The Killing Place by Tess Gerritsen
I have a confession to make! I had never heard of Rizzoli and Isles until I began watching the television series (July 12th on TNT in the United States). Starring Angie Harmon as Jane Rizzoli and Sasha Alexander as Dr Maura Isles, I discovered the series was based on novels by Tess Gerritsen.
With that in mind and thanks to the wonderful publicists at Transworld Publishers, Gerritsen’s latest novel “The Killing Place” landed, ready for me to review.
Despite having watched six episodes of the TV show I decided to the best way to attack the book was to start afresh, forgetting everything I knew from what I’d seen on TNT. I always find a book gives you so much more depth and insight into a character’s mind and personality than the small/big screen could ever do. So with that in mind and En Vogue’s mantra “Free your mind and the rest will follow” playing in my head I turned to page one and began a new journey!
Dr Maura Isles is in Wyoming for a medical conference where she meets up with an old acquaintance (Doug). Over dinner, he invites her on a short trip with his daughter and two friends before she is due to head back to Boston, back home to a strained relationship with Father Daniel Brophy. She decides the time is right for a little spontaneity and accepts his invitation meeting up with the group the following morning.
Hours into the journey they realise they are desperately lost following an incorrect instruction from “Lola” the GPS navigator. With the snow fall intensifying they are forced off the road and end up sideways in a ditch. The road is deserted and no recent sign of life exists and so they abandon the vehicle desperate to find shelter before darkness falls.
They discover what appears to be an abandoned settlement, ten houses all empty and not a soul in sight. As they explore their new surroundings they discover open windows, overturned chairs, no electricity and half eaten meals. But what could it all mean? Their journey has only just begun.
It’s at this point the story cranks up a few gears and becomes truly mesmerising. Gerritsen’s descriptive powers and narrative are second to none and with each turn of the page the intensity multiplies. Struggling to catch my breath on numerous occasions the book flowed effortlessly and I read the novel in two sittings; you’ll struggle to put it down I guarantee.
The plot is believable with more than its fair share of twists and turns along the way to satisfy the most critical of readers out there. This is my first Tess Gerritsen novel and I certainly hope it won’t be my last. I now want to go back and see what I’ve been missing out on these past few years!
Atmospheric, contagious, immersive and spellbindingly realistic “The Killing Place” will have you on the edge of your seat and cowering behind the sofa at the slightest noise outside.
Magnificent.
Published by Bantam Press, the book is available at Amazon and Waterstones.
