Unknown bones, untold secrets, and unsolved crimes from the distant past cast ominous shadows on the present in the dazzling new thriller from New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen.
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 soilhuman, female, and, according to the trained eye of Boston medical examiner Maura Isles, scarred with the unmistakable marks of murder. But whoever this nameless woman was, and whatever befell her, is knowledge lost to another time. . . .
Boston, 1830: In order to pay for his education, Norris Marshall, a talented but penniless student at Boston Medical College has joined the ranks of local resurrectionists those who plunder graveyards and harvest the dead for sale on the black market. Yet even this ghoulish commerce pales beside the shocking murder of a nurse found mutilated on the university hospital grounds. And when a distinguished doctor meets the same grisly fate, Norris finds that trafficking in the illicit cadaver trade has made him a prime suspect.
To prove his innocence, Norris must track down the only witness to have glimpsed the killer: Rose Connolly, a beautiful seamstress from the Boston slums who fears she may be the next victim. Joined by a sardonic, keenly intelligent young man named Oliver Wendell Holmes, Norris and Rose comb the cityfrom its grim cemeteries and autopsy suites to its glittering mansions and centers of Brahmin poweron the trail of a maniacal fiend who lurks where least expected . . . and who waits for his next lethal opportunity.
Heather S. (boydheather17) from REDMOND, OR wrote on 10/24/2007...
6 member(s) found this review helpful.
This was a great book, Tess Gerritsen, as always does a great job of giving you all of the details needed to paint the picture of the settings and characters. Some parts seemed to slow down for a bit but keeps the reader wanting to keep turning pages. Bounces back between the Present Day and the 1800's. I enjoyed it very much.
Doreen O. (dolver) from SPARROW BUSH, NY wrote on 4/16/2008...
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
I'm not sure how I feel about this book. It is certainly NOT the Tess Gerritsen I am used to reading! Was it good? Heck yeah! I think I am just used to the gore/thrill factor that is so prevelant in her books. This book was more in line with Historical Fiction. But if you are excpecting the usual TG story (as I was)--you'll be in for a suprise. A pleasant suprise, but a suprise none-the-less.
Claudia K. (dchick) from HELOTES, TX wrote on 4/10/2008...
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Tess Gerritsen expertly weaves a tale between present time and Boston of 1830's. Julia Hamil has found bones buried in the garden of her newly purchased home and we go along with her as she discovers the identity of the deceased female and we learn of the horrifying medical practices of those times. I liked this one much better than The Mephisto Club.
Loretta R. (Sinderela4) from CHERRY HILL, NJ wrote on 3/7/2008...
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
This was an excellent book. The best so far by Tess Gerritsen. But for the fact that I have so many books to read, I would have read this again, it was that good. Truth be told, I am not one to read books over. I highly recommend this book. Loretta
Cynthia R. (nursecyndie) from HARRISBURG, PA wrote on 7/18/2008...
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Like everyone else, I agree that this book is not the usual Tess Gerritsen style. Dr Maura Isles makes a brief appearance, but this book falls away from Gerritsen's medical thriller style that initially drew me to her books. Having been compared to Robin Cook and Michael Palmer-this book shows that she can extend past her medical thriller genre and write a historical based book. I found myself stuck in bed, reading when I should have been asleep, unable to put the book down and reacting to the appropriate scenes with fear, nausea and sadness. Excellent break from her usual books!
This is the first Gerritsen I've read but it won't be the last! I flew through it in a single day. Romance plus suspense plus history--I could ask for nothing more. With Oliver Wendell Holmes as a character (a man I know very little about), I am now intrigued enough to read more about him and his life. To me, an author who leaves me thirsting for more is a great writer and Ms. Gerritsen accomplished that quite easily.
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Barbara S. (5927) from VERO BEACH, FL wrote on 7/15/2008...
Thought this a wonderful book! It will keep you reading way after you'd like to go to sleep!