I'm a new fan! | The Surgeon: A Novel

Great Book, But. . . | The Surgeon: A Novel | Tess Gerritsen

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	• The Surgeon: A Novel Tess Gerritsen Ballantine Books, 2002 - 368 pages average customer review:based on 159 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A good, entertaining read.

This was a free download, and I was pleased that this was not a second-rate novel. Fast-paced, detailed, and suspensful.

I'm a new fan!

I had never heard of Tess Gerritsen prior to Amazon offering a free Kindle download of "The Surgeon." It sounded interesting, so I gave it a try. I'm so glad I did!

As another reviewer stated, it was similar to the style of "Silence of the Lambs" or "Hannibal." Each of the main characters are fully fleshed out, and their individual personalities are very distinct. I found myself empathizing with Detective Moore, disliking (at least initially) Jane Rizzoli, and fearing for Dr. Cordell.

The medical terminology was over my head a few times, but it lends credence to the scenes in the ER. The author effectively places you in the midst of all the action, and you sometimes forget you're reading a book.

There aren't many books that I have difficulty putting down, but "The Surgeon" kept me up way beyond my bedtime.

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Great Book, But. . .

The ending is a blatant rip-off of the climax of The Silence of the Lambs. A very well-written rip-off, but a rip-off all the same.

Otherwise, I thought this was a great book, well developed characters, good backgrounds on all of them, and avoidance of most cliches. The only thing I really didn't like was the characterization of Jane Rizzoli. She's the book's other female protagonist, someone we should be empathizing with, and to me, she just came off as a grade-A, you-know-what. Defensive about everything and uber-hostile to Catherine Cordell because she's attractive, and generally in need of a good smackdown.

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"Thoracic Surgery for Dummies"

Although I found the narrative generally compelling and suspenseful, I was relieved to come to the final page. At times it seemed that Dr. Gerritsen was repeating a procedure for her surgery residents; "Watch this again, students." And again.

As a newcomer to Gerritsen's books, I never realized that this was part of a Jane Rizzoli series. Although that character was nicely developed, she was far from the most engaging character. The italicized "thoughts of the creepy villain" seemed unnecessary interruptions of the flow; he was at no point sufficiently interesting to deserve all that space.

If you enjoy gruesome and scary, but don't require an exciting love angle, you may love this one. I found it somewhat unsatisfying.

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Good Book, bad execution

I was very anxious getting my hands on this book after I had read all the reviews. The book started out very tense, and I liked the pace. However, towards the middle of the book I had this sneaking suspicion that the "killer" would be somebody the reader had never actually "met". It turned out to be a anonymous person who is always "hidden from the reader" until the very, very end. Unfortunately, that's what spoiled the book for me. I felt let down by the author who decided to drop the suspect right in front of me over the last 20-30 pages without any prior introduction.

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In her most masterful novel of medical suspense, New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen creates a villain of unforgettable evil--and the one woman who can catch him before he kills again.

He slips into their homes at night and walks silently into bedrooms where women lie sleeping, unaware of the horrors they soon will endure. The precision of the killer's methods suggests he is a deranged man of medicine, propelling the Boston newspapers and the frightened public to name him "The Surgeon."

The cops' only clue rests with another surgeon, the victim of a nearly identical crime. Two years ago, Dr. Catherine Cordell fought back and killed her attacker before he could complete his assault. Now she hides her fears of intimacy behind a cool and elegant exterior and a well-earned reputation as a top trauma surgeon.

Cordell's careful facade is about to crack as this new killer recreates, with chilling accuracy, the details of Cordell's own ordeal. With every new murder he seems to be taunting her, cutting ever closer, from her hospital to her home. Her only comfort comes from Thomas Moore, the detective assigned to the case. But even Moore cannot protect Cordell from a brilliant hunter who somehow understands--and savors--the secret fears of every woman he kills.

Filled with the authentic detail that is the trademark of this doctor turned author . . . and peopled with rich and complex characters--from the ER to the squad room to the city morgue--here is a thriller of unprecedented depth and suspense. Exposing the shocking link between those who kill and cure, punish and protect, The Surgeon is Tess Gerritsen's most exciting accomplishment yet.

From the Hardcover edition.

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