The interesting part of the book comes from all the information she provides about the judicial system and the inner workings of museums. Especially the information about two museums that figure in the book: the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the New York Museum of Natural History.

The book starts with a high society opening at the Met. It quickly moves to the discovery of the body of a museum curator in an Egyptian sarcophagus. Turns out the curator died of arsenic poisoning, and arsenic is widely used by museum personnel. And the body was perfectly preserved for many months. Then the Director of the Metropolitan Museum abruptly resigns. And the mystery builds.

From there the whirlwind events culminate in the discovery of the killer's identity. Along the way you learn the dirty little secret. Without giving away the secret, which is part of the mystery, it is easy to guess that it is all about bones, hence the title "The Bone Vault."

In the book, you learn a great deal about the inner working of great museums. If you are a fan of museums, you will find the book especially interesting.

The book's plot and character development are a little weak, but not fatally so. If there is one area where Fairstein could improve her writing, it would be to develop her characters better before leading up to the culminating scene where the mystery is solved.

As with all Fairstein's books, it feels as if she herself didn't quite know how the book was going to end. And that all of a sudden she forces an ending, without properly leading up to it.

But, despite this weakness, The Bone Vault is a mystery novel definitely worth reading. All the more so if you are interested in museums and the television series Law and Order SVU, and other tidbits about current American culture.