From the shelf: Girl Missing

Title: Girl Missing

Author: Tess Gerritsen

Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Crime, Thriller
Date read: September 4, 2015
Dawn Rates: ★★★★ (4/5)

Summary (cr: goodreads)

A beautiful young woman’s corpse is found dumped in a garbage-strewn alley. Now laid out in the office of medical examiner Kat Novak is an unidentified body that betrays no secrets—except for a matchbook clutched in one stiff hand, seven numbers scrawled inside. When a second victim is discovered, Kat begins to fear that a serial killer is stalking the streets, using a deadly drug to do his dirty work. The police are skeptical. The mayor won’t listen. One of the town’s most prominent citizens, with a missing daughter of his own, is also Kat’s chief suspect. As the death toll rises, Kat races to expose a deadly predator who is close enough to touch her.

My Review: (also in goodreads)

Rizzoli and Isles series: The Surgeon, The Apprentice, The Sinner, Body Double,Vanish, The Mephisto Club, The Keepsake, The Silent Girl, Last to Die, Die Again

Rizzoli and Isles short stories: Freaks

 

This book was previously published as 'Peggy Sue Got Murdered' for its working title. Now re-published with the authors forward, this book as she says is the bridge from her previous writing style of romance and thriller transitioning to the Rizzoli and Isles series. This is also the first novel of Tess Gerritsen that I would read outside of the beloved series. This centers around Kat Novac a divorced, assistant Medical Examiner who suddenly got into a case that would be bigger than she thought and it started when her fellow asst ME asked for a favor. I could clearly see the transition of the author's style to what the Rizzoli and Isles series is at, now.

With the right blend of romance and thriller, this book still got me reeled in...especially the chemistry of the protagonists.

Till the next read...

From the shelf: Die Again (Rizzoli and Isles #11)

Title: Die Again (Rizzoli and Isles #11)

Author: Tess Gerritsen

Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Crime, Thriller
Date read: September 1-3, 2015
Dawn Rates: ★★★★ (4/5)

Summary (cr: goodreads)

Boston Detective Jane Rizzoli is on the case of a big game hunter found dead in his apartment, alone with the body of a beautiful white snow leopard he had recently been commissioned to procure and stuff for a high-profile museum in the area. 

Medical examiner Maura Isles connects the case to a number of seemingly unrelated deaths where the victims have all been found hanging upside down, the hallmark of a leopard's kill. 
Rizzoli follows the puzzling trail of clues all the way to Botswana, where she uncovers the unsolved mystery of a deadly camping safari six years prior. When she realizes the two cases are connected, Rizzoli must track down the sole survivor of the tragic trip to discover who - or what - is behind these gruesome deaths.

My Review: (also in goodreads)

Rizzoli and Isles series: The Surgeon, The Apprentice, The Sinner, Body Double,Vanish, The Mephisto Club, The Keepsake, The Silent Girl, Last to Die

Rizzoli and Isles short stories: Freaks

"But in the end, I'm the one who had to save myself. I'm the one who had to die twice, in order to live again..."

The 11th book of the Rizzoli and Isles series still owes up to its predecessor. Tess Gerritsen once again has woven a plot unlike any of the other past books in the series. What liked about her is that every book is not a continuation of the last one but at the same time we could see how the characters evolve.

This time, Rizzoli and Isles' case brings the chase from Boston to Africa.The story goes back and forth between time up until everything falls into place at the end. A serial killer on the loose where you least expect it. I drew some parallels between this and the 1st book. Even the same emotion of being anticlimactic while the killer is revealed is eerily the same. There were times when I read the book where I was so sure he was the killer not until it backfired in the end. There were even times where I wished he was the killer to my despair. Sadly, they were not. It was like the chase had my blood boiling but the revelation stopped the fuse. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this and would definitely wait for the 12th book as I finally watch the series.

Till the next read...

