Review: Body Double by Tess Gerritsen

Body Double by Tess Gerritsen

Series: Rizzoli & Isles #4

Ballantine Books

July 2005

Format: Paperback, 432 pages

Source: Library

Boston medical examiner
Dr. Maura Isles literally meets her match–and must face a savage serial
killer and shattering personal revelations–in the brilliant new novel
of suspense by the New York Times bestselling author of The Surgeon and The Sinner.
Dr.
Maura Isles makes her living dealing with death. As a pathologist in a
major metropolitan city, she has seen more than her share of corpses
every day–many of them victims of violent murder. But never before has
her blood run cold, and never has the grim expression “dead ringer” rung
so terrifyingly true. Because never before has the lifeless body on the
medical examiner’s table been her own.

Yet there can be no
denying the mind-reeling evidence before her shocked eyes and those of
her colleagues, including Detective Jane Rizzoli: the woman found shot
to death outside Maura’s home is the mirror image of Maura, down to the
most intimate physical nuances. Even more chilling is the discovery that
they share the same birth date and blood type. For the stunned Maura,
an only child, there can be just one explanation. And when a DNA test
confirms that Maura’s mysterious doppelgänger is in fact her twin
sister, an already bizarre murder investigation becomes a disturbing and
dangerous excursion into a past full of dark secrets.

Searching
for answers, Maura is drawn to a seaside town in Maine where other
horrifying surprises await. But perhaps more frightening, an unknown
murderer is at large on a cross-country killing spree. To stop the
massacre and uncover the twisted truth about her own roots, Maura must
probe her first living subject: the mother that she never knew . . . an
icy and cunning woman who could be responsible for giving Maura life–and
who just may have a plan to take it away.

My thoughts: I am really enjoying reading this series. I started reading it after I fell in love with the television version of the series, starring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander. What I like is that the books are different enough from the tv series that you can easily enjoy both without having anything given away.

So far, of the 5 books I’ve now read in this series (read book #10  last year when it came out as part blog tour), I think this is my favorite book as we really get to know more about Dr. Isles. The previous books have mainly focused on Det. Rizzoli. While the characters in the books do not share the familiar, friendly banter that they do on the tv show, I do like the dynamics between them. 

Body Double is filled with so many twists and turns it kept me glued to the book. A murdered body appears in front of Dr. Isles’ home and at first, the police, including Jane Rizzoli believe it is Maura Isles. When Isles shows up, there is crazy confusion and suddenly she is confronted with finding out about her past. There is so much going on and the tension is so palpable that you just don’t want to put the book down. While the book deals with some gruesome acts, it’s written in such a way as to not be too gory. I find that I really enjoy the descriptions of Dr. Isles doing her job – a job that has earned her the nickname “Queen of the Dead.”

I’m quite anxious to continue reading this series. As I mentioned above, I did read book 10 and there were quite a few story lines that are mentioned that will hopefully be explained more fully in some of the books leading up to that one. 

What about you? Have you read this series or watched any episodes of the tv show?

Books in this series:

1. The Surgeon                                7.  The Keepsake            
2. The Apprentice                          8.  Ice Cold
3. The Sinner                                    9.  The Silent Girl
4. Body Double                                9.5  Freaks
5. Vanish                                            9.7  John Doe
6. The Mephisto Club                    10.  Last to Die