Title: The Surgeon
Author: Tess Gerritsen
Series: Rizzoli & Isles #1
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Crime, Strong women
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Transworld Publishing
Year: 2001
5th sentence, 74th page: Oh, she got along fine with Barry Frost, despite his irritatingly sunny disposition.

A killer is targeting lone women, torturing and murdering them. The precision of his methods leads Detective Jane Rizzoli to suspect he is medically trained.

The Jane makes a terrifying discovery. Years ago a young woman was assaulted in a similar way. She escaped by shooting her attacker dead.

So why does it feel like he’s stalking her again?

As seems to be a recurring theme for me lately, I decided to read The Surgeon because I love the TV show Rizzoli & Isles. And, I really wasn’t disappointed. Like all good remakes of books, the storylines were recognisable, but still different enough that I had absolutely no idea what was about to happen. Needless to say, it was a great read and a total page turner.

It was obvious throughout the book that Gerritsen had a great grasp of medicine and criminal pathology. To the point that when reading from the point of view of the unsub, I would get goose bumps. It also led to some more terrifying dreams than I am used to. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

I loved the character of Jane Rizzoli. She was tough and driven, but also a little vulnerable and struggling to keep her place in a “man’s world”. Her struggles and insecurities in this made her one of the most realistic heroines that I have read in a long time.

The pace of the story took a little while to get used to – flicking between four entirely different people’s points of view sometimes within a chapter is something that I am not used to. Although, this technique created a wonderfully rounded and detailed story that had me yearning for the next book in a matter of moments.

The combination of criminal pathology, and the resulting emotions of their victims was more powerful than I could have imagined. I’m fascinated by the ways in which socio- and psychopaths think and rationalise their actions, but, I had never given a huge amount of thought to the effect of their actions upon the victims’ mentality. Probably because it is all too easy to imagine myself in their shoes. But the tale of Cordell and her ability to survive was not only deeply moving, it was also inspiring. It reminded me that our lights can shine the brightest in the darkest of places.

Image source: Amazon