Review for The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen

The Bone Garden
by Tess Gerritsen

Published: July 2008
Pages: 480
Rating: 4/5

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 soil–human, 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 city–from its grim cemeteries and autopsy suites to its glittering mansions and centers of Brahmin power–on the trail of a maniacal fiend who lurks where least expected . . . and who waits for his next lethal opportunity.

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Fiction or non-fiction? Fiction

Genre? Mystery

What led you to pick up this book? My online book club is reading it for the month of November.

What did you like most about the book? It had well developed characters. And the glimpse into the past made for a great read.

What did you like least? Probably all the medical terms and the scenes in the medical school classroom. But I can see why it helped the story move along... it wasn't simply fluff.

Which of your readers are most likely to enjoy this book? I would say adult readers who enjoy mysteries that aren't too vivid/gory.

What did you think of the main character? She was... feisty. Very outspoken for a woman in the late 1800's. The reader could really see how much her family ties meant to her.

What is the central character’s biggest problem? Trying to keep her newborn niece safe, when she herself didn't have anywhere to go

What strengths does she have that help her cope? She has a strong will... She will not allow anyone to endanger her niece.

Share a favorite scene from the book: My favorite scene would have to be when Rose goes to pay the wet nurse and she cuddles her baby niece. The reader can really feel how much she loves her niece then.

What did you think of the ending? I liked it... it held promise for the future.

Do you recommend this book? I recommend this book to readers who are wanting a story that will keep them turning the pages and wanting to know what happens next.

This is my historical thriller for the 08/09 Suspense & Thriller Challenge.

Review for Hungry Eyes by Barry Hoffman

Hungry Eyes
by Barry Hoffman

Published: November 1998
Pages: 272
Rating: 3/5

She remembers feeling the eyes watching her huddled there, naked and vulnerable, in an iron cage in the twisted man's basement. But now she's free. And she isn't vulnerable anymore. She is one with the power and need to close those eyes.

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This is the disturbing story of a ten-year-old girl named Renee Barrows who is kidnapped, held prisoner and tortured by a sadistic pedophile for the purpose of photographing Renee's terrified facial expressions. Her tormentor is eventually caught & put behind bars, but Renee is left feeling haunted by his eyes.

Several years after Renee's suicide, a Vigilante is killing sexual predators that slipped though the fingers of the judicial system. Reporter Deidre Caffrey is assigned to the story and sees the message NO MORE HUNGRY EYES scrawled on a mirror at the death scene of yet another Vigilante victim.

The book quickly becomes a cat & mouse game between Deidre and Renee, who is now assuming the identity of Shara Farris.

The point of view switches from Shara to Deidre and back again as they try to out-do one another. This makes for a very interesting read... one that will have you wondering what happens next.

I'll count this one as my Inverted Mystery for the Suspense & Thriller Challenge.

Review for Blood Ties by Lori G Armstrong

Blood Ties
by Lori G Armstrong

Published: May 2005
Pages: 373
Rating: 4.5/5

Julie Collins is stuck in a dead-end secretarial job with the Bear Butte County Sheriff’s office, and still grieving over the unsolved murder of her Lakota half-brother. Lack of public interest in finding his murderer, or the killer of several other transient Native American men, has left Julie with a bone-deep cynicism she counters with tequila, cigarettes, and dangerous men. The one bright spot in her mundane life is the time she spends working part-time as a PI with her childhood friend, Kevin Wells. When the body of a sixteen-year old white girl is discovered in nearby Rapid Creek, Julie believes this victim will receive the attention others were denied. Then she learns Kevin has been hired, mysteriously, to find out where the murdered girl spent her last few days. Julie finds herself drawn into the case against her better judgment, and discovers not only the ugly reality of the young girl’s tragic life and brutal death, but ties to her and Kevin’s past that she is increasingly reluctant to revisit. On the surface the situation is eerily familiar. But the parallels end when Julie realizes some family secrets are best kept buried deep. Especially those serious enough to kill for.

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This is actually the first book in a series, so I'll keep that in mind as I review it.

I loved this book! I will definitely be reading the rest of the series. The heroine is feisty and has a take-charge attitude. I love books where the women are not just simply damsels in distress.

Kevin is the only other character we really get to know well in this debut novel. There are a few other characters that I'm sure we will get to know more as the series goes on.

Since this is the first book in a series, there are a few questions left unanswered at the end of the novel, but if all questions were answered, there wouldn't be much left for the rest of the series!

Overall: I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys thrillers and isn't afraid of a bit of a gritty story.

This is my Amateur Detective Mystery for the 08/09 Suspense & Thriller Challenge.