Has it been twelve books already? Seems like yesterday, I picked up The Surgeon and dived into the homicide world of Boston PD. While it wasn’t always a smooth ride with detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles, I’ve come to enjoy the stories they find themselves in.
I devoured the books that followed and awaited for the next. Each time, the writing skills of Tess Gerritsen drew me deeper into their world. From the ups (The Mephisto Club) and downs (Last to Die and Die Again), I’ve come to understand that just because the case failed to thrill me, it’s the lives of the heroines that keep me coming back.
I Know A Secret delivered an unexpected left hook that knocked me off kilter. While the case kept me on the edge, leaving me second guessing myself until the end, it was the drama that reached its boiling point that kept me on my edge. Between a crumbling marriage in the Rizzoli family, an estranged mother’s deathbed, and two rekindling broken relationships.
Holly has a secret. One she’s been keeping for some time. Her former classmates begin to turn up dead. What’s worse is that they’re being desecrated postmortem to resemble martyred saints. And she begins to connect the dots, knowing that the decade old secret might come to light again as detective Jane Rizzoli begins to look into the shared history of all the victims. And it all begins to point at Holly.
There are moments where it read like Confessions of a Sociopath was a reference with the narration. This wouldn’t be a problem if I hadn’t disliked that book (I never finished it, a very rare occurrence). However, the set up promises a new arch-nemesis for Jane Rizzoli—one that puts Warren Hoyt to shame.
While introducing new foes, Tess Gerritsen does serve up a heaping plate full of old friends and enemies. Amalthea Lank, Maura Isles’ biological murderous mother; Angela Rizzoli, who struggles to keep her sanity in a marriage that ended ages ago; and the return of Father Daniel Brophy, Maura’s former lover.
There is no doubt in my mind that Tess Gerristen has several more cases for this team; although, there are times when it feels like this is the beginning of the end for the series. Still, I’m hoping for a Mephisto Club (or, at least, an Evensong) spin-off series. Maybe one day. Until next time, keep on huntin’.
Chapin City Blues 