From the shelf: Last to Die (Rizzoli and Isles #10)

Title: Last to Die (Rizzoli and Isles #10)

Author: Tess Gerritsen

Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Crime, Thriller
Date read: August 26-27, 2015
Dawn Rates: ★★★★★ (5/5)

Summary (cr: goodreads)

For the second time in his short life, Teddy Clock has survived a massacre. Two years ago, he barely escaped when his entire family was slaughtered. Now, at fourteen, in a hideous echo of the past, Teddy is the lone survivor of his foster family’s mass murder. Orphaned once more, the traumatized teenager has nowhere to turn—until the Boston PD puts detective Jane Rizzoli on the case. Determined to protect this young man, Jane discovers that what seemed like a coincidence is instead just one horrifying part of a relentless killer’s merciless mission.

Jane spirits Teddy to the exclusive Evensong boarding school, a sanctuary where young victims of violent crime learn the secrets and skills of survival in a dangerous world. But even behind locked gates, and surrounded by acres of sheltering Maine wilderness, Jane fears that Evensong’s mysterious benefactors aren’t the only ones watching. When strange blood-splattered dolls are found dangling from a tree, Jane knows that her instincts are dead on. And when she meets Will Yablonski and Claire Ward, students whose tragic pasts bear a shocking resemblance to Teddy’s, it becomes chillingly clear that a circling predator has more than one victim in mind.

Joining forces with her trusted partner, medical examiner Maura Isles, Jane is determined to keep these orphans safe from harm. But an unspeakable secret dooms the children’s fate—unless Jane and Maura can finally put an end to an obsessed killer’s twisted quest.

My Review: (also in goodreads)

Rizzoli and Isles series: The Surgeon, The Apprentice, The Sinner, Body Double,Vanish, The Mephisto Club, The Keepsake, The Silent Girl

Rizzoli and Isles short stories: Freaks

Every book in this series never fails to astound me. And just when I thought I got an amazing plot the book before, every installment tops itself. Family troubles and envious, smug colleagues could not even faze Jane Rizzoli's instincts. The story starts Teddy Clock being orphaned with both parents and foster parents murdered, rescued by an unknown savior and dumped into Rizzoli's care. Crowe is the lead investigator of the case and as much as I wanted to punch his smug head off, having the satisfaction that everyone in Boston will eventually know he failed...getting his ego trampled by bulldozers is good enough for me. A lot was in play in this latest installment: Rizzoli, Isles, everyone at Boston PD, Moore, Crowe, Anthony Sansone and the Mephisto society is back as well as Julian Perkins and Evensong. It was when both Rizzoli and Frost had suspicions about the other 2 children and their eerie connection to Teddy Clock's past did I notice that something big was in play. I'm not going to tell everyone anything so that the new readers will still keep their element of surprise intact.

I like Maura Isles: her confidence, intelligence and ice cold demeanor but she can be a bit stupid most of the time when it comes to love. I am now leaning towards Jane Rizzoli's character. She may be a little wild at times but her instincts are rarely wrong plus she has a good heart and a sense of justice. I liked how both of their personalities compliment each other and how their characters grew up since the first book. Their friendship and trust for one another has grown. I hope Julian and the other Jackals would star in their own spin-off (that is just wishful thinking). Out of all the books so far, and believe me I love them all, this would be the one I would love to see as a movie.

Till the next read...

From the shelf: The Silent Girl (Rizzoli and Isles #09)

Title: The Silent Girl (Rizzoli and Isles #9)

Author: Tess Gerritsen

Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Crime, Thriller
Date read: August 25, 2015
Dawn Rates: ★★★★ (4/5)

Summary (cr: goodreads)

EVIL IS ON THE PROWL

A severed hand is found in an alleyway in Boston’s Chinatown. Detective Jane Rizzoli discovers the rest of the body on a nearby rooftop, the head nearly severed.

The only clue Jane has is two strands of hair, but it’s enough for Forensic Pathologist Maura Isles to make a startling connection. This violent attack has its roots in an unsolved murder-suicide case from nineteen years ago. The only witness, a beautiful martial arts master, has never dared to speak.

And she may never get the chance..

