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Ice Cold (Rizzoli & Isles #8)

by Tess Gerritsen (Goodreads Author)

4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 · rating details · 12,795 ratings · 1,095 reviews

New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen’s relentless, inventive novels take readers on pulse-racing thrill rides that are as satisfying as they are heart-stopping. Now, in this edge-of-your-seat suspense novel, a mysteriously isolated town stands abandoned as a silent watcher waits.

In Wyoming for a medical conference, Boston medical examiner Maura Isles joins a gr...more

Hardcover, 322 pages

Published June 29th 2010 by Ballantine Books (first published January 1st 2010)

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Oct 22, 2012 İlkim rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, fav-author, thriller, favorites

Bu yorumu Kitap Esintisi sayfasında bulabilirsiniz.

Tess muhteşemdin yine ya. Ben bu kitabı nasıl okudum nasıl bitirdim hiç hatırlamıyorum. En başlarda gerilimden gözüme uyku girmedi, zar zor kenara koyup yattım. Ama ertesi gün affetmedim, okuldaki sıkıcı dersler de saolsun, hızlı bir şekilde sona ulaşmamı sağladılar. Ben Agahta Christie okurken sonlara doğru feci gerilirim, bu kitapta baştan sona gerilim içindeydim. Konusu beni bir çekti ki anlatamam. 7. kitaptan pek tat alamamıştım ama 8 bomba...more Bu yorumu Kitap Esintisi sayfasında bulabilirsiniz.

Tess muhteşemdin yine ya. Ben bu kitabı nasıl okudum nasıl bitirdim hiç hatırlamıyorum. En başlarda gerilimden gözüme uyku girmedi, zar zor kenara koyup yattım. Ama ertesi gün affetmedim, okuldaki sıkıcı dersler de saolsun, hızlı bir şekilde sona ulaşmamı sağladılar. Ben Agahta Christie okurken sonlara doğru feci gerilirim, bu kitapta baştan sona gerilim içindeydim. Konusu beni bir çekti ki anlatamam. 7. kitaptan pek tat alamamıştım ama 8 bomba gibi geldi cidden.

Kitabın ana karakteri Maura idi. Daniel isimli sinir olduğum rahip ile olan ilişkisi yüzünden çok bunalmış, mutsuz bir halde. Aslında birbirlerini seviyorlar ama Daniel bir türlü Maura’yı seçemiyor ve beni uyuz ediyor. 6. kitaptan beri ilişki içindeler ama o nasıl bir ilişki Maura da ben de anlayamıyoruz. İşte Maura böyle bir ruh halinde Wyoming’e seminere gidiyor ve orada eski okul arkadaşına rastlayınca onlarla ufak bir tatil yapmayı kabul ediyor. Tabi çok kısa bir süre sonra kabul etmemeyi diliyor.

Olaylar yanlış yola sapıp arabalarının kara saplanmasıyla başlıyor. Ahret denilen garip bir kasabada gecelerini geçirmeye karar veriyorlar çünkü etrafta gidebilecekleri herhangi bir yer yok. Ama gittikleri kasabada in cin top oynuyor, her şey yarım bırakılmış, sanki hayalaet bir kasaba gibi. Maura ve de arkadaşları bu durumdan bir hayli işkilleniyorlar tabi. Ve grupta meydana gelen bir kaza ile de oraya saplanıp kalıyorlar, kurtarılmayı beklerlerken bir yandan da kayaklarla yola çıkan biri oluyor.

Bu sırada Boston’da Maura’nın eksikliği fark ediliyor ve Jane onu bulmaya kendini adıyor. En başta bulunan bir cesedin Maura olduğu sanılıyor. Hatta cenazesi vs. bile yapılıyor ama son anda Jane’e gelen bir haberle onun olmadığını anlayıp derin bir nefes alıyorlar. Diğer yandan Maura ise ölüm kalım savaşı vermektedir ama ummadığı bir yerden yardım gelir.

Ahret kasabasındaki tarikat da ayrı bir konu. Kitabın açılış sahnesinde zaten ne kadar hasta bir zihniyete sahip bir lider tarafından yönetildiğini görüyorsunuz, ilerledikçe de tarikatın içine dalıyorsunuz. Liderin müritlerine intihar emri verdiğini düşünmemek elde değil. Kitap ilerledikçe aslında başka faktörler de olduğunu görüyorsunuz. Şimdi söylemiyorum burada, yan hikayeleri ve de sonucu öğrenmek istiyorsanız alın okuyun diyorum. Rizzoli’yi benim kadar özlediyseniz eminim hoşunuza gidecektir.

