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The Surgeon (Rizzoli & Isles #1)
by
Tess Gerritsen (Goodreads Author)
He slips into homes at night and walks silently into bedrooms where women lie sleeping, about to awaken to a living nightmare. The precision of his methods suggests that he is a deranged man of medicine, prompting the Boston newspapers to dub him “The Surgeon.” Led by Detectives Thomas Moore and Jane Rizzoli, the cops must consult the victim of a nearly identical crime: Tw...more
Mass Market Paperback, 350 pages
Published
June 23rd 2009
by Ballantine Books
(first published September 2001)
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Thriller. Trigger Warning for discussion of rape.
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1. "He identifies and removes only the organ he wants. Nothing more. And what he wants is the womb." [...] "He hates women," she said. "He cuts out the one thing that makes them women." (p.60)...more
2. Ignoring the water bottle and the disgusting object it contained... (p.67)
3. "'She thought: "It's my fault. I shouldn't have been so careless." But that's how it is w
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Sarah
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
those who like a murder mystery that's out of the ordinary
Shelves:
it-takes-two
The Surgeon is a brilliantly-crafted tale of horror that's just so terrifying that you can't bear not to look. Seriously.
The story begins with a successful physician named Catherine Cordell who was nearly murdered a few years back in Savannah but lived to tell the tale because she blew her attacker away before he could finish the job. With her attacker's death, the string of grotesque torture-murders ends in Savannah, but then resurfaces in Boston. Which is just where Cordell now resi...more
The story begins with a successful physician named Catherine Cordell who was nearly murdered a few years back in Savannah but lived to tell the tale because she blew her attacker away before he could finish the job. With her attacker's death, the string of grotesque torture-murders ends in Savannah, but then resurfaces in Boston. Which is just where Cordell now resi...more
The Surgeon is a remarkable, wonderfully well-written thriller. I had never read such an amazing story like this in my whole life. I am serious. The killer's speech feels so real! While reading, I had the feeling that someone was watching me, like... It's scary.
So many mysteries behind every little thing of the investigation... There's a moment when they induce hypnosis in the main victim, Catherine Cordell, so she can remember things from the crime scene, which is also minutely desc...more
So many mysteries behind every little thing of the investigation... There's a moment when they induce hypnosis in the main victim, Catherine Cordell, so she can remember things from the crime scene, which is also minutely desc...more
Although this book is labeled as Rizzoli and Isles #1, only Jane Rizzoli appears in it. If you found your way here from the TV show, you'll find the Rizzoli in the source material quite different from the one on the show. For starters, not only is she a short woman but several characters (including Rizzoli herself) mention how plain she is. In other words, the book Rizzoli is no Angie Harmon. She also has a much less affectionate relationship with her family and male co-workers.
I ne...more
I ne...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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This is a book that I probably would've never picked up on my own but, Amazon offered it briefly as a free download so, I decided to check it out. It is a fairly standard serial killer thriller but, don't let that dissuade you from reading it. "The Surgeon" is gripping suspense and Gerritsen is a gifted story teller.
The story centers around a serial killer in Boston who performs living dissections on his female victims. At times, the story is extremely grizzly but the juxta...more
The story centers around a serial killer in Boston who performs living dissections on his female victims. At times, the story is extremely grizzly but the juxta...more
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Purchased: Audible.Com
What I Loved: This was a very good thriller! I was pretty much on my toes the whole time waiting to see how it was all going to play out. The end was chilling and you can see where the next book is going to pick up. I also appreciated the small abbreviated introductions of characters. It will allow them to grow over the series.
What I Liked: Tess didn't make her leads without faults, they seemed very real to me. The ...more
Purchased: Audible.Com
What I Loved: This was a very good thriller! I was pretty much on my toes the whole time waiting to see how it was all going to play out. The end was chilling and you can see where the next book is going to pick up. I also appreciated the small abbreviated introductions of characters. It will allow them to grow over the series.