My Review: (also in goodreads)

Rizzoli and Isles series: The Surgeon, The Apprentice, The Sinner, Body Double,Vanish, The Mephisto Club, The Keepsake

Rizzoli and Isles short stories: Freaks

This time the battle revolves around Chinese myths and folklore. In the beginning, Maura Isles was introduced while being a medical examiner at a trial. Jullian Perkins, the teenager Maura wanted to adopt and Bear was visiting for the week. Though I thought that I would see more of her in this story, it was Jane Rizzoli's time to shine. The novel centers around a homicide happening at Boston's China town and as the team goes deeper, it then becomes complicated. Reading this felt like watching that cliche Kung Fu movies I used to watch with all the mystery and suspense. I had my suspicions around who the perp was even though he was working at the side of justice. I liked this novel, it didn't make me grip my seat like the earlier ones but I still loved wondering about everything that is happening.

Till the next read...

From the shelf: Freaks (Rizzoli and Isles #08.5)

Title: Freaks (Rizzoli and Isles #08.5)

Author: Tess Gerritsen

Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Crime, Thriller
Date read: August 25, 2015
Dawn Rates: ★★★★ (4/5)

Summary (cr: goodreads)

Homicide cop Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles have seen their fair share of mortal crimes, but the death of Kimberly Rayner may qualify as inhuman in more ways than one.

When the corpse of the emaciated seventeen-year-old girl is discovered next to an empty coffin in an abandoned church, mysterious bruises around the throat suggest foul play. Caught fleeing the scene is the victim's closest friend, Lucas Henry, an equally skeletal, pale teenager who claims he's guilty only of having a taste for blood-a craving he shared with Kimberly.

But the victim's distraught father doesn't believe in vampires, only vengeance. And now, another life may be at risk unless Rizzoli and Isles can uncover the astonishing truth.

My Review: (also in goodreads)

Rizzoli and Isles series: The Surgeon, The Apprentice, The Sinner, Body Double,Vanish, The Mephisto Club, The Keepsake

This was a short story with the mystical creature plot and a very sort off harmless perp. Reading this is like a breather, a welcome amusement after all those dark, morbid deaths before.

Till the next read...

From the shelf: Ice Cold (Rizzoli and Isles #08)

Title: Ice Cold (Rizzoli and Isles #08)

Author: Tess Gerritsen

Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Crime, Thriller
Date read: August 23-25, 2015
Dawn Rates: ★★★★ (4/5)

Summary (cr: goodreads)

New York Times" bestselling author Tess Gerritsen's relentless, inventive novels take readers on pulse-racing thrill rides that are as satisfying as they are heart-stopping. Now, in this edge-of-your-seat suspense novel, a mysteriously isolated town stands abandoned as a silent watcher waits. 
In Wyoming for a medical conference, Boston medical examiner Maura Isles joins a group of friends on a spur-of-the-moment ski trip. But when their SUV stalls on a snow-choked mountain road, they're stranded with no help in sight.
As night falls, the group seeks refuge from the blizzard in the remote village of Kingdom Come, where twelve eerily identical houses stand dark and abandoned. Something terrible has happened in Kingdom Come: Meals sit untouched on tables, cars are still parked in garages. The town's previous residents seem to have vanished into thin air, but footprints in the snow betray the presence of someone who still lurks in the cold darkness--someone who is watching Maura and her friends. 
Days later, Boston homicide detective Jane Rizzoli receives the grim news that Maura's charred body has been found in a mountain ravine. Shocked and grieving, Jane is determined to learn what happened to her friend. The investigation plunges Jane into the twisted history of Kingdom Come, where a gruesome discovery lies buried beneath the snow. As horrifying revelations come to light, Jane closes in on an enemy both powerful and merciless--and the chilling truth about Maura's fate.