Ps: Bu arada Regina 1.5 yaşına gelmiş minik haylaz. Ellerimde büyüdü velet :D
Ps 2: Bu da sevgili yayınevine. Kitapta konuşan ve bahsedilen kişilerdeki karmaşa sinir etti beni. Jane konuşurken “dedi Maura” cinsinden çok hata vardı. Gerçekten çoktu, durmadan cümleyi tekrar tekrar okumama neden oldular, uyuz oldum.
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Sep 24, 2011 Michael rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: top-rating-books

Wow what a great read. I must confess that The Killing Place is the first Tess Gerritsen book ive read and know im thinking to myself i have to read more of her books pronto. The story starts in curious circumstances with the Sheldon family George, his wife and daughter Katie being in a compound run by the mysterious leader calling himself Jebediah. Jebediah had been studying the young girl for a while something that left me distured. The true meaning of the first chapter would be revealed later...more Wow what a great read. I must confess that The Killing Place is the first Tess Gerritsen book ive read and know im thinking to myself i have to read more of her books pronto. The story starts in curious circumstances with the Sheldon family George, his wife and daughter Katie being in a compound run by the mysterious leader calling himself Jebediah. Jebediah had been studying the young girl for a while something that left me distured. The true meaning of the first chapter would be revealed later and was very disturbing to say the least.

After this we are 16 years in the future Maura Isles is at a medical confrence in Wyoming when she accidently runs into an an college from the past Doug. After having dinner he convinces her to go to cross country ski lodge with daughter and a few of his friends. This trip would proove disasterous for the travellers with first the group getting lost in heavy snowfalls the an accident
forcing them to abandon the car. After one of Dougs friends Arlo gets badlly injured they end up in a mysterious place called Kingdom Come a small settlement that seems to have lost its population despite food being present on tables and animals being dead. With weather worsening and the group getting more agitated and scared things look grim. After this friend and college Jane Rizzoli recieves word of Maura dissapearance and after initially dismissing it soon flies to Wyoming and starts to try and find her friend. Maura and Jane will soon reveal the secrets of Kingdom Come and a sect called The Gathering after meeting a young man calling himself rat and a social worker called Cathy.

The Killing Place kept me thinking right from the first page. The story had it all believable and both likeable and some disturbing characters. The storyline had me continuelly wondering what will happen next. Often i thought i knew how things would end up only for the ending to totally throw me. Admittedly it was a tad bit slow at the start but this did not detract from the story overall. Compelling, disturbing and at times downright terryfying all the ingredients for a top shelf read.(less)

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Oct 11, 2012 E. Chainey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Tess çıkar da ben okumadan durur muyum sizce? Tabii ki hayır:)

Yine Tess, yine sürüklüyor sizi kendisiyle ve yine sonunda ters köşe yapıyor. Aslında hikaye boyunca bir şeylerin sizi sonradan şaşırtacağını biliyorsunuz. Veriyor sinyallerini. Bak, diyor, bildiğin gibi değil aslında hikaye. Ama siz sonlara doğru, "Çözdüm ben bunu, katil sensin değil mi? Seni gidi seni..." desenizde hop tepetaklak yine sizi, "Hadi ya! Yapma be!" hallerine sürüklüyor. Kitapta ölüm de olsa, hüzün de olsa (ki bunlar yaş...more

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Nov 02, 2012 Linda Alexander rated it 5 of 5 stars

One of the reasons I enjoyed 'Ice Cold' to such a degree was due to the story mostly dealing with a cult, because it seems there are quite a few in the U.S. and it is alarming how much control they have over their members' minds. Tess Gerritsen certainly found a hot topic to write about in my opinion.

