Review: Die Again by Tess Gerritsen (audio)

Title: Die Again   

Author: Tess Gerritsen   

Series: Rizzoli & Isles, #11   

Narrator: Tanya Eby  

Published: December 2014, Brilliance Audio  

Length: 9 hours 34 minutes  

Source: Personal copy via Audible 

The latest enthralling
case in Tess Gerritsen’s New York Times bestselling Rizzoli & Isles
series, the blockbuster books behind the smash hit TNT series.

Boston
Detective Jane Rizzoli is on the case of a big game hunter found dead
in his apartment, alone with the body of a beautiful white snow leopard
he had recently been commissioned to procure and stuff for a
high-profile museum in the area.

Medical examiner Maura Isles
connects the case to a number of seemingly unrelated deaths where the
victims have all been found hanging upside down, the hallmark of a
leopard’s kill.

Rizzoli follows the puzzling trail of clues all
the way to Botswana, where she uncovers the unsolved mystery of a deadly
camping safari six years prior. When she realizes the two cases are
connected, Rizzoli must track down the sole survivor of the tragic trip
to discover who – or what – is behind these gruesome deaths.

My thoughts: This is one of my favorite series and one that I especially love listening to on audio. I also happen to be a huge fan of the tv show and while the two are different, I love them both just the same!

This book starts with a bang and never really lets up. Taking us from Boston to Botswana, the pace of the book moves along rather quickly. Maura and Jane become involved in a bizarre and twisted case in Boston that they soon realize has ties to a safari gone wrong years earlier in Botswana. And, I have to say, both cases were equally compelling, which isn’t always the case – I wanted to know more about both and was trying my best to figure out what the connection was the whole time.

I love how Tess Gerritsen uses both the first person narrative and the third person narrative to tell this story and to differentiate between who’s point of view it is. She uses the first person with Millie, the lone survivor of the safari, and then uses the third person for Jane and Maura. This really enhances the storytelling and gives Millie’s story line that extra spot light, if you will. 

I also like how, through out the book, when things are tense and heavy, Tess throws in a little family drama to provide some lighter moments. But, at the same time, this only makes sense if you’ve been reading the series in order…something I’m a big fan of – my mantra is: must read series in order!!! Not to say that you can’t just pick this book up and read it as a stand-alone, because you totally could. You could do that with any of the books in this series, but you do miss out on a bit of the character development, in my opinion.

I am definitely looking forward to the next installment of this series, but at least have the tv show to keep me occupied in the meantime, and boy oh boy, do I find myself laughing out loud while watching it. I just love Sasha Alexandra and Angie Harmon – what a great team they make!!! If you read this series, do you also watch the tv show?

Audio Thoughts: I love listening to this series on audio and love that the narrator has been consistent with the last few books. Tanya
Eby does a great job giving the characters their voice, even doing a
good Boston accent, although it only seems to come out occasionally. I really hope she continues to narrate this series!

Books in this series:

1. The Surgeon                                9.  The Silent Girl            
2. The Apprentice                          9.5  Freaks
3. The Sinner                                    9.7  John Doe
4. Body Double                                10.  Last To Die
5. Vanish                                            11  Die Again
6. The Mephisto Club  
7. The Keepsake
8. Ice Cold