12/10/2017

Blutzeuge by Tess Gerritsen

For many years I am a huge fan of the author. And her Rizzoli & Isles series is one of the most loved series I have on my shelves. So, of course, I wanted to read I Know A Secret, this new book about Jane and Maura, and see how their new case would turn out. And that end …. I can´t remember a book in this series, that had ended the way this one does. It seems as if the way how Tess Gerritsen solved this case, was the only way that made sense, though I don´t agree with everything. And I can only imagine how it must feel for Jane…

Blutzeuge*

by Tess Gerritsen
Rizzoli & Isles Series #12
Translation Andreas Jäger
Original Title I Know A Secret
Publisher Limes on November 20, 2017
Genre Thriller
Pages 409
Format Hardcover
Source Publisher

Goodreads

✶✶✶✶

In Boston, the body of a young woman is found – in the open palms her eyeballs. The mutilation happened post mortem, as is clearly stated in the autopsy. But the exact cause of death remains unclear. A short time later, the body of a man appears – arrows stick out of his chest, which were also placed there only after his death. Both were victims of the same perpetrator, otherwise there seems to be no connection between them. Boston Police Detective Jane Rizzoli is puzzled until a trail leads her to a decades-old case of mistreatment in a Catholic nursery. (personal translation ©Vi at Inkvotary)

Story

Maura gets called to a crime scene and what she sees there is beyond every imagination. The cruelty, the blood, the madness of all of it, and yet she and Jane discover that there is some sort of religion behind all this as well. And when Jane starts to show some kind of certainty about the evil and Maura questions some of Jane´s thoughts, things get rough.

Style

As always, Tess Gerritsen presents a psychological finesse and scenes where you as a reader are in the situation “do I hold my breath now, or do I rather stop and continue later?” Oh yes, some scenes are so gripping and in combination with Jane´s sarcasm and her way to see things and the world in general, this thriller is haunting and thrilling from the very start to the bitter end.

Maura and Jane aren´t always on the same page here. When it comes to solving this mysterious case, yes, but not when it comes to the fact who the evil person is. Maura often asks Jane to rethink her work, to see things from another perspective, and not to believe everything she sees right at first sight. But Jane´s motherly feelings are not that easy to handle let alone set aside. How the author shows that conflict and how she solves it is presented in a beautiful way and lets you feel that between those two women is a very strong friendship and respect for each other.

Characters

While reading some scenes I couldn´t help but smile. Jane and her ironic language, the sarcastic tone she is using quite often – I like that very much. And those scenes, when she is at home with her parents, and nothing but the future of her brother seems important to her father. How Jane reacts to that, hilarious. And the relationship, or better said the non-existing relationship between Maura and her biological mother. Holy moly those scenes were quite something. I could literally feel the evil that the woman who gave birth to Maura is spreading around. The coldness, how she calculates every word she says to Maura, and tries to manipulate her.

Conclusion

A great written thriller, that might not be with a full rating, but nonetheless very entertaining. I didn´t see it coming until the very end and the solution the author gave, was not entirely mine. But you can´t always win. Or at least not the way Jane wanted. But to know as a reader the entire truth, that was kind of satisfying.

Happy reading

*This book was kindly provided to me by Limes in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Thank you. Therefore, the cover of the German edition is shown first in this review.

*This book was published in the English language I Know A Secret by Ballantine Books on August 15, 2017 

Tess Gerritsen

New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen earned international acclaim for her first novel of suspense, Harvest. She introduced Detective Jane Rizzoli in The Surgeon (2001) and Dr. Maura Isles in The Apprentice (2002) and has gone on to write numerous other titles in the celebrated Rizzoli & Isles series. A physician, Tess Gerritsen lives in Maine.

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