My Review: (also in goodreads)

Rizzoli and Isles series: The Surgeon, The Apprentice, The Sinner, Body Double, Vanish, The Mephisto Club, The Keepsake

I love the Rizzoli and Isles series and comparing this to the earlier books, I'm going to give this one star short of what I usually give. Despite being with the man she loves but with complications, Dr. Maura Isles still does it. This book is more of a life changing event for our resident pathologist/ME and Jane Rizzoli supports her character. After a conference in Wyoming, she decides to be spontaneous for once so she goes with her college classmate Doug and his friends Elaine and Arlo as well as Doug's daughter Grace.What was supposed to be a fun trip became something far more complicated even getting to the point where everyone back home thought she was dead. A cult and something bigger comes to play. This story has that usual twists that make one grip the seat and I love it. Though I must say that for once, Maura Isles did what is right even though it meant sacrifice. I just hope she gets to adopt Julian Perkins and I'm thinking if this series would have a spin-off, Julian will be an amazing protagonist.

Till the next read...

From the shelf: The Keepsake (Rizzoli and Isles #07)

Title: The Keepsake (Rizzoli and Isles #07)

Author: Tess Gerritsen

Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Crime, Thriller
Date read: August 21-23, 2015
Dawn Rates: ★★★★☆ (4.5)

Summary (cr: goodreads)

The's Pilgrim's Hospital's most unusual patient, and on this Saturday night a media circus is gathered to record every minute of her visit to the X-ray department. Crammed into the small CT scan room are reporters, TV cameras, a select group of medical technicians - and forensic pathologist Maura Isles. 

Maura is there becase the patient being scanned tonight isn't alive. She's probably been dead for centuries. She is, in fact, a mummy. 
As the CT scan proceeds, everyone in the room leans in close - and gasps in horror as an image of a bullet is revealed. Maura declares it a possible homicide and calls in Detective Jane Rizzoli. 

When the preserved body of a second victim is found - and then a third - it becomes all too clear that not only is a maniac at large but he is taunting them. And that, unless Maura and Jane can find and stop him, he will soon be adding yet another chilling piece to his monstrous collection

My Review: (also in goodreads)

Rizzoli and Isles series: The Surgeon, The Apprentice, The Sinner, Body Double, Vanish,

The Mephisto Club

Like the other books before this, it was a gripping read. And like the other books, the twist made me exclaim at some point. I also like mysteries that weave from a historical background and  this novel's plot is one of it. This centers around an archaeologist, an archaeological dig and psychotic obsessive serial killers. I could read more of Jane Rizzoli in this and finally, I get to see how human her partner Barry Frost is, unlike his usual cheery, optimistic demeanor. Maura Isles helped with the plot but with minimal exposure. The only thing that I could say about her is that she should stop anything between her an Daniel Brophy (although its a waste because they have that chemistry together). He is a man she can't attain, she should consider Anthony Sansone instead.

Till the next read...

From the shelf: The Mephisto Club (Rizzoli and Isles #06)

Title: The Mephisto Club (Rizzoli and Isles #06)

Author: Tess Gerritsen

Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Crime, Thriller
Date read: August 19-20, 2015
Dawn Rates: ★★★★★ (5/5)

Summary (cr: goodreads)

For a considerable time Tess Gerritsen has been producing some of the most challenging -- and disturbing -- crime novels being written today. A speciality, of course, is her preparedness to go further than most authors would dare to -- male or female -- and with The Mephisto Club, she once more seems prepared to face the reader and say: if you can take it, I can dish it out. While Gerritsen has found new things to say in the genre of the serial killer novel, what really distinguishes her work is the brilliant characterisation of her twin heroines, medical examiner Dr Maura Isles and Detective Jane Rizzoli. Both protagonists feature in this latest novel, and while it might not crank up the tension to the same degree as the remarkable Vanish, it will be a rare reader indeed who will be able to put this one down.

Christmas in Boston brings horror rather than good cheer when a woman's body is found dismembered in a crime scene that leaves even hardened cops queasy. Doctor Maura Isles is assigned to the case, but soon another brutal murder takes place: a woman has been mutilated and murdered on Beacon Hill, near the home of the director of the Mephisto Club. This is a clandestine society whose subject is the study of evil -- and its agenda is to confront it in its most unadulterated forms. As Detective Jane Rizzoli becomes involved, it's quickly apparent that both women (no strangers to the bloodiest extremes of human cruelty) are up against something which is close to a distillation of the purest evil.