What I Liked: Tess didn't make her leads without faults, they seemed very real to me. The ...more
The Surgeon deals with a serial killer who hunts down troubled women and cuts them up with the kind of precision which could come only to a man of medicine. When multiple murders lead the investigating team to a surviving victim of an old serial killer case that occurred a couple of years ago they start understanding the pattern. 'The Surgeon' ,the nick name that the killer gains shows a profile and style that matches the murderer who was killed by his victim two years ago. The theory of copy c...more
If like me you are addicted to the new American TV drama Rizolli and Isles then this is the book for you. Intrigued to see where it all started I decided to read the first in the series. This book is exactly the beginning of the story and although linked to the show by no way depicts stories that you have seen in the show instead enhancing them.
The book features tough cop Rizolli and her relationship with her partner Thomas Moore her first partner. It gives you an insight into her c...more
The book features tough cop Rizolli and her relationship with her partner Thomas Moore her first partner. It gives you an insight into her c...more
If you like mysteries where you can try to put the clues together yourself, this book is not for you. You aren't getting the clues much before most of the characters, and you're not going to be able to guess the murderer early on. On the plus side, this means you don't spend much time frustrated at the characters for being idiots. But it was disappointing to discover that most of my theories were pretty much invalid and there was no way I would have been able to work it all out on my own.
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Wow! What an intense psychological thriller/mystery. This book is a bit grittier and more graphic than I prefer, but I was so caught up in the story, I just had to keep reading to see how this ended.
This is supposedly the first book in the Rizzoli and Isles series and I’m sure it is. If this was the author’s maiden effort, I can conceive that the original focus may have changed since characters and the author grow, evolve and develop. However, I became interested in this series af...more
This is supposedly the first book in the Rizzoli and Isles series and I’m sure it is. If this was the author’s maiden effort, I can conceive that the original focus may have changed since characters and the author grow, evolve and develop. However, I became interested in this series af...more
I tend to read more cozy mystery and less 'thriller' but on the recommendation of patrons I decided to step out of my comfort zone and I did love this book. The characters are strong and quite vivid -- the reader really can hear them talking. The suspense of what is happening now and what happened before was well developed and kept you guessing on what would happen next and when was the bad guy going to be caught.
Dr Catherine Cordell was a victim of a rape/attempted murder in Geor...more
Dr Catherine Cordell was a victim of a rape/attempted murder in Geor...more
This is a Reading Good Books review.
Like I said in my review of Freaks, I am not very familiar with Tess Gerritsen’s work. In fact, this was the first novel that I’ve read from her bibliography. I’ve read a lot of murder mysteries in the past and this was just okay.
Women who are murdered in the most grotesque way have been popping up all over Boston. Their throats are slashed, abdomen cut open, their uterus removed. The cuts made were clean and precise, hinting to the pol...more
Like I said in my review of Freaks, I am not very familiar with Tess Gerritsen’s work. In fact, this was the first novel that I’ve read from her bibliography. I’ve read a lot of murder mysteries in the past and this was just okay.
