44. The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen (Audio)

This abridged version was perfect for a trip to Salt Lake and back. And it was a pretty good abridgement; not too choppy and not missing a lot of important facts. (At least, none that I know of) The story starts with Julia, who buys an old home after her divorce, and digs up a skeleton in her planned garden spot. The story then moves to a Boston hospital in 1830, where women are dying after giving birth. After a description of the unclean conditions, you quickly understand why. shudder . . . There are a few gory details when people start getting murdered and an amputation is performed. But I enjoyed reading about Julia and her research to learn about what happened to the people who lived in her home 180 years earlier and finding out who the murderer actually was. The identity of the bones found in the garden was not revealed until the very last but it was kind of obvious. There is a modern-day romance and a 1830 romance that were pretty rushed probably because of the abridgement, but that's okay. All in all, a good medical mystery and an interesting look at more primitive medical beliefs and practices. As always, I enjoy the way Gerritsen writes. I really need to get back to her Jane Rizzoli series. Rating: 4.25