My Review: (also in goodreads)

Rizzoli and Isles series: The Surgeon, The Apprentice, The Sinner, Body Double, Vanish

Tess Gerritsen's "Rizzoli and Isles" series just keeps getting better. 6 books in and I'm cementing myself as a fan. The series takes off with something gory and unbelievable as Rizzoli and Isles take on another murder scene. Satanic rituals, demons and supernatural forces are the center of this novel. This is a feat for Jane and Maura, people who value facts and evidences more than anything else. Again, this novel is fast paces and I love how everything gets stitched together like some gigantic puzzle. This book for me is like the child of Dan Brown, Rick Riordan and Stephen King. There are times where I'm reminded by the other books I have read in the past and it excites me. That 'I know this' moment is a wonderful feeling. Again, both characters matured in which I know them a bit more after this novel. I like how Daniel and Maura finally finds each other but the complications that comes with it will eventually bite them back...its a sad thing to ship a couple that can never be. Although the chemistry is there, what can't be....can't be. I'll turn to Gabriel and Jane instead. What I like about this series is the fact that all the murder, mystery and suspense always comes in a different form every book. The author tackles different kinds of evil and twists is as the reader's grip their seats in anxiousness and anticipation.

Till the next read...

From the shelf: Vanish (Rizzoli and Isles #05)

Title: Vanish (Rizzoli and Isles #05)

Author: Tess Gerritsen

Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Crime, Thriller
Date read: August 19, 2015
Dawn Rates: ★★★★★ (5/5)

Summary (cr: goodreads)

Tess Gerritsen's Vanish sports precisely those qualities that her much-acclaimed Body Double had in profusion: razor-sharp plotting, tight and economical characterisation and (most of all) the inexorable capture of the reader's attention as her grim plot disturbingly unfolds.

Of course, none of this will come as a surprise to long-term Gerritsen fans (an ever-growing legion)--The Surgeon rang some fascinating changes on the serial killer theme, with a threat from the grave terrifying a doctor, and )--The Apprentice, with its killer utilising medical acumen, took no prisoners. But Body Double was the ace in the hole, with resourceful cop Jane Rizzoli tracking down the murderer of her doppelganger. Jane Rizzoli, readers will be glad to hear, is back in Vanish.

Medical examiner Maura Isles is looking at another body in a slab. Not a new experience for her, but she's in for another shock when the body opens its eyes and proves to be alive. And violence swiftly follows, as the mystery woman--strikingly beautiful--kills a security guard in the hospital she's taken to, before capturing a group of hostages. One of them is a pregnant woman--Detective Jane Rizzoli, no less. And if Jane can find out what this lethal abductor wants, she may be able to save her own life--and those of the other hostages. But the clock is ticking.

My Review: (also in goodreads)

Rizzoli and Isles series: The Surgeon, The Apprentice, The Sinner, Body Double

"My name is Mila and this is my journey..."

Who would've thought that this statement would be central to the story's plot. Human trafficking and sex slavery is always a sensitive subject and the author wrote about it tastefully. The crime thriller continues with Jane Rizzoli in her 9th month of pregnancy, in her maternity leave yet still testifying as a cop. The premise centers around a hostage crisis that eventually becomes part of a bigger plot in which everything comes into play. Gabriel Dean and Jane Rizzoli's relationship goes into a deeper level. There is not much of Maura Isles but she becomes a strong support in this story. I love how the author deepens Rizzoli and Dean's relationship especially with the baby on the way and how Rizzoli strengthens her relationship with her mother. The story is fast-paced and there were a lot of times where I couldn't really breathe with all that suspense and tension. That is why I love crime/suspense/thriller/mystery novels and I'll never get tired of saying it. Tess Gerritsen is becoming one of my favorite authors of this genre, 5 books in and I'm still hooked. I love the fact that she writes the books like every book is an episode of a well-loved crime series.

Till the next read...