Tess just really 'hooks' a person at the get-go, and next thing one is so absorbed into the lives of the characters. I started this book on Monday and found myself staying up all night to finish it-...more

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May 27, 2012 Dustin Crazy little brown owl rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Tess Gerritsen Fans

Shelves: goodreads-authors, group-reads, arc, read-in-2010, amazing, worth-reading-again-and-again, read-in-2012

Random House did a 50 copy first reads giveaway for Ice Cold, then through arrangement with Tess Gerritsen, the publisher gave away 5 copies to our small Tess Gerritsen Fans group! I got me an advanced readers copy and loved it! The story is set in the middle nowhere - Wyoming in the winter :-) We see many old friends and meet some new characters that are sure to turn up in future books. ICE COLD worked the same magic on me as Tess's 2008 release, The Keepsake (although I must say The Keepsake r...more

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Sep 30, 2012 Zaczytanie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller

Zapraszamy do przeczytania recenzji tej książki na blogu Zaczytanie.
Możecie ją znaleźć: >>>>>TU!<<<<<

I z góry dzięki za odwiedziny :)

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Jan 03, 2011 LasVegasBookie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

I won this book from Goodreads giveaways.

I've been reading Tess Gerritsen from the very beginning and she is an excellent story teller. I was a little disappointed, though, for a couple of reasons. First, I didn't get the importance of the character Sansone. Who is he? I'm sure he was in past books, but I don't remember and no information was given for me to connect Sansone and Maura in any meaningful way. That bothered me a lot but not enough to google a character search. I would have liked mor...more

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Mar 07, 2010 Dane Jackson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

This was my first dose of Rizzoli and Isles and I liked the experience. This wasn't your typical murder mystery thriller, so I really enjoyed the change of pace. The only drawback is that since this was my first experience in Gerritsen's world, I didn't feel like I got to know Rizzoli and Isles well enough in the novel. Luckily, the book was good, so I have no problem going back to their earlier adventures.

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Dec 12, 2012 Aian rated it 5 of 5 stars

In the Rizzoli and Isles series, this by far creeped the hell out of me, with the "wrong turn” “travel horror” idea. As soon as I started reading the “Maura and the gang being stranded” part I just cannot put the book (or ebook, whatever!) down. I would certainly recommend it to all those suspense-thriller junkies!

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Apr 09, 2013 Ken Consaul rated it 1 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I'm just past halfway through Ice Cold and I figure I ought to comment as I might not make it to the end. This is my first Rizzoli and Isles and probably the last.

The first half of the book was fine, nothing to get excited about, a good premise, a little mystery, throw in some blood curdling scenes. I was even able to get by the endless relationship and broken heart stuff until...

Isles says to her husband "I really need you to support me on this." and he puts his arms around her and she knows he...more I'm just past halfway through Ice Cold and I figure I ought to comment as I might not make it to the end. This is my first Rizzoli and Isles and probably the last.

The first half of the book was fine, nothing to get excited about, a good premise, a little mystery, throw in some blood curdling scenes. I was even able to get by the endless relationship and broken heart stuff until...

Isles says to her husband "I really need you to support me on this." and he puts his arms around her and she knows he is totally on her side. Mickey Spillane doesn't do this. Sam Spade doesn't need emotional support and neither does Philip Marlowe. Not Angela Gennaro nor Harry Bosch. At least no one is sending out the 'hold me, I'm feeling vulnerable right now' message.

SPOILER AHEAD: While in Wyoming, Jane and Gabriel come back to their hotel to find two guys and lovers of Maura the Missing sitting together at a table in the lounge. The reader is supposed to infer that one of them, the gazillionaire is an old lover. Its never explained. Then it just falls apart.

The author describes the rich guy as a man so 'paranoid about his privacy, he rarely goes out in public.' Next paragraph we find the guy had been vacationing in Italy. Probably his own private Italy as the only one I know is public.

Rich guy tells us he just flew in on his private jet when he heard. Problem is, no one has contacted him. There are about a dozen people who even know about the circumstances and only three of them know this guy has an interest. Of the three, one doesn't know about Maura and the other two haven't contacted rich guy or knew he was in Italy and are surprised to see him there. Is Rich guy sitting in a luxury hotel in Milan monitoring police frequencies in Sublette County, WY? Its about 30 hours after the police make an ID and this guy shows up? Still, its a good thing he showed up so they can fly the body back to Boston in his private jet and talk about their relationship with Maura all the way back.

WY made an ID on a charred corpse based on X-Rays that determine the body is female and about the right age and weight. Besides they have the woman's luggage from the wreck. They even did a dental X-ray and determined she had once been to a dentist. Slam dunk on the ID, right?

