Rizzoli & Isles: Last to Die
Ah yes, another one of my guilty pleasures! For my thoughts on books in series please refer to my post on Kathy Reichs’ book “Bones are Forever”. Tess Gerritsen is another author with a series that I follow on a consistent basis. In this outing, Tess Gerritsen, a Maine author, has Rizzoli and Isles mostly going in different directions underscoring the current awkwardness in their friendship. As the book opens, Rizzoli is called to a horrific scene, an entire family in a wealthy section of Boston has been murdered, including small children. Only one member survived, the adopted son and he is so traumatized that he won’t talk. As Jane investigates the crime she connects it with similar crimes in New York and New Hampshire where two other families were virtually decimated in the past year, in each instance leaving a child as the sole survivor. Although Jane’s team members don’t believe there is a connection, Jane’s maternal instinct tells her that the three surviving children may still be in grave danger, even though they are all thought to be “safely” tucked away at Evensong, a school located in the remote wilderness of Maine, surrounded by a state of the art security system.
At the same time that Jane is investigating her Boston homicide, Maura Isles leaves for her planned vacation with Julian Perkins, the teenager Maura became close with after surviving a near death experience in the Rizzoli & Isle book “Ice Cold”. Jane and Maura’s paths converge, as Julian now resides at Evensong, the same school the three homicide survivors now live. How safe is Evensong-Really?
If you are a Rizzoli & Isles fan you will be satisfied with this book and Gerritsen’s extravagant writing style, although I really missed the way Jane and Maura worked together and wasn’t sure having them apart worked as well. Time will tell if Gerritsen plans to thaw the slight frost that has cooled their friendship. If you have never read any Tess Gerritsen and like police procedural/forensics best to start at the beginning and pick up the first in this series, “The Surgeon”. These books are also the basis for the Rizzoli & Isles television show on TNT.