I KNOW A SECRET by Tess Gerritsen
Now that TNT’s hit series “Rizzoli and Isles” has ended its run, it is up to Tess Gerritsen to keep us up to date with these two by continuing to build novels around them. They first came to life in her novels and she has kept them a part of the literary scene even as the TV series grew and diverged from the world they occupied there.
Now with her latest novel I KNOW A SECRET, Gerritsen takes her readers back to the “Other world” of Rizzoli and Isles. This is the world where police detective Jane Rizzoli is married and the mother of an eight year old daughter. She also still has Barry Frost as her partner. Medical Examiner Maura Isles is still pursuing the unattainable priest with whom she has been involved romantically on and off for years. This is not the world of the TV show.
In I KNOW A SECRET Jane is trying to solve a couple of murders that are proving difficult to understand. The main issue is Maura can not lock down a cause of death. As more bodies are determined to be a part of a series of deaths, linked together by the fact each is staged to look the same way as the death of a Catholic martyr. When this fact is revealed the hunt for the killer takes off with a vengeance.
It takes about half the book to put the TV show out of your mind, but event is not an easy feat she pulls off. Having watched the TV series the characters and plot points are embedded in your mind. Showing her talent Gerritsen quickly has a “family scene” where her Jane’s husband and daughter are in attendance as well as her father, mother and brother Frankie, who is not a member of the police force.
She also quickly gets Maura involved once more with Daniel, the priest with whom she has had an off on romantic involvement for several years. Maura’s character was always more vague than Jane’s in the TV series and this quick reestablishment of the romantic angle pulls readers back into the literary world of Rizzoli and Isles.
For a variety of reasons the “Rizzoli & Isles” TV concept was never as dark and deep as the books on which the series was based. I KNOW A SECRET captures the readers attention from the start and plays a serious game of who is killing who. This story can not be dealt with lightly and by the time it is over all readers know this is a story of depth and passion. Rizzoli and Isles are serious people committed to their jobs and this is a serious situation which commands the best of their skills.
Now that the TV series has ended we can get back to the real Jane and Maura. If I KNOW A SECRET is any indication there are a lot of engrossing chapters still ahead in their lives
I KNOW A SECRET is published by Ballantine Books. It contains 336 pages and sells for $28.00.
Jackie K Cooper
www.jackiekcooper.com