Back in Boston, the police, FBI and ME decide it might be a good idea to do an autopsy for a more positive ID. They do this after the funeral. Now they have dental records and guess what? Wrong Body. Autopsy unnecessary but all her friends got to stand around in the morgue and grieve over the crispy critter.

Hey, back to Wyoming. We have another major character to introduce with a hundred pages to go and Maura's story has disappeared for about 40 pages so let's pick that up again. When the detectives return to WY they bring clothes and a pillowcase so they can resume the search with dogs. Wait. The police already have her luggage. Why not just open the suitcase and use something?

Just a final slap in the face for the reader. I'm reading a large print copy from the library. The cover has nothing to do with the story.

Once a mytery/thriller writer has jumped the shark this bad, I don't see a point in going on.
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Jan 26, 2013 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This story involving a cult group was almost too close to reality! It was hard to put down as I was hoping for a satisfying ending with the cult leader meeting a gruesomely painful death!!!

Tess writing is so engrossing, her wording is clear and replete which makes it seem like I am watching a movie :-)

Maura is at a conference and smarting from the unsatisfying relationship with Daniel, she meets a former college friend. On a whim, she uncharacteristically decides to leave the conference and go...more

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Nov 05, 2012 Smitha rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-fiction

You know the sort of book that you start reading at 9:00 pm, and is read, cover to cover by 9 in the morning? Because you just CANNOT put it down? Well, this is one of them.

Another crime thriller from Tess Gerritsen. Another one from the Jane Rizzoli-Maura Isles series. Another classic Gerritsen. which has all the ingredients that make it so so so un-put-downable.

Maura Isles is in Wyoming to attend a conference. She runs into an old college mate, and takes up his offer to go along with him, his...more

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Oct 12, 2012 Deborah Ross rated it 4 of 5 stars

Gerritsen is one of my favorite thriller writers, along with Kathy Reichs. I loved studying anatomy, loved human dissection, and so all the forensic blood'n'guts adds to the fascination. Usually, the books are predictable in the sense of I know ahead of time what kind of reading experience I'll have -- police procedural, forensic pathology, a murder mystery with consistent suspense and smart, savvy female protagonists. Every once in a while, a book will rise about the usual, and this is one. The...more

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Jul 16, 2012 Alison rated it 3 of 5 stars

I only recently started to watch the TV series "Rizzoli and Isles". When I ran out of books to read (am on waiting lists for both the library and Library2Go) I browsed books available for immediate download and this was one so I thought, since I'm beginning to enjoy the TV series, why not give the book a chance. Breaking out of her structured life, Maura Isles decides, on impulse, to go away with a young doctor she once knew, with whom she met up with at a medical conference. The conference has...more

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Jul 13, 2012 Rebecca rated it 3 of 5 stars

I got this as an audiobook to keep me awake on a long drive. It definitely did that. I didn't realize that it was part of a series till I got on Goodreads, so that is a plus, and probably explains the random character who showed up halfway through the book and it seemed like I should know who he was but I didn't. It was pretty clean other than language. There is a bit of potty mouth, but its not so prevalent or inappropriate that I felt the need to put it down; but there was more than I usually...more I got this as an audiobook to keep me awake on a long drive. It definitely did that. I didn't realize that it was part of a series till I got on Goodreads, so that is a plus, and probably explains the random character who showed up halfway through the book and it seemed like I should know who he was but I didn't. It was pretty clean other than language. There is a bit of potty mouth, but its not so prevalent or inappropriate that I felt the need to put it down; but there was more than I usually put up with. No sex, and the violence was mild or left to your imagination, not described. I'm still not sure how I feel about the book. I was involved enough with it to shout the questions that the characters did not, and annoyed that the obvious things were not brought up by the law enforcement people. (Really, they think it is okay to shoot at people just because you saw them leaning over an injured person? And no one questioned why he kept shooting at their backs while they ran away?)

I enjoyed listening to the book. I thought it was well done and it was definitely exciting. However, I kind of felt cheated by the book. I know the ending was suppose to be a cunning twist, and it was. But it was kind of a piano out of the sky. I needed an ending that tied in somehow and made the deaths matter. Accidental deaths followed by horrific ones for no good reason.... didn't really work for me. Plus the whole religious angle being used as a red herring. I don't know, I didn't like it. I wanted something a little more neatly connected, with a satisfying ending where bad guys get their just rewards and good guys live happily ever after. I'm just saying, that's what I am looking for. And why I did 3 stars. 3.5 might have been better. The story did not let me fall asleep on a 12 hour straight through drive!

