By: Tess Gerritsen
ISBN: 978-0593497135
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: 07/05/2022
Format: Other
Narrator: Tanya Eby
Brilliance Audio
My Rating: 4 Stars (ARC)
Rizzoli & Isles are back! From New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen, this “shocking and fast-paced” (Karin Slaughter) thriller has Jane and Maura investigating a brutal murder with dire implications, and this time, with Jane’s intrepid mother, Angela, looking into a mystery of her own.
“Absolutely first-rate—readers will be thrilled and delighted by this new Rizzoli & Isles outing!”—Shari Lapena, New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door
Mothers know best . . . But who will listen?
Boston homicide detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles are newly plagued by what seems like a completely senseless murder. Sofia Suarez, a widow, and nurse who was universally liked by her neighbors, lies bludgeoned to death in her own home. But anything can happen behind closed doors, and Sofia seemed to have plenty of secrets in her last days, making covert phone calls to traceless burner phones. When Jane finally makes a connection between Sofia and the victim of a hit-and-run from months earlier, the case only grows more blurry. What exactly was Sofia involved in? One thing is clear: The killer will do anything it takes to keep their secret safe.
Meanwhile, Angela Rizzoli hasn’t had a decent night’s sleep in all the years since her daughter became a homicide detective. Maybe the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree: Nothing in Angela’s neighborhood gets by her—not the gossip about a runaway teenager down the block and definitely not the strange neighbors who have just moved in across the street. Angela’s sure there’s no such thing as coincidence in her sleepy suburb. If only Jane would listen—instead she writes off Angela’s concerns as the result of an overactive imagination. But Angela’s convinced there’s a real wolf in her vicinity, and her cries might now fall on deaf ears.
With so much happening in the Sofia case, Jane and Maura already struggle to see the forest for the trees, but will they lose sight of something sinister happening much closer to home?
"She has an imagination that allows her to conjure up depths of human behavior so dark and frightening that she makes Edgar Allan Poe and HP Lovecraft seem like goody-two-shoes... In Gerritsen's cool, capable hands, even the bleakest horrors can be probed and eventually explained."
—CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Praise
“Suspenseful and clever—nobody is who they seem to be in this shocking and fast-paced mystery.”
—New York Times and internationally bestselling author Karin Slaughter
“I loved Listen to Me. Only the super-talented Tess Gerritsen can meld multiple storylines so successfully while she keeps the twists coming, the pages turning, and the blood spray arterial.”
—Lisa Scottoline, #1 bestselling author of What Happened to the Bennetts
“Gerritsen walks that high wire between humor and suspense without ever falling off as she plays a great game of bait and switch with her readers.”
—Linwood Barclay, New York Times bestselling author of Take Your Breath Away
“Outstanding . . . Listen to Me is Gerritsen at her best!”
—Kathy Reichs, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Temperance Brennan "Bones” series
“You need to Listen To Me and read Tess Gerritsen’s new thriller. It’s fiendishly well-plotted. You won’t work it out until the very end—guaranteed. I enjoyed every single line!”
—Lesley Kara, internationally bestselling author of The Rumor
My Review
Rizzoli & Isles return!
Tess Gerritsen is back with her popular Rizzoli & Isles #13 series with Boston homicide detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura and some fun with Jane's mom, Angela, in LISTEN TO ME.
It has been five years since the last book; however, no worries about reading the past books; you will catch up and can be read as a standalone.
Alternating POVs, we hear from Jane (detective), Maura (medical examiner), Angela (Jane's mom), and Amy (small part, a victim of a hit and run). Past and present.
The case: ICU nurse, Sofia Suarez, has been bludgeoned to death. Why would anyone target a respected nurse well-liked by her friends and neighbors? Sofia was guarding a dangerous secret — a secret that may have led the killer straight to her. The killer will do anything it takes to keep their secret safe.
Angela Rizzoli: Jane's mom is a busybody in her neighborhood (the watcher) and sees and hears everything. You gotta love her! However, she continues to blow up Jane's phone with reports driving her nuts.
MOTHERS KNOW BEST BUT WHO WILL LISTEN?
Jane of course ignores her (in the beginning). Something's wrong with the new neighbors, and she's determined to find out what's happening. She says someone has been kidnapped. But Jane has other worries.
Angela's quirky personality is witty, and she wants to help everyone. She adds a lot of laughs to the novel and constantly calls Jane, questioning her abilities as a detective.
Jane and partner Barry Frost are investigating the nurse's murder and the abduction of another woman. Jane and Maura dig deep into solving a homicide and its connection to a random hit-and-run of a young girl who is being stalked.
Amy, the physician's daughter who ran the ICU where Sofia worked, was involved in a hit-and-run accident months earlier.
Are all three threads connected, and how?
Gerritsen effortlessly switches between the parallel storylines, and although they are both compelling and complex, Angela steals the show, and you cannot help but be drawn to her with her dramatic flair to solve the mystery.
It was great spending time with Jane and Maura, as they are immersed in the brutal murder case; however, I have to say Jane's mom, Angela was my favorite character in this book. Maura's role was not as prominent in this one since Angela's storyline took a more significant part.
The burning question is, could Angela have her own spin-off series?
EVERY HOUSE, EVERY FAMILY, HIDES A SECRET.
A solid mystery suspense crime thriller, clever, and engaging series with relatable characters. Action-packed, suspenseful, fast-paced, engaging, and witty. As always, Tess is a pro at maneuvering forensics and police procedurals, well-developed relatable characters, and twisty plots to keep you glued to the pages.
Fans will devour this one, and new fans will be ready to jump on board the R&I train. LISTEN TO ME is an excellent addition to the series, and I highly recommend all of them.
A special thank you to #RandomHouse #Ballantine and #NetGalley for an ARC to read, enjoy, and review.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 4 Stars ✨✨✨✨
Pub Date: July 5, 2022
July 2022 Must-Read Books
About the Author
Photo Credit: Jacqueline de Haas
Bestselling author Tess Gerritsen is also a physician, and she brings to her novels her first-hand knowledge of emergency and autopsy rooms. Her thrillers featuring homicide detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles inspired the hit TV series Rizzoli & Isles. But Gerritsen's interests span far more than medicine and crime. As an anthropology student at Stanford University, she cataloged centuries-old human remains, and she continues to travel the world, driven by her fascination with ancient cultures and bizarre natural phenomena. WEBSITE
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