October 13, 2014
In bestseller Gerritsen’s spellbinding 11th novel featuring Det. Jane Rizzoli of the Boston PD and medical examiner Maura Isles (after 2012’s Last to Die), Leon Gott, taxidermist and avid hunter, is eviscerated in his West Roxbury home, and the rare snow leopard pelt he was preserving is stolen. Rizzoli and Isles suspect that Gott’s death is related to the Botswana safari on which his son vanished six years earlier—and to a murderous sub-Saharan African cult and unsolved killings across the U.S. Gerritsen alternates the search for a cunning human predator with the first-person narrative of Millie Jacobson, the safari’s only survivor, who adds to the visceral horror with her account of how a group of trapped, terrified people turned on each other. Backstory and character development are occasionally sacrificed to pacing, but Gerritsen excels at describing the harsh, often lethal majesty of the Okavango Delta in this satisfying page-turner sure to please longtime Rizzoli and Isles fans and new readers alike. Author tour. Agent: Meg Ruley, Jane Rotrosen Agency.
Starred review from November 15, 2014
A not-for-the-squeamish murder mystery set in both Boston and Botswana.The trouble starts on a safari in Botswana's Okavango Delta. Former Londoner Millie Jacobson narrates in the present tense about her vacation to hell, from which she emerges much the worse for wear-but the others on the trip don't emerge at all. Years later in Boston, Detective Jane Rizzoli and Medical Examiner Maura Isles investigate the death of renowned taxidermist Leon Gott, who never met a big animal he didn't want to shoot and stuff. Through relentless digging, Rizzoli and Isles uncover connections between the two events. Jacobson's chapters are filled with fear and tension; she's a city woman who quickly learns that in the African bush, "every creature that's born will ultimately be eaten." Long after her ordeal should be over, Millie tells her 4-year-old daughter that "the world is a place of peace and light," so the girl "does not know that monsters are real." Oh, but Millie knows. Sitting at her computer one evening, "I click the mouse. I might as well have lit the fuse on a stick of dynamite." Fans of the Rizzoli and Isles novels already know what to expect: a pair of smart women underestimated by some of their colleagues and with a knack for being where the gore is. They are sympathetic pros with problems of their own-Isles' mother is dying in prison, and Rizzoli's mom is "psychotically depressed." The characters are strong-who can't be intrigued by a name like Johnny Posthumus?-and the plot is tight and believable, except for the Boston Police Department's springing for round-trip flights to and from Cape Town, South Africa. Readers may have to suspend disbelief on that detail, but the other seemingly disparate pieces fit together well. Mystery lovers not familiar with the author's work should brace themselves, because they might trip over a bucket of entrails. But they will also find a terrific storyteller.
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October 1, 2014
Boston homicide detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles are summoned to the home of Leon Gott, a well-known big-game hunter and taxidermist. He has been eviscerated, and his nude body hung upside down, his ankles bound with nylon cord. Despite the gruesome scene and the overpowering stench, the two women immediately begin processing the clues, and what they find leads them to the wilds of Botswana. It was there six years earlier that Gott's son, Elliot, and other members of his tourist group were slaughtered while on safari. Then Rizzoli and Isles discover that Elliot's former fianc'e was murdered the same day as Gott. As the two work feverishly to connect the cases, old issues continue to haunt them, among them Jane's mother, who has agreed to take back her philandering husband despite her newfound happiness with another man, and Maura's mother, a jailed psychopath with a terminal illness who wants to reconnect with her daughter. Gerritsen expertly creates a sinister atmosphereespecially when the scene shifts to Botswana and the terrorized touristswhile also working in lively commentary on the ethics of big-game hunting. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: A national marketing campaign, coupled with the popularity of the Rizzoli & Isles TV show, will no doubt propel Gerritsen once again to a prominent slot on most best-seller lists.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)
July 1, 2014
Boston detective Jane Rizzoli sees a connection between the death of a big game hunter, found with the body of a white snow leopard he had been commissioned to find and stuff, and other, seemingly random cases. All the victims were hanging upside down, which is how leopards treat their kills. Now Rizzoli is tracking clues all the way to Botswana. Gerritsen's latest, Last To Die, debuted at No. 3 on the New York Times best sellers list, and she's expected to keep up her record.
Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
November 1, 2014
Crime-solving duo Det. Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles return in Gerritsen's tenth novel in this popular series (after Last To Die). The book opens with an unknown woman describing an idyllic tourist safari in the Okavango Delta in Botswana, soon rendered horrifying by the death of an African tracker. The scene then switches to present-day Boston, where the body of a highly respected taxidermist and avid big-game hunter is found trussed and gutted like a hunting trophy. Rizzoli is called in, and soon it becomes clear that the murder is not an isolated event. The investigation proceeds with plenty of plot twists. The complex collaboration between Rizzoli and Isles hits a few bumps, and peripheral supporting characters add depth and humor to this page-turning story. The descriptions of the beauty and dangers of the Okavango Delta will satisfy armchair travelers. VERDICT Longtime readers will enjoy the well-crafted story arc and the continuing development of Rizzoli and Isles's relationship. For new readers, this title can stand on its own as a compelling forensic procedural. [See Prepub Alert, 6/8/14; for another thriller set in Okavango, see also Tony Park's The Delta, ow.ly/Cyw2A.--Ed.]--Terry Lucas, Rogers Memorial Lib., Southampton, NY
Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.