I KNOW A SECRET,
Tess Gerritsen
Synopsis:
In the twelfth gripping novel featuring Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles, the crime-solving duo—featured in the smash-hit TNT series Rizzoli & Isles—are faced with the gruesomely staged murder of a horror film producer.
The crime scene is unlike any that Detective Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles have ever before encountered. The woman lies in apparently peaceful repose on her bed, and Maura finds no apparent cause of death, but there is no doubt the woman is indeed dead. The victim’s eyes have been removed and placed in the palm of her hand, a gesture that echoes the terrifying films she produces. Is a crazed movie fan reenacting scenes from those disturbing films?
When another victim is found, again with no apparent cause of death, again with a grotesquely staged crime scene, Jane and Maura realize the killer has widened his circle of targets. He’s chosen one particular woman for his next victim, and she knows he’s coming for her next. She’s the only one who can help Jane and Maura catch the killer.
But she knows a secret. And it’s a secret she’ll never tell.
Richard says
Tess Gerritsen’s mother, an immigrant from China, had a shaky command of the English language, but she did understand and loved American horror films. The foundation of “I Know a Secret” is based on a horror film produced by four young people. It’s how the story begins and how it ends, an academic model many writers might find useful as a template for their works.
As always, Gerritsen delivers a good story about a crime that occurs too often in the nightly news, child abuse. The story is based on a child abuse case in which Jane Rizzoli believes the convicted man may be innocent. Gerritsen weaves the common attributes of child abuse and even murder into a rich tapestry of sociopaths, rape drugs and child care abuse.
As with every Gerritsen book, the story is well-written and very engaging. Rizzoli dominates the story almost completely with Isles’ character sparsely included maybe just to remind readers that the duo are Gerritsen’s best-selling creation in her books.
A niggling criticism is that the story may go on a bit too long. Readers may have lapses in focus and suspense never builds to a constant and ceaseless intensity as in some of Gerritsen’s other books. Still, one can never go wrong with a Gerritsen book and this one will not disappoint.