Women who are murdered in the most grotesque way have been popping up all over Boston. Their throats are slashed, abdomen cut open, their uterus removed. The cuts made were clean and precise, hinting to the pol...more
Precise. Exact. Anatomical. Surgical. Bloody. Horrific. Scientific. Scary. Exciting. Tess Gerritsen’s novel The Surgeon is all of this. And much more. It’s easy to see Gerritsen trained as a doctor. Her knowledge of anatomy shows throughout the novel, almost too much at times for neophytes like me, but it gives the story instant credibility. Moore and Rizzoli are two of several detectives in charge of a murder investigation: several women are found brutally raped and murdered and a part of their...more
Good murder mystery by Tess Gerritsen. This is the first book of the series that inspired the TV series, "Rizzoli and Isles." I do watch that series, but had not read the books. It is harder to read about murder and gore in detail than to watch it! But, the book is (of course) much better. It is disturbing to get into the mind of the killer and be able to read his thoughts, though. Yuck! Our faculty book club is reading murder mysteries that inspired TV shows right now, so I wil...more
The Surgeon is mystery, suspense novel. It is based in Boston Massachusetts and Savannah Georgia. The woman Catherine Cordell is a doctor whom was raped 2 years earlier in Savannah Georgia. She has kept the past in the past and doesn't talk about the rape. She has made her life so that she feels secure and is always on the alert for possible things to happen. Dr. Cordell now lives in Boston and the murders start again. It is believed that Catherine has killed the man responsible in Savann...more
I looked through what my local library offered for this author after the 'Rizzoli & Isles' tv show's first season ended. I was prepared for the difference in characters after what I'd read about the development of the program. I chose this book because it was the earliest written, I could find of either of the shows characters. IT DOES NOT MENTION THE ISLES CHARACTER. I don't know why all the editions of this book say they are on goodreads.com. This edition is also the large print, which is a...more
A thriller/crime book that is going to move me to say wohooooo! really needs to have something unexpected and has to be layered. Because I don't like killers inside of books just because it's a killer book. When it comes to killers then I would want it to have prefix - psycho, but not as in psycho killer as in psychology evaluation, more preferably something deranged. Although, I don't cope well with overly deranged, because what's the point in not sleeping at night.
Nevertheless this...more
Nevertheless this...more
I did enjoy this story but I kind of felt there were a lot of cliched techniques used to create a false sense of suspense, such as red herrings, unlikely mistakes etc. And ugh! This book was too gruesome! We get that its meant to be shocking but the author goes into too much detail in an attempt to ramp up the horror. Mind you, the overly descriptive passages weighed this book down for me. I don't like books that are so heavy on proving they know what they are talking about, you miss what the...more
As a huge thriller buff, I cannot believe I just discovered this author. The novel starts in the voice of the beyond creepy killer and hooks you immediately. You will never sleep with your window open again.
We are introduced to Jane Rizzoli, smart, tough, and her own worst enemy. In fact, I did not love her in this debut but grew to adore her character in later books. Together, she and the very lovable Detective Moore hunt one of the scariest and disturbing criminals you have enco...more
We are introduced to Jane Rizzoli, smart, tough, and her own worst enemy. In fact, I did not love her in this debut but grew to adore her character in later books. Together, she and the very lovable Detective Moore hunt one of the scariest and disturbing criminals you have enco...more
There's a killer stalking his prey in Boston. The victims are killed in a brutal way: cut across the abdomen to remove their uterus and then slashed across the throat. Whomever is killing these women has surgical skill and knowledge. Is it a doctor? Nicknamed "the Surgeon" by the media, he eludes the police until he starts targeting prestigious doctor Catherine Cordell, the only surviving victim of a rash of similar murders in Savannah years ago. Can she help crack the case before...more
This is a combined review of "The Surgeon" and "The Apprentice."
I found and read these books because of the television series "Rizzoli and Isles." I am happy that the TV series led me to this series of books, but I realized immediately that the only thing the books and series have in common is the names of the characters--even though the plot of the pilot is an adaptation of these two books. The series tries to be about the characters/friendship of polic...more
I found and read these books because of the television series "Rizzoli and Isles." I am happy that the TV series led me to this series of books, but I realized immediately that the only thing the books and series have in common is the names of the characters--even though the plot of the pilot is an adaptation of these two books. The series tries to be about the characters/friendship of polic...more
Very bloody medical thriller may nearly scare YOU to death !
Having enjoyed the author's "Gravity", a medical thriller set mostly in space (aboard the shuttle), we wanted to try one of her earthbound offerings. Shake in a bag: Stephen King, for blood-curdling horror; John Sandford, for serial killings galore; and Michael Palmer for a physician's description of real life in the emergency room; and this book might just fall out. Written in first voice of the killer to at t...more
Having enjoyed the author's "Gravity", a medical thriller set mostly in space (aboard the shuttle), we wanted to try one of her earthbound offerings. Shake in a bag: Stephen King, for blood-curdling horror; John Sandford, for serial killings galore; and Michael Palmer for a physician's description of real life in the emergency room; and this book might just fall out. Written in first voice of the killer to at t...more
After watching the new Rizzoli and Isles TV series, I decided to check out the books on which it is based. This book was gripping from the start; suspenseful, scary, creepy, graphic in its medical descriptions, I finished it quickly and immediately requested the next book in the series.
