The Mephisto Club
Tess Gerritsen
An oustanding book, top notch in every way from plot to engagement. Super reading.
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Synopsis
Evil exists. Evil walks the streets. And evil has spawned a diabolical new disciple in this white-knuckle thriller from New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen.
The Latin word is scrawled in blood at the scene of a young woman’s brutal murder: I HAVE SINNED. It’s a chilling Christmas greeting for Boston medical examiner Maura Isles and Detective Jane Rizzoli, who swiftly link the victim to controversial celebrity psychiatrist Joyce O’Donnell–Jane’s professional nemesis and member of a sinister cabal called the Mephisto Club.
On top of Beacon Hill, the club’s acolytes devote themselves to the analysis of evil: Can it be explained by science? Does it have a physical presence? Do demons walk the earth? Drawing on a wealth of dark historical data and mysterious religious symbolism, the Mephisto scholars aim to prove a startling theory: that Satan himself exists among us.
With the grisly appearance of a corpse on their doorstep, it’s clear that someone–or something–is indeed prowling the city. 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?
Delving deep into the most baffling and unusual case of their careers, Maura and Jane embark on a terrifying journey to the very heart of evil, where they encounter a malevolent foe more dangerous than any they have ever faced . . . one whose work is only just beginning.
Richard says
In a word, outstanding.
One of the most engaging reads I have read since Da Vinci Code.
Gerritsen wrote a winner with this book. The story grabs you from the opening page and rivets you to it, page after page. She draws you into the story with information about mythology, Egyptology and history. She weaves a tale about evil and evil’s personification in the world in the past and today. About Satan, his origins and the mythology about him. As she unravels her tale, she builds tension and suspense that makes you hesitate turning the page while you can’t resist from learning what is going to happen next.
It’s a gory, gruesome and ghoulish tale superbly written and scarier than hell. You almost want to shout out. “Watch out!” or “Stop, don’t go there!” at Dr. Maura Isles or Detective Jane Izzoli when they are in a tension-filled situation. The gore is endless but appropriate to the story. The gruesomeness barely tolerable but again suited to what is being described. And the ghoulishness escalates your fears as much as any book possibly can. This is a book that you just can’t put down as you reluctantly turn each page. Gerristen grabs you. She engages you. She captivates you and she scares the hell out of you.
A great book beyond the fear factor. Gerristsen weaves mythological tales, old wives’ tales and superstitious sagas to enliven her story. Stories based on hundreds of years before Christ, fables like Adam having a wife before Eve, having offspring with this first wife, about angels and devils inhabiting the world of the past and being active in the world today. Gerritsen was an anthropology major at Stanford University and her book springs from all that she learned. She weaves in stories passed down through the ages and that have little nuggets of truth in them. She interweaves ancient texts, history from the Old Testament, and material from Hebrew scripture, material that is apocryphal and discredited by the Christian church.
An amazing read.