I will probably look for more of the books about these characters. They were well done, and I enjoyed them. We'll see if my perceived plot flaws are in the others.
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May 01, 2012 Rebekah Scott added it

Shelves: 2010

Dr. Maura Isles, Boston medical examiner, is away at a conference in Wyoming when she runs into an old college acquaintance. Impulsively, she accepts his invitation to accompany him and a few friends to a ski lodge for a few nights before she returns home to her complicated, illicit relationship with Father Daniel Brophy. This act of uncharacteristic spontaneity throws Maura into a dangerous situation when the stranded travelers find themselves trapped in a snowstorm.

Forced to take shelter in a...more Dr. Maura Isles, Boston medical examiner, is away at a conference in Wyoming when she runs into an old college acquaintance. Impulsively, she accepts his invitation to accompany him and a few friends to a ski lodge for a few nights before she returns home to her complicated, illicit relationship with Father Daniel Brophy. This act of uncharacteristic spontaneity throws Maura into a dangerous situation when the stranded travelers find themselves trapped in a snowstorm.

Forced to take shelter in a small, remote settlement known as Kingdom Come, Maura and her companions are troubled to discover that the community has apparently been abandoned. With meals left on the tables and cars still in garages, it is evident that something terrible must have happened to the residents of Kingdom Come. Dead pets and blood in one of the twelve identical cabins point to something sinister, and Maura and her friends are desperate to find help.

When an accident severely injures one of the travelers and footprints in the snow reveal the presence of someone watching the group, Maura is determined to ski out in search of rescue despite the fact that her college friend still has not returned from his attempt to find help.

Back in Boston, homicide detective Jane Rizzoli is devastated when she receives word that the badly burned body of Maura has been found in an apparent car crash. Jane and her husband, FBI agent Gabriel Dean fly to Wyoming, determined to find out what happened to their friend.

When the secrets under the snow at Kingdom Come reveal a horrific truth, Jane realizes that what happened to Maura isn’t what it seems, and she must unearth the truth of what really transpired in the small, deserted village.

“Ice Cold” is the 8th entry in the Rizzoli and Isles series from Tess Gerritsen, but it is not necessary to have read the previous installments in order to enjoy this one. The fast pace of “Ice Cold” keeps the pages turning, and the icy winter setting will have you shivering even on the hottest summer day.
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Mar 29, 2012 Star (The Bibliophilic Book Blog) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

Maura Isles is heartbroken – her relationship with Daniel Brophy is bringing her no happiness, as he’s a priest who won’t give up his calling and she doesn't want to force him into a decision. After a bitter argument on the way to the airport, Maura flies from Boston to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to attend a medical conference. There, she meets a former classmate who asks Maura to accompany him and his friends on a trip to a cross-country ski lodge. She agrees, but soon regrets her decision as Doug...more

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Mar 17, 2012 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, crime, library-book, paperback

I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected to. I rate Tess Gerritsen highly as a thriller writer, but something about many of the Rizzoli and Isles books is often dismayingly so-so or mediocre. They're books that are easy to read without thinking about, but ones don't usually make too much of an impression. I tore through this one though, and many things that had bothered me before altered for the better. I'd previously had no patience with Sansone, but he was fine here (though neither he nor Gab...more I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected to. I rate Tess Gerritsen highly as a thriller writer, but something about many of the Rizzoli and Isles books is often dismayingly so-so or mediocre. They're books that are easy to read without thinking about, but ones don't usually make too much of an impression. I tore through this one though, and many things that had bothered me before altered for the better. I'd previously had no patience with Sansone, but he was fine here (though neither he nor Gabriel seemed to have much in the way of actual personality). The Maura-Daniel dynamic finally reached a place it should have done thousands of pages ago. And for really the first time, I actually bought Jane and Maura as friends. I didn't make it through much of the TV adaptation, but one thing that surprised me was how much they seemed to like one another, when in the books, Jane barely even likes herself most of the time. I loved Rat and Bear (view spoiler). I also really enjoyed the plot - the group taking shelter in the deserted hamlet was incredibly creepy, and the cult plot definitely tapped in to my interests. The only thing that didn't really work for me was the structure - it was hard to feel Jane et al's pain over Maura's death when we knew she was still alive the whole time.

