I Know A Secret by Tess Gerritsen

Today on the GSMC Book Review Podcast I had the pleasure of speaking with Tess Gerritsen, author of I Know A Secret, which is the 12th book in the Rizzoli & Isles series.  I have to admit that I had neither read the books nor watched the television show of the same name, although the books have been on my To Be Read list for awhile now.  I'm so glad that this interview was scheduled so that I got to read the book earlier than I might have otherwise!

Normally when I review a series I give you the description of the first book in the series rather than give too much away, but as this is the 12th book, it seems a bit silly to give you that first description this time.  If you've read the series, you already know what's going on.  If you haven't, then this gives you an idea of the series but doesn't really give anything away.

Source

Two separate homicides, at different locations, with unrelated victims, have more in common than just being investigated by Boston PD detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles. In both cases, the bodies bear startling wounds—yet the actual cause of death is unknown. It’s a doubly challenging case for the cop and the coroner to be taking on, at an inconvenient time for both of them. As Jane struggles to save her mother from the crumbling marriage that threatens to bury her, Maura grapples with the imminent death of her own mother—infamous serial killer Amalthea Lank.

While Jane tends to her mother, there’s nothing Maura can do for Amalthea, except endure one final battle of wills with the woman whose shadow has haunted her all her life. Though succumbing to cancer, Amalthea hasn’t lost her taste for manipulating her estranged daughter—by dangling a cryptic clue about the two bizarre murders Maura and Jane are desperately trying to solve.

But whatever the dying convict knows is only a piece of the puzzle. Soon the investigation leads to a secretive young woman who survived a shocking abuse scandal; an independent horror film that may be rooted in reality; and a slew of martyred saints who died cruel and unusual deaths. And just when Rizzoli and Isles think they’ve cornered a devilish predator, the long-buried past rears its head—and threatens to engulf more innocent lives, including their own. (Source)

As I mentioned earlier, I hadn't read these books yet, so I was a bit concerned to be jumping in on #12, but I didn't have any trouble reading this one out of sequence.  There is enough backstory given that I had a decent idea of the overall story arc without so much given that it felt forced or unwieldy.  I still want to go back and catch up with those first books, but can also recommend jumping in with this book and enjoying it.

The homicides in this book were a little disturbing, but also sucked me in right away so that I wanted to find out more, figure out the clues, and find out who really committed the murders. Part of this story, and part of the clues, deal with religious iconography.  I'm a bit of a theology nerd, so I really liked this element of the book and appreciated the research that went into the details.

Genres:

• Mystery
• Thriller & Suspense
• Medical

What I loved:

• The details of the clues and how so many different elements came together within the story to create the mystery in its entirety.
• The relationship between Jane and Maura, which is clearly complex and nuanced, and has depth and history to it.
• The creepiness of the murders.  They are weird and disturbing, but in a way that intrigued me rather than putting me off completely.

Who should read I Know a Secret?

• Fans of the Rizzoli & Isles book series.
• Fans of the Rizzoli & Isles television series who haven't read the books (I always think you should read the book in addition to watching the movie or television show because there is always so much more detail in the books).
• Fans of murder, suspense, and thrillers.

Quote:

     "'Bilateral globe enucleation,' said Maura softly.

     'Is that some kind of fancy medial talk for someone cut out her eyeballs?'

     'Yes.'

     'I love how you give everything a nice dry clinical spin. It makes the fact that she's holding her own eyeballs somehow seem less oh, totally [effed] up.'"

Where you can find Tess online:

Website: http://www.tessgerritsen.com/

Blog: http://www.tessgerritsen.com/blog/

Facebook: @tessgerritsen
Twitter: @tessgerritsen
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/tessgerritsen/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/TessGerritsen

Source

Author Bio:

Internationally bestselling author Tess Gerritsen took an unusual route to a writing career. A graduate of Stanford University, Tess went on to medical school at the University of California, San Francisco, where she was awarded her M.D.

While on maternity leave from her work as a physician, she began to write fiction. In 1987, her first novel was published. Call After Midnight, a romantic thriller, was followed by eight more romantic suspense novels. She also wrote a screenplay, “Adrift”, which aired as a 1993 CBS Movie of the Week starring Kate Jackson.

Tess’s first medical thriller, Harvest, was released in hardcover in 1996, and it marked her debut on the New York Times bestseller list. Her suspense novels since then have been: Life Support (1997), Bloodstream (1998), Gravity (1999), The Surgeon (2001), The Apprentice (2002), The Sinner (2003), Body Double (2004), Vanish (2005), The Mephisto Club (2006), The Bone Garden (2007), The Keepsake (2008; UK title: Keeping the Dead), Ice Cold (2010; UK title: The Killing Place), The Silent Girl (2011), Last To Die (August 2012), Die Again (January 2015) and Playing With Fire (coming October 27, 2015). Her books have been published in forty countries, and more than 30 million copies have been sold around the world.

Her books have been top-3 bestsellers in the United States and number one bestsellers abroad. She has won both the Nero Wolfe Award (for Vanish) and the Rita Award (for The Surgeon). Critics around the world have praised her novels as “Pulse-pounding fun” (Philadelphia Inquirer), “Scary and brilliant” (Toronto Globe and Mail), and “Polished, riveting prose” (Chicago Tribune). Publisher Weekly has dubbed her the “medical suspense queen”.

Her series of novels featuring homicide detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles inspired the TNT television series “Rizzoli & Isles” starring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander.

Now retired from medicine, she writes full time. She lives in Maine. (Source)

For the full interview with Tess please click here.