The Bone Garden - Tess Gerritsen

 

Another random pick, but this one at least starts out promisingly. A recently divorced woman buys a century-plus old house and while working on a garden she discovers an even older corpse of a woman. That and the fact that the previous owner died in the back yard (at 92 years old, so not too suspiciously) has her on edge - along with the fact that the house is a bit more than a fixer-upper.

The story goes back'n'forth in time, presumably to give us more information on the history of the corpse that was discovered. The olden days are not very romantic, with women dying in childbirth, medicine still in its early stages and filth and disease around pretty much every corner. And that is the start of the tale - a woman dying in childbirth who with her dying breath reveals a secret that begins a circle of murder and intrigue.

Most of the narrative takes place in the past, with the present day characters learning some of the story via letters that were kept by a hoarding relative. Of course, the letters don't reveal the entire tale, but seemingly enough for them to understand what happened and, eventually, to learn the identity of the skeleton found in the garden.

I liked this one - well-written with plenty of unexpected bits, although there were not many hints for the reader to learn the identities of the perpetrators in advance - at least I didn't catch them. But still, lots of intrigue, a bit of romance, a touch of medical history and a dash of old fashioned horror.