I'll close with my favourite passage, just because it gave me happy feelings:

"Rat." She scrambled to catch up. "Listen to me. I have friends, people I trust. Just get me to a telephone."

He paused, his breath clouding the air like a steam engine. "Who are you going to call?"

Daniel was her first thought, but she remembered all the times when she could not reach him, all the awkward phone conversations when others were listening in, and he had been forced to speak in code. Now, when she needed him most, she did not know if she could count on him.

Maybe I never could.

"Who is this friend?" Rat persisted.

"Her name is Jane Rizzoli."(less)

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Jan 28, 2012 Felicia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-read, audible-purchase-2009-to-2011, audiobook

Bought for Myself
Overall Rating 3.5
Story Rating 3.25
Character Rating 3.75
Audio Rating 3.5

NOTE: I love the Rizzoli and Isles series from Tess Gerritsen. Each book brings a really good thriller and usually some really great character development. I would recommend this series to anyone who reads Mystery/Thrillers!

What I Loved: The case in Ice Cold was not straight-forward nor was it easy to figure out. There are some very chilling moments that will make the hair on the back of your head stand up....more

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Aug 26, 2011 Hersilia Press rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Tess Gerritsen worked as a medical doctor: and you can certainly tell. A killing place really keeps you on edge, and without being particularly crude, it manages to come up with situations where even medical science could not help.

This is the eighth in the Rizzoli and Isles series, which was published in the US under the title “Ice Cold”. Forensic anthropologist Maura Isles is at a conference where she meets a former University acquaintance and joins him and some of his friends for a post-confer...more

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Jul 14, 2011 Kimberly Fleming rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: medical-thrillers

I wavered between 3 and 4 stars on this. I finally went with the 4 stars because I decided I liked it better than most of the other books in this series. It had some flaws for me. First, the positive: I couldn't put it down! I read this book in one sitting with only a few breaks for dinner, etc. I was absolutely enthralled! Also, I love how the characters are real characters with real strengths and weaknesses. I hate when characters in books are portrayed as being perfect or unflawed. The thing...more

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Jun 30, 2011 Kyra rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: mystery fans w/ strong stomachs

Shelves: mystery

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Warning Spoilers:

I really enjoy Tess Gerritsen. Even though she often uses the same couple of characters, she manages to keep her books fresh & interesting. So many authors I read get stuck in basically writing the same book over and over again.

I find her characters more refreshing than some others. Espeically her female characters -who in other mysteries tend to be merely ancilliary side characters or the Victim that needs rescuing. I enjoy that Rizzoli is tough and so good at her job (they...more Warning Spoilers:

I really enjoy Tess Gerritsen. Even though she often uses the same couple of characters, she manages to keep her books fresh & interesting. So many authors I read get stuck in basically writing the same book over and over again.

I find her characters more refreshing than some others. Espeically her female characters -who in other mysteries tend to be merely ancilliary side characters or the Victim that needs rescuing. I enjoy that Rizzoli is tough and so good at her job (they really failed in the tv series by making her look like a model though). I love Maura for being so smart & an atheist. I enjoy that she even took what some might consider a daring move by having Maura have an affair with a priest.

She ranges her mysteries from human experiments, sex trafficking, lost sibilings & mothers, occultism, mummies & bog bodies. I feel like I learn a little each time I read her books (like how to make a 'bog body'! :D)

This time she take on cults, which is something I have been very interested in & even took a class in college about. She does present the information very well and realistically (the type of people drawn to them, how they recurit & treat their members, etc.). Somehow though I did not enjoy this book quite as much as some of the previous ones.

The mystery is very well built, the twists & turns do not feel artificial and I was really fooled on exactly what had happened to the town.

I appreciate that her background is medical, but somehow the very graphic description of dismemberment and then rural surgery & then gangrene & madness was a little too much. Also, while I like that she is willing to kill characters and not have the generic 'happy hollywood type ending'. And while I did like that the Cult leader & his victim went down together - I was actually kind of bothered that pretty much everyone except Rat dies. I was hoping the teen kid Grace might be found amongst the cult (like they had kidnapped her for the prophet or something like that). The whole extra 4 people who suffer greatly & then die in a gruesome way due to a confused GPS just felt a little overkill for my taste personally.

