I like Tess Gerritsen’s books and “The Bone Garden: A Novel” was no exception. So the ending is a bit hokey, it’s still an entertaining mystery. While I think she’s flirting with trying to be Patricia Cornwell, that’s okay.

The strangest thing about “The Bone Garden” is that Gerritsen tries to tell two different stories at the same time. One is set back in the 1830′s, the other is set in modern times. As with most authors who try this affect, you can’t do them both adequately. The historical mystery gets more attention, but it’s also a more engaging story. The modern mystery never gets resolved at all (in fact, you’ll wonder why it was even brought up).

As I said, the ending is hokey and unbelievable but I won’t spoil it for those who will read the book. The ending wasn’t so bad that I would refuse to read it again, but it was bad enough that I’d like to ask the author why she decided to end it THAT way.

If you like a good mystery, I also recommend Michael Connelly (“The Concrete Blonde” or “Bloodwork
“), James Patterson (“Along Came a Spider”) and Patricia Cornwell (her old stuff like “From Potter’s Field (Kay Scarpetta)“). If you want a great suspense read, try “Fatal Vision” by Joe McGinnis.