Why I love Tess Gerritsen

In December 2007 I popped along to my local library. I asked the staff there if the had anything they could recommend. They gave me a few suggestions. Tess Gerritsen was one of them. However the only book of hers in stock at the time was Harvest. So I decided to take this home and start to read.

After the first 2 pages I was hooked. I returned to my local library 2 day's later requesting another book from this fantastic author. I have read many novels in my time. But none however have gripped my attention like these books. (my family must have felt neglected) As my head always seemed to be stuck inside her books.

I thought I was hooked on "Harvest" But nothing could prepare me for the fast pace and intensity of "THE Surgeon" The first book in a series of books about Jane Rizzoli.
My advice. If you want to find out how the Jane Rizzoli series began. You best start with "The Surgeon"
The best thing is that you seem to grow with the characters and love them. You also feel as if your in the novel yourself. Believe me, I had to pinch myself a couple of times. Just to make sure.
For one month only you can download "The Surgeon" for free here.. I can promise you that this book will have you wanting more from Tess.

Exerpt from prologue
Then he looks through the doorway, into the bedroom. He sees Diana Sterling, and he is no longer worried about something as inconsequential as theft. He wants only to get out of that apartment before he throws up.

Exerpt from chapter 1
Though Moore had been braced for this sight, his first glimpse of the victim had the impact of a physical blow. The woman's black hair, matted stiff with blood, stuck out like porcupine quills from a face the color of blue-veined marble. Her lips were parted, as though frozen in mid-utterance. The blood had already been washed off the body, and her wounds gaped in purplish rents on the gray canvas of skin. There were two visible wounds. One was a deep slash across the throat, extending from beneath the left ear, transecting the left carotid artery, and laying open the laryngeal cartilage. The coup de grace. The second slash was low on the abdomen. This wound had not been meant to kill; it had served an entirely different purpose.

Moore swallowed hard. "I see why you called me back from vacation."

If this has left you wanting more. you can read all of the prologue and chapter one here.

Tess Gerritsen left a successful medical practice to bring up her children and concentrate on her writing. She lives in Maine, with her family.

Tess 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. Not my favourites I must admit. But still good in their own romantic way.

Tess then went on to publish her first medical thriller in 1996 "Harvest" This was also her debut on the New York Times bestseller list. Tess has published many books since her first medical thriller. Not forgetting the start of a fantastic series.

Tess has sold over 15 million coppies around the world, and has had her books translated into 31 different languages.
Tess has become #1 best seller in the uk, germany and the USA. Her critics have praised her novels as "pulse pounding" and "Scary and brilliant". She now has become known as the "medical suspense queen".

In january 2008. I had the honour of going to an authors reading at Gosforth library in the North East of England. The Bone Garden had just been released that week in the UK. I don't know how I did it. I managed to get a ticket to go and meet this author.

In the space of a month I had read all of the Rizzoli and Isles series and a few of her other medical thrillers. So to meet this person who had literatley kept my bottom on a chair and my head in her books, was amazing.
I did not know what to expect. But I assumed she would have been a bit snobbish. But Tess came across the complete opposite. She was so down to earth, and just like you and me.
When she spoke, she oozed confidence and spoke with so much passion. I could have listened to her all day. Here she spoke about her youth and medical training, also how she became a best selling author. And of course she talked about what inspired her to write the Bone Garden.

Listening to all the history that surrounded this book, I could not wait to get home and start reading it. As with other author readings I managed to get a signed copy of her latest book The Bone Garden. Which I will treasure.

Once again Tess is coming over to the UK to promote her new book Keeping the Dead or for the readers in the USA The Keepsake. Tess is due to be over in the UK in febuary 2009. However venues of where she will be have not been released yet. But if you wish to visit her. Please keep track of events here.

1 Her books alway's keep you guessing.
2 You grow to love the characters.
3 You feel part of the book it's self.
4 She writes with passion.
5 Alway's seems to come up with new material.
6 You can't seem to put her books down once you pick them up.
7 She researches her books thoroughly.
8 Plenty of twists and turns.
9 Scenes are very well described
10 She is a down to earth nice lady.

Please read on. Following this you will find out a little about these books. This will give you a taster of what these books are about. You never know you might even pick one of them up. I belive once you start you will not be able to stop. Everyone that I know, who has read these books have said the same.

This book is fast, and will keep you up all night untill you finish it. Leaving it till later is not an option.

