The Blurb:

“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 more chilling. Years ago in Savannah a serial killer murdered in exactly the same way. He was finally stopped by his last victim who shot him as he tried to cut her. That last victim is Dr Catherine Cordell, who now works as a cardiac surgeon at one of Boston’s prestigious hospitals. As the murders continue, it becomes obvious that the killer is drawing closer and closer to Dr Cordell, who is becoming so frightened that she is virtually unable to function. But she is the only person who can help the police catch this copycat killer. Or is it a copycat? To complicate matters even further, Detective Moore, often referred to as Saint Thomas as he continues to mourn the loss of his wife, is getting emotionally involved with the doctor.”

(blurb source: amazon.co.uk)

  What I thought:

One of my favourite things about reading is when I discover a new author and realise that they have written a ton of books that I now have sprawling in front of me! Good times! Being a massive crime fiction fan I am honestly unsure what has kept me from Tess Gerritsen until now. She is BRILLIANT!!! Rarely do I read a book and then have to move straight on to the next in the series (which is exactly what I have done) because I just can’t get enough.

The Surgeon is the name that has been given to a serial killer on the loose in Boston one stiflingly hot summer. He is targeting young women and his calling card is surgery so precise that the investigatig team can only assume that he is a trained professional. The thing that puzzles Detectives Jane Rizzoli and Thomas Moore the most though is that the attacks are identical to ones that took place in Georgia two years ago but ended when one of the intended victims, Dr Catherine Cordell shot the perpetrator dead. Either he has come back to life or there is a copycat at work who knows details of the case that nobody else could know. And even worse, the new attacks are taking place in Boston which is exactly where Catherine Cordell moved to to start a new life…

What I enjoyed about this book as well as the fact that it was so gripping was the fact that there is a lot of forensic science involved - I love being privvy to what the postmortem tells us about the victims last hours, or the fibres and hairs that can tell us more about a perpetrator that you would ever imagine. I found it really interesting as well as being a gripping read.

To sum up: fast paced, gritty, authentic, chilling. READ IT!!!

(I received my copy of this book from Transworld as part of the Great Crime Caper)