Body Double
by
Tess Gerritsen
Synopsis
Boston medical examiner Dr. Maura Isles literally meets her match–and must face a savage serial killer and shattering personal revelations–in the brilliant new novel of suspense by the New York Times bestselling author of The Surgeon and The Sinner.
Dr. Maura Isles makes her living dealing with death. As a pathologist in a major metropolitan city, she has seen more than her share of corpses every day–many of them victims of violent murder. But never before has her blood run cold, and never has the grim expression “dead ringer” rung so terrifyingly true. Because never before has the lifeless body on the medical examiner’s table been her own.
Yet there can be no denying the mind-reeling evidence before her shocked eyes and those of her colleagues, including Detective Jane Rizzoli: the woman found shot to death outside Maura’s home is the mirror image of Maura, down to the most intimate physical nuances. Even more chilling is the discovery that they share the same birth date and blood type. For the stunned Maura, an only child, there can be just one explanation. And when a DNA test confirms that Maura’s mysterious doppelgänger is in fact her twin sister, an already bizarre murder investigation becomes a disturbing and dangerous excursion into a past full of dark secrets.
Searching for answers, Maura is drawn to a seaside town in Maine where other horrifying surprises await. But perhaps more frightening, an unknown murderer is at large on a cross-country killing spree. To stop the massacre and uncover the twisted truth about her own roots, Maura must probe her first living subject: the mother that she never knew . . . an icy and cunning woman who could be responsible for giving Maura life–and who just may have a plan to take it away. (less)
Richard says
This is the second Tess Gerritsen novel I have read and I will now confirm, I am not a fan of this author. She has far too many lapses in engagement. One reads the text but because it is so confusing, maybe overly filled with technical jargon, or too many characters being developed, the attention wavers.
I prefer a story that stays on track, stays focussed and keeps the crucial cast of players to a minimum. Gerritsen fails that criteria.
One ought to appreciate that an author may be an expert in some profession or some field other than just writing, but I have limits as to how much I want to learn about them. Gerritsen was a surgeon and so easily slips into her bio history as a medical professional. I can only appreciate so much of the technical expertise which doesn’t develop the story. Rather it gives the story authenticity and validity, valid needs but not to the extent that I feel like I am in the operating room.
The plot was intriguing, a twist on human trafficking as most know it. The trafficking here was in newborn babies. Plausible given the depravity of some human beings.
Gerritsen deserves credit for writing so many books, many of which are credited as bestsellers. Her writing is engaging, her plots credible. Most people will find her books to be good reads. Unfortunately, I do not.