Published in 2001. This has to be one of Tess Gerritsen's master peices. This book has a character that is pure evil. He slips into women's homes at night. As they sleep, they are blissfully unaware of the torture they are about to endure.
This killer is so precise, It leads the public and the press to asume he is of a medical background. They then dubbed him "The Surgeon"
This novel Exposes the shocking links between those who kill and cure, punish and protect. And in my oppinion has to be the best novel written by Tess.

This is the second in the Jane Rizzoli series. In this novel we get to meet the famous Maura Isles. The series would not be complete without her.

Published in 2002. Jane Rizzoli, still bears both the physical and mental scars of her last encounter with "The Surgeon," who methodically tortured, mutilated, and viciously murdered his victims in a killing spree that ended last year. Thanks to Rizzoli, "The Surgeon is now in a maximum security prison. So you can imagine her horror, when she's called to an eerily familiar crime scene, and it becomes immediately apparent that a copycat killer, soon dubbed "the dominator," is on the loose and has taken over "the surgeon's" work. As the body count rises, "The Surgeon" escapes from prison and joins forces with his apprentice. This very lethal pair are now hunting together, and their next target is Jane Rizzoli, the one who got away.This sequel is cleverly plotted. The Apprentice is a fast read, tense and suspenseful, and filled with vivid scenes, and graphic descriptions. The characters are well drawn and interesting,

The third book in the Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles series.
Another fantastic read. Could not put it down.

Published in 2003 This book starts off with a murder at a convent. This brings Medical examiner Maura Isles and Det Jane Rizzoli back together to crack this baffeling crime. Two nuns are discovered in an abandoned chapel. One dead and the other not far from it. Both have been bludgeoned. The brutal crime appears to be without motive. But they then discover that one of the nuns has recentaly given birth. The hunt for answers becomes a chor as the duo are presented with many red herrings. This disturbing case takes a new turn. When another woman is found in an abandoned building. Her features have been ravagged and her limbs apmutated from her body. To make matters worse Maura's ex- husband turns up, to give his two penneth. Also Rizzoli's ex-boyfriend FBI agent Gabriel Dean joins them in thier case to find he killer. He is also responsible for the baby now growing in her tummy. Tess describes Boston fantastically, and makes you feel as if you have actualley been there. This has plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing untill the very end, and shows you the everyday war between good and evil.

The fourth book in the Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles series. Tess has managed to do it again. Another fantastic read that you just canot put down.

Published in 2004. This book focuses more on Maura Isles, who is an addopted child. She is confronted by a corpse on her table. The one thing that scares Maura, is that the lady on the examining table is an identical twin of her. Even to the intermate parts. This spurs Maura on, to dive into her family's past, and she discovers that the dead lady is in fact her twin sister. While investigating her sister's past. She is lead to a schizophrenic inmate who may be her mother.
Isles then discovers that this murderer has been murdering pregnant women for decades, making periodic sweeps of the country. Can Maura and Jane find the killer before time runs out for a pregnant housewife that has been kidnapped?
This novel has nailbiting twists, ghoulishly motives and a brilliant ending that all fits into place. Another must read by Tess Gerritsen.

The fifth book in the Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles series

Published in 2005. A buitiful young woman appears to be another suicide victim, waiting to be disected by Maura Isles. As Maura unzips the body bag, the corpes opens it's eyes. The woman very much alive is then rushed to the hospital.Where she then kills a security guard and takes hostages. One of then happens to be a heavily pregnant Jane Rizzoli. This time Jane Rizzoli finds herself on the wrong side of a hostage situation.
Who is this desperate woman and what does she want? Maura joins with the father of Janes baby, FBI agent Gabriel Dean. When federal agents suddenly appear on the scene, Maura and Gabriel realize that they are dealing with a case that goes far deeper than just an ordinary hostage crisis.
Only Jane has the key to solve this case, but will she survive the night?
This is an Awesome Book which you must read.

The sixth and final book in the Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles series to date. Well not in the USA. You guy's already have the next insalment. We in the UK have to wait until feb 2009.

Published in 2006. PECCAVI is latin for I have sinned. This is scrawled in blood at a murder scene of a young woman. This scene is brutal and disturbing. But at the same time riveting. Mephisto scholars aim to prove a theory, that Satan himself exists among us. The grisly appearance of a corpse on their doorstep, it's clear that someone - or something - is indeed prowling the city. Soon, the members of the club begin to fear the very subject of their study. Could this maniacal killer be one of their own - or have they inadvertently summoned an evil entity from the darkness?
Maura and Jane embark on a terrifying journey to the very heart of evil. Where they encounter a foe more dangerous than any they have ever faced.
This book has evil twists which get you thinking about good and evil. Until the very end. Not the best book in the series but a darn good read.