The Apprentice (Rizzoli & Isles, #2) in Ask Lisa Gardner and Tess Gerritsen

Jan 23, 2020 Jess d'Artagnan rated it liked it · review of another edition

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The Apprentice is the second book in Tess Gerritsen’s Rizzoli and Isles series. It picks up from The Surgeon with a killer that has eerie similarities in his calling cards to the Surgeon that Jane threw in jail a year ago. Jane Rizzoli is back while Thomas Moore has retired. New on the scene is Maura Isles and this is the first-time readers meet Maura. This book, like the first book, is told from third person limited primarily from Jane Rizzoli’s point of view.

As mentioned in my review of The Su The Apprentice is the second book in Tess Gerritsen’s Rizzoli and Isles series. It picks up from The Surgeon with a killer that has eerie similarities in his calling cards to the Surgeon that Jane threw in jail a year ago. Jane Rizzoli is back while Thomas Moore has retired. New on the scene is Maura Isles and this is the first-time readers meet Maura. This book, like the first book, is told from third person limited primarily from Jane Rizzoli’s point of view.

As mentioned in my review of The Surgeon, I am re-reading the entire series this year, paying close attention to how Gerritsen explores the concept of evil. In The Apprentice the theme of evil focuses on how everyone has dark secrets. It also explores the question of whether people are born evil or if they are made evil through a combination of biology and environment—the age old “nature versus nurture” question. The book does not take a firm stand on either side of the debate but rather finds a grey area in between. It seems that, while some people may be born evil, others are turned that way as a result of their life experiences, part of which includes brain trauma to the frontal lobe. Gerritsen’s background as a doctor really shines in this novel.

Another story I wanted to track into the second novel was that of, Karl Pachecko, the unarmed man Rizzoli murders in The Surgeon. This event is one that I don’t think would simply be brushed aside as it would have lasting effects on Jane’s psychology as well as her standing as a police officer. It took a while for The Apprentice to get there, but there is mention of this situation. Rizzoli expresses regret and a sense of being haunted by the incident that I felt was in line with what may happen in reality. Jane is also closely monitored and often thought unstable throughout the book. She is threatened multiple times to be sent to mandatory counseling and to be taken off her current case due to mental health concerns which I think would also line up accurately following the events in The Surgeon.

Overall, this is a solid second novel and provides readers with an exciting glimpse into a character that will soon play a huge role in the series (Maura Isles). ...more

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