I'm a huge fan of Tess Gerritsen's Rizzoli and Isles mysteries. A HUGE FAN! I'm also a HUGE fan of the show based on the books (because, let's face it, Sasha Alexander and Angie Harmon are just made of win). So, when I saw The Silent Girl show up on my Amazon Vine newsletter and found out that there were still copies left to hand out, I was uber excited. Seriously, I almost peed my pants. That's how excited I was. So, I jumped at the chance to read and review it. Now I was going to do this anyway since again I say HUGE FAN! But I got to do this EARLY! Awesome! Tess Gerritsen never really disappoints.

Besides the great mystery that she never fails to have, I always love that in the Rizzoli and Isles mysteries, Tess Gerritsen adds that little extra something in them that sets them apart from other mysteries. They aren't just run of the mill mysteries ala James Patterson (who's mysteries are pure fluff), but T.G.'s (yep, I call her that in my head) mysteries are always embedded with something that I never had a clue about. This time it was about sword-making (awesome) and Chinese Folklore (double and triple awesome).

Now, the Chinese Folklore? Totally my favorite part of The Silent Girl. Not only were the tales intriguing, but they reminded of the Grimms Fairytales in that they're hella creepy and they make you think "Parents actually read THIS to their KIDS?! No wonder kids grow up paranoid!" I loved the whole thing about the Monkey King. It was deliciously creepy and I loved it so much that I had to make sure it wasn't just a great figment of T.G.'s imagination. It wasn't! So now I really want to check out a big ol' book of Chinese Fairytales from my library.

So, if The Silent Girl had a great mystery, sword-making information, and awesome Chinese Fairytales, why did I give it four stars? Well, here's the thing: this book is subtitled "A Rizzoli & Isles Mystery". However, The Silent Girl is more Rizzoli than Isles. And I love me some Isles. Maura didn't really have anything to do in this book. Nothing substantial anyway. Now I understand that Maura was heavily featured in T.G.'s previous novel Ice Cold (which was amazing!), but again I say, I love me some Isles and I really would've loved if she was in The Silent Girl a tad more. Oh, and Frost also annoyed me. He's always getting involved (not necessarily romantically) with women connected to a case. See, in the show, Frost is kick-ass, but in the books? Someone needs to kick his ass.

Anyway, I did really like The Silent Girl. It was intriguing and all around great minus a few minor flaws. However, I am going to say that I don't really think this surpassed the previous Rizzoli and Isles novel Ice Cold. That one was just all around amazing and it was way creepier than The Silent Girl. Still, T.G. did not disappoint. So, four stars.

Oh and if anyone reading these books hasn't checked out the Rizzoli & Isles TV show, I highly recommend it. Sure, the police work is shoddy at best, but the character development more than makes up for it. So make sure to check out the Season 2 premiere July 11 on TNT.