So it is with this strange tale of Claire Fleetwood, forensic photographer who inherits a rambling house in London complete with odd entailments. Claire finds herself amid the debris of family she never knew and surrounded by quirky tenants who, according to the terms of the will cannot be evicted and have been there for generations! The garden beckons her though despite its untamed appearance.

The caretaker’s daughter, Sally, soon befriends her and together they plan the garden’s transformation. Shortly after they begin Sally is brutally murdered and Claire stumbles upon the murderers. In her grief she is determined to continue Sally’s horticultural vision but soon digs up an old skeleton with bullets imbedded in it. When she explores the cellar she finds photos of people with deformities and a grisly collections of human hair, nails, and other items.

In the bedroom Claire discovers a fading diary kept by Magda Fleetwood, the great aunt she never knew, relating a strange saga of love, passion, betrayal, and a quest in turn of the century India. Then she meets her cousin, Jack, her only living relative who asks her to accompany him as he seeks the Green Poppy, a semi-mythical bloom which may be able to cure cancer.

Intriguing isn’t it? The title, Fish, Blood and Bone, refers to the compound used to make the fertilizer which made the Fleetwood family rich years ago. It is an apt title for this odd tale of present day London, India, and Tibet which fugues into the same places nearly a century earlier. Claire takes her camera, Magda’s diary, and one of her tenants as she documents the search for the elusive poppy.

Some images are quite graphic and sickening while others are simply lovely. Ms. Forbes has mastery with words and plot reminiscent of Ruth Rendell while her settings are reminiscent of Rumer Godden. Once again I bring up the analogy of the Tivoli Gardens where beauty and grotesqueness combined to create a special place. It takes perseverance to read this book but your time will be rewarded. Not all your questions will be answered but then isn’t that true in real life?

--Jane Davis