Dr. Catherine Cordell, the main character in this chilling tale, thought she had shot and killed her rapist and would-be murderer two years earlier in steamy Savannah, where he was a surgery intern at...more
Dr. Catherine Cordell, the main character in this chilling tale, thought she had shot and killed her rapist and would-be murderer two years earlier in steamy Savannah, where he was a surgery intern at...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Kerry of Musings of a bookworm
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Shelves:
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This book was reviewed for Musings of a bookworm
The Synopsis
A serial killer is on the loose in Boston. The victims are killed in a particularly nasty way: cut with a scalpel on the stomach, the intestines and uterus removed, and then the throat slashed. The killer obviously has medical knowledge and has been dubbed "the Surgeon" by the media. Detective Thomas Moore and his partner Rizzoli of the Boston Homicide Unit have discovered something that makes this case even mor...more
The Synopsis
A serial killer is on the loose in Boston. The victims are killed in a particularly nasty way: cut with a scalpel on the stomach, the intestines and uterus removed, and then the throat slashed. The killer obviously has medical knowledge and has been dubbed "the Surgeon" by the media. Detective Thomas Moore and his partner Rizzoli of the Boston Homicide Unit have discovered something that makes this case even mor...more
Foi o primeiro livro que li deste autora, por isso, não sabia o que esperar. O enredo foi urdido com inteligência e não sobram pontas soltas no final, no entanto a acção desenrola-se de forma vagarosa mas nunca hesitante. Esta demora deve-se, em parte, à meticulosidade da investigação e não resulta de descrições frívolas. O que distingue este thriller é mesmo a minúcia da investigação forense. Existem algumas imprecisões de tradução nas descrições médicas que se compreendem e não atraiçoam as id...more
Catherine Cordell has rebuilt her life in Boston after having been subjected to a horrifying rape and then shooting her attacker two years previously. But her life is about to be turned upside-down again when the Boston homicide detectives discover a killer who seems to emulate the attacker she shot. With a killer on the loose who targets lone women and subjects them to torture before finally killing them, no woman is safe… especially Catherine Cordell.
The Surgeon is the first book in ...more
The Surgeon is the first book in ...more
Very good thriller that keeps you reading. The evil is always lurking in the background, the reader gets a glimpse into his sick mind from time to time. However, we never get to know his real motive for all the murders and what exactly he gets from the procedures. Probably because there is no plausible reason for it.
I didn't understand some of the decision of the detectives, for example since they knew from quite early on that they have to look for their unsub among the hospital pers...more
I didn't understand some of the decision of the detectives, for example since they knew from quite early on that they have to look for their unsub among the hospital pers...more
This is the first time I've read anything by Tess Gerritsen, and I liked it enough that I will try another one, however I am hoping that they are not all so graphically violent and gory. As a medical mystery, I accept that the gag-inducing descriptions of mutilation, medical procedures and autopsies are part of the package, but Holy Frankenf**k, have mercy on the weak of stomach! Isn't it weird, how thanks to all of the police procedural shows on TV (like CSI!) we all know what a Y-incision is,...more
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Internationally bestselling author Tess Gerritsen took an unusual route to a writing career. A graduate of Stanford University, Tess went on to medical school at the University of California, San Francisco, where she was awarded her M.D.
While on maternity leave from her work as a physician, she began to write fiction. In 1987, her first novel was published. Call After Midnight, a roman...more
More about Tess Gerritsen...
While on maternity leave from her work as a physician, she began to write fiction. In 1987, her first novel was published. Call After Midnight, a roman...more
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“Evil doesn't die. It never dies. It just takes on a new face, a new name. Just because we've been touched by it once, it doesn't mean we're immune to ever being hurt again. Lightning can strike twice.”
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“We never know until the beast of opportunity is staring us in the face.”
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