The random company that turnred out to be responsible for several of the plot points did feel a little bit smooshed in at the end (in my opinion).

I still liked it, still recommend for those w/ strong stomaches & will still keep reading all her books.

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Jun 23, 2011 Birgit rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is book number eight in the Rizzoli & Isles series by Tess Gerritsen, and as I really love the series it was obviously a must-read for me. Admittedly I wasn't all too happy with the last book "Keeping the Dead", which was only an ok read, but this one certainly made up for it.
Once again a fast-paced page turner with a gripping and solid plot, this time the story focuses mainly on Maura Isles, whose death is anounced too soon and consequently keeps her friends searching for answers. Add...more

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Jun 19, 2011 Don Odom rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It is always a pleasure to stroll the aisles and spot a new book by Tess Gerritsen. Both expectations and anticipation justifiably tend to run very high. However, this particular volume does not come close to approaching the quality of Gerritsen's earlier work. The plot and character development seemed both mechanical and formulaic, and the first two-thirds of the book suffered from what this reader could only consider a major, if not fatal, flaw. Four secondary characters were developed and the...more

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Jun 08, 2011 Danni rated it 4 of 5 stars

In Ice Cold, Gerritsen goes a bit out of the norm for her. Dr. Maura Isles goes to a medical conference that quickly turns bad when she makes the decision to go on an adventure with a friend from college. One sketchy gas station, one scary but non-lethal car accident and more than a few bad decisions left this group of four adults and one thirteen year old girl stranded in a town whose residents seem to have completely disappeared. With no one knowing where she went, Maura was left on her own wi...more

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May 18, 2011 Karen Syed rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: thrillers

Up until the series hit television I had never heard of Rizzoli & Isles. I enjoyed the show and thought I would give the books a try. I downloaded ICE COLD from Audible for my last trip and I was not disappointed.

Since this was my first one, and it was #8 in the series, I was a little lost with some of the character dynamics, but the author did a well wnough job of getting me up to speed. I found ICE COLD fast-paced and solid There were a few places where the internal narrative of the charac...more

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Apr 17, 2011 Cathy rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've read and enjoyed most of Tess Gerriten's books and especially enjoyed the Rizzoli and Isles series.
Ice Cold begins with Maura running from a love affair that's hurting everyone involved. At a medical conference in Jackson Hole she encounters a man she knew in med school. Figuring her tight control over her life is making her miserable, she takes a chance and accompanies the man, his daughter, and his friends on what is supposed to be an overnight trip to a lodge with easy cross country skii...more

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Mar 03, 2011 Steve rated it 5 of 5 stars

Gerritsen gives us a little more of Maura Isles's background here, and shows her outside her comfort zone even before she and several other travellers get caught in a blizzard. The plot escalates logically and powerfully, and the events seem believable even as they build to a horrifying scale.

Gerritsen has always had a dry humor, and she uses it econimically and effectively here. Maura has always been too smart for her own good, and now as she analyzes herself and her doomed (or not) affair with...more

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Feb 21, 2011 Sarah Glenn rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've read several of Tess Gerritsen's novels, but I've never been able to get into her Rizzoli and Isles books. I'm a sucker for a survival story, though, and was intrigued enough by the description on the flyleaf to give it a try. It did not disappoint in that area. Maura's struggle to live through the punishing cold early in the book and, later, eluding would-be killers with the boy Rat were both compelling to me.

I also found myself connecting with Maura on a deeper level than my previous expe...more

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Feb 17, 2011 Mark Young rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is the introduction to an interview I conducted with Tess Gerristen in April 2010.:

New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen writes gripping stories with scalpel-sharp prose. Her characters linger in the reader’s mind long after the story ends and plots snap close with unexpected twists.

Tess Gerritsen uses everything she’s learned in life—a trained physician, daughter of a San Diego restaurateur, anthropologist, wife and mother—to weave believability and freshness into her fiction. H...more

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About Tess Gerritsen

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 romantic thriller...more

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“... he knew that the cruelest of blows too often came with a smile.” — 10 people liked it

“There's that unpredictability factor, that chance that something completely unexpected - something amazing - could happen. That's what makes life an adventure. Sometimes you just have to jump in and trust the universe.” — 3 people liked it

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Ice Cold (Rizzoli & Isles #8)

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