The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen

I love the premise of retired CIA operatives getting involved in solving crimes again. A bit like the movie RED, The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen is a rollercoaster - both fun and thrilling. There are two timelines (with the events in the past shedding light on what's happening in the present).

Immensely readable, with quirky lovable characters. This is the first book in the Martini Club series, and I hope there will be many more.

Blurb:

Former spy Maggie Bird came to the seaside village of Purity, Maine, eager to put the past behind her after a mission went tragically wrong. These days, she’s living quietly on her chicken farm, still wary of blowback from the events that forced her early retirement.

But when a body turns up in Maggie’s driveway, she knows it’s a message from former foes who haven’t forgotten her. Maggie turns to her local circle of old friends―all retirees from the CIA―to help uncover the truth about who is trying to kill her, and why. This “Martini Club” of former spies may be retired, but they still have a few useful skills that they’re eager to use again, if only to spice up their rather sedate new lives.

Listen to Me by Tess Gerritsen

"Listen to Me" by Tess Gerritsen is the latest thriller (Book 13) in the Rizzoli & Isles series, though it can absolutely be read as a stand-alone.

I loved this book because of its topical themes, the clever plot and the fantastic characters. I particularly loved the parts narrated by Angela (Jane's mother) - what a refreshing point of view, and a vindication of all the busybodies behind twitching net curtains.

I know a secret

I always look forward to Tess Gerritsen releases. One day, I hope to be on her beta-reader lists, but until then, I read her books the day they come out.


"I know a secret" is an Isles and Rizzoli thriller (the series is called Rizzoli and Isles, but to me, Maura Isles is the more fascinating character), with your usual-for-Gerritsen unusual serial killer, a good dollop of horror and a lot of character study. Loved it.

Blurb:
Two separate homicides, at different locations, with unrelated victims, have more in common than just being investigated by Boston PD detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles. In both cases, the bodies bear startling wounds—yet the actual cause of death is unknown. It’s a doubly challenging case for the cop and the coroner to be taking on, at a fraught time for both of them. As Jane struggles to save her mother from the crumbling marriage that threatens to bury her, Maura grapples with the imminent death of her own mother—infamous serial killer Amalthea Lank.

While Jane tends to her mother, there’s nothing Maura can do for Amalthea, except endure one final battle of wills with the woman whose shadow has haunted her all her life. Though succumbing to cancer, Amalthea hasn’t lost her taste for manipulating her estranged daughter—this time by dangling a cryptic clue about the two bizarre murders Maura and Jane are desperately trying to solve.

But whatever the dying convict knows is only a piece of the puzzle. Soon the investigation leads to a secretive young woman who survived a shocking abuse scandal, an independent horror film that may be rooted in reality, and a slew of martyred saints who died cruel and unusual deaths. And just when Rizzoli and Isles think they’ve cornered a devilish predator, the long-buried past rears its head—and threatens to engulf more innocent lives, including their own.

The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen

I'm fussy about my historical fiction. It's not that I don't like it, I do. The problem is, many authors take their poetic license too far, making 19th century heroines act like today's girls or mentioning matches in Ancient Rome books... or falling into the contrasting trap of speaking in Chaucer's English .

So it took me a while to pick up Tess Gerritsen's Bone Garden. I needn't have worried, In Tess's skilled hands, 1830 Boston comes to life with ease and authenticity. Ok, I wasn't around at the time, but the world feel real. You can feel the cold. Your nostrils fill with the stench. You scratch your head when you read about the lice.

Oh, did I mention it's also a first-rate thriller? And, unusually for my, I didn't guess the killer's identity.

Die Again

It was strange reading Tess Gerritsen latest Die Again: (Rizzoli & Isles 11) while visiting South Africa, as a lot of the action is set in the Cape and Botswana. Loved it all the more for it. For the traditionalists, relax, Boston still features in a major way. You will love the plot, its twists and turns, you will love the character development. While the mystery is solved, Dr Isles still has some stuff to figure out in the next book. Can't wait!

YES! A new Tess Gerritsen!

LAST TO DIE is Tess Gerritsen's latest novel, the tenth in her Isles-Rizzoli series (note that to me they are Isles-Rizzoli, not Rizzoli-Isles, a no-brainer who my favourite character is). Read why Tess wrote LAST TO DIE, and I'll review the book as soon as I can get my hands on it.

Hmmm... a paper book order from Amazon (and then the wait while the book flies to New Zealand)?
A trip to the local book store (trying and failing to park the car within two kilometre radius) hoping they have it?
A Kindle download? (Means I can't read it on the run if I let the charge run out.)

Decisions, decisions.