The Surgeon: A Rizzoli & Isles Novel
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A briskly paced, terrifically suspenseful work that steadily builds toward a tense and terrifying climax.”—People (Page-turner of the week)
ONE OF TIME’S 100 BEST MYSTERY AND THRILLER BOOKS OF ALL TIME
He slips into homes at night and walks silently into bedrooms where women lie sleeping, about to awaken to a living nightmare. The precision of his methods suggests that he is a deranged man of medicine, prompting the Boston newspapers to dub him “The Surgeon.” Led by Detectives Thomas Moore and Jane Rizzoli, the cops must consult the victim of a nearly identical crime: Two years ago, Dr. Catherine Cordell fought back and filled an attacker before he could complete his assault. Now this new killer is re-creating, with chilling accuracy, the details of Cordell’s ordeal. With every new murder he seems to be taunting her, cutting ever closer, from her hospital to her home. And neither Moore nor Rizzoli can protect Cordell from a ruthless hunter who somehow understands—and savors—the secret fears of every woman he kills.
“[A] top-grade thriller . . . Sharp characters stitch your eye to the page. An all-nighter.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Creepy . . . will exert a powerful grip on readers.”—Chicago Tribune
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Community Reviews
I probably started reading this series more than 20yrs ago, long before I joined GR. Several years later, the show started, and I LOVED the show so much, I abandoned the series (I think around #7). After joining GR, I would come across so many great reviews of the books, I vowed to someday pick it back up where I left off. Then recently I saw that the Crime, Mystery and Thrillers group had selected this one as a July group read and decided that now was as good a time as any to reread the series.
Over the past 11yrs that I’ve been a member of GR, I have read the books of some of my fave tv shows and movies and have almost always enjoyed the books more. However, this installment was never adapted to a tv episode, in its current form, and Maura Isles isn’t even in it, and I do remember that from when I started watching the show. However, the killer in this installment was a character/killer in the show and a significant one too. Additionally, this Jane Rizzoli is a lot more jaded and bitter than the Angie Harmon Jane, who I found to be ridiculously snarky and funny, which is what I absolutely loved about her! I had forgotten this about the books.
Anyway, the book summary pretty much lays out the entire primary storyline of Jane and her partner, Thomas Moore (whose nickname is St Moore after the priest), investigating the murders of former rape victims by someone that appears to be a medical professional and is called “the Surgeon” by the law enforcement and the media. I’m not going to get into the nitty gritty details of what this wacko does to the victims though, I kind of forgot how much darker and grittier the books were from the tv show. There is another storyline of Jane being the first and only women assigned to the Boston Homicide division and she is getting the run of the mill misogynistic initiation from her @$$#*!% male coworkers. Later, when she makes a grave mistake (in the second half) and is looking for some support from her partner Moore, she is reminded that she is on her own.
It's deep into the second half that the investigation takes a bit of a turn. Up to that point, I was certain I had remembered who the Surgeon was and possibly even the motive, but at this point, I’m starting to second guess my memory. It turns out I was wrong and totally forgot that whole part. Lol, it seems my memory of this book has become a little fuzzy.
The character development of Jane and Moore as well as a couple of other characters was well done. The pacing was steady to fast and the storyline interesting, even if it got a little too descriptive for my comfort. The writing was really good too and read it in two sittings. Reading this again reminded me of one of the reasons I really liked this series so long ago. I’m looking at an overall rating of 4.3 that I will be rounding down to a 4star review.
Over the past 11yrs that I’ve been a member of GR, I have read the books of some of my fave tv shows and movies and have almost always enjoyed the books more. However, this installment was never adapted to a tv episode, in its current form, and Maura Isles isn’t even in it, and I do remember that from when I started watching the show. However, the killer in this installment was a character/killer in the show and a significant one too. Additionally, this Jane Rizzoli is a lot more jaded and bitter than the Angie Harmon Jane, who I found to be ridiculously snarky and funny, which is what I absolutely loved about her! I had forgotten this about the books.
Anyway, the book summary pretty much lays out the entire primary storyline of Jane and her partner, Thomas Moore (whose nickname is St Moore after the priest), investigating the murders of former rape victims by someone that appears to be a medical professional and is called “the Surgeon” by the law enforcement and the media. I’m not going to get into the nitty gritty details of what this wacko does to the victims though, I kind of forgot how much darker and grittier the books were from the tv show. There is another storyline of Jane being the first and only women assigned to the Boston Homicide division and she is getting the run of the mill misogynistic initiation from her @$$#*!% male coworkers. Later, when she makes a grave mistake (in the second half) and is looking for some support from her partner Moore, she is reminded that she is on her own.
It's deep into the second half that the investigation takes a bit of a turn. Up to that point, I was certain I had remembered who the Surgeon was and possibly even the motive, but at this point, I’m starting to second guess my memory. It turns out I was wrong and totally forgot that whole part. Lol, it seems my memory of this book has become a little fuzzy.
The character development of Jane and Moore as well as a couple of other characters was well done. The pacing was steady to fast and the storyline interesting, even if it got a little too descriptive for my comfort. The writing was really good too and read it in two sittings. Reading this again reminded me of one of the reasons I really liked this series so long ago. I’m looking at an overall rating of 4.3 that I will be rounding down to a 4star review.
This book was phenomenal and it is no wonder why it was made into an award-winning TV series. As Tami Hoag says on the cover, "Grabbed me by the throat and didn't let go," and this is 100% true! This book involves the reader from the first page. You are trying to solve the mystery along with the characters and when something happens that you weren't expecting, you don't want to put it down until you find out what comes next! I love shows like Rizzoli and Isles, and Law and Order and always loved reading Nancy Drew when I was younger. I was looking for new books that would bring back that same crime solving mystery that I always loved...AND HERE IT IS!!! Loved this book (can't wait to read more of the series) and absolutely love Gerritsen's work!
Great thriller. Compelling story...but the crime involves SA and torture of women. When I read this years ago it didn't bother me, but now the crimes seem exploitative. So much needless hate aimed at women.
This is the origin of Rizzoli and Isles, although in this book the focus is on Rizzoli's partner, Moore. Standard serial killer versus cop thriller. I like the prickly Rizzoli and can relate to her experiences with family. men, and her professional life.
This is the origin of Rizzoli and Isles, although in this book the focus is on Rizzoli's partner, Moore. Standard serial killer versus cop thriller. I like the prickly Rizzoli and can relate to her experiences with family. men, and her professional life.
I kind of just read this entire book in one go, so I clearly enjoyed it. It was interesting to read about some of the characters I already know about from the TV show, even though Rizzoli wasn't a main character and Isles isn't mentioned at all in this book. But in the show, we hear about Jane's encounters with Holt, so reading all about this past history in this book was quite informative. This was your typical murder mystery book without anything particularly separating it from other books in the genre, but it was incredibly gripping and I had to keep reading because I just wanted to know what happened next, which was why I ended up spending the entire day reading it until I finished.
I'm definitely interested in reading more of the series, though I was really most compelled by the doctor character who was the main victim/target of Holt's murders, and I'm kind of sad she won't be in the next books since her story is now complete. (But I'm glad she's happy now!)
I'm definitely interested in reading more of the series, though I was really most compelled by the doctor character who was the main victim/target of Holt's murders, and I'm kind of sad she won't be in the next books since her story is now complete. (But I'm glad she's happy now!)