for the loss of my darling Amelia.Newly divorced, Julia Hamill is working on the garden of her new home in rural Massachusetts when she uncovers a skull a woman who Dr. Maura Isles determines was murdered. That revelation, and contact from the former owners’ elderly cousin in Islesboro, Maine, leads Julia to an investigation going back to Boston Medical College students, including Oliver Wendall Holmes, Sr, in the 1830s. Something different from Ms. Gerritsen. This is not her normal medical thriller, but a fascinating, and rather horrible, look at medicine and law in pre-Civil War America.It is a mystery, violent at times, which includes some gruesome descriptions and resurrectionists, which seems to be a common theme at the moment. It is also a very touching love story and looks at the lives of poor women during the time. The ending was weak and the present-day story definitely takes the back seat to the past, but the two time periods did work for me and I was captivated by the story. This was a one-sitting read for me. I love Gerritsen’s writing and give her kudos for branching out to do something different.
—LJ
