April 28th, 2009
Bone Gardenby Tess Gerritsen
Newly divorced Julia is digging in the yard of her recently purchased house when she finds an old skeleton that dates back to the early 1800′s, and has evidence of murder. She is contacted by a living relative of the original owner, who has boxes of stuff dating back to it’s origin. Inside are letters from an O.W.H to the original owner, and it contains a tale of murder and deception.
The letters follow a young woman named Rose, and medical student Norris Marshall. When Rose’s sister dies of childbirth fever, Rose takes on the young baby. Suddenly, she finds herself being followed by people trying to take the baby from her. When a serial killer begins killing people, Norris and Rose become the only witnesses to the horrible creature, and soon find themselves as prime suspects. As the link between baby and murderer becomes evident, Rose and Norris find themselves working together to find the real culprit, as well as discover the meaning behind why someone is searching for the child.
The characters are amiable enough, but I found the story slow to capture my interest. The plot seemed somewhat rushed, and while enjoyable, did not make me take any special notice of it. I found some of the ideas far-fetched, and it seemed to leave many questions unanswered. It had the feeling of a first-time novel, though it appears it is not.
I do not necessarily recommend it, but do not warn against, either. It would be a good “beach read” maybe.