Vanish - Hardcover

Gerritsen, Tess

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0593053516 ISBN 13: 9780593053515

Publisher: Bantam Press, 2006

Synopsis

The beautiful woman appears to be just another corpse in the morgue. But when medical examiner Maura Isles looks down at the body, she gets the fright of her life. The corpse opens its eyes. Now very much alive, the woman is rushed to the hospital, where she murders a security guard and seizes hostages, one of whom is the heavily pregnant homicide detective Jane Rizzoli. But who is this woman, and what does she want? Only Jane can solve the mystery - if she survives the night.

About this title

Review:

Tess Gerritsen’s Vanish sports precisely those qualities that her much-acclaimed Body Double had in profusion: razor-sharp plotting, tight and economical characterisation and (most of all) the inexorable capture of the reader’s attention as her grim plot disturbingly unfolds.

Of course, none of this will come as a surprise to long-term Gerritsen fans (an ever-growing legion)--The Surgeon rang some fascinating changes on the serial killer theme, with a threat from the grave terrifying a doctor, and )--The Apprentice, with its killer utilising medical acumen, took no prisoners. But Body Double was the ace in the hole, with resourceful cop Jane Rizzoli tracking down the murderer of her doppelganger. Jane Rizzoli, readers will be glad to hear, is back in Vanish.

Medical examiner Maura Isles is looking at another body in a slab. Not a new experience for her, but she’s in for another shock when the body opens its eyes and proves to be alive. And violence swiftly follows, as the mystery woman--strikingly beautiful--kills a security guard in the hospital she’s taken to, before capturing a group of hostages. One of them is a pregnant woman--Detective Jane Rizzoli, no less. And if Jane can find out what this lethal abductor wants, she may be able to save her own life--and those of the other hostages. But the clock is ticking.

One might argue that Gerritsen has played safe with this scenario in terms of ratcheting up the tension. After all, a hostage situation is always surefire, with its constant threat of impending violence. But the author (as ever) studiously avoid clichés, and ensures a palm-sweating experience for the reader. A good notion, too, to make Jane Rizzoli more vulnerable in this outing.

--Barry Forshaw

Review:

"It's scary how good Tess Gerritsen is." (Harlan Coben)

About this edition

• Publisher: Bantam Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0593053516
• ISBN 13: 9780593053515
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352