Rating: 
Summary: Did I miss something??
Review: Maybe I missed something that everybody else caught, but I found the book, somewhat lame.I thought the characters were weakly portrayed, and the story line very predictable. I had to force myself to pick it back up and finish it to the last page. Only glad it was borrowed, and not purchased
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Summary: suspenseful story with good twists
Review: Medical Examiner Maura Isles is called to a cloistered convent where one novitiate lies bludgeoned to death by a hammer and an older nun lies near death. The autopsy of the young nun reveals a shocking surprise, she had recently given birth. Dr. Isles and Detective Jane Rizzoli investigate for the answers to the many questions this case raises. Why would two nuns with no contact with the outside world be attacked? Before too long a gruesome third killing is tied to the nuns attack and the FBI become involved. In addition to the investigation, Isles and Rizzoli must confront unresolved issues from their pasts that interweave with a crime that goes far beyond the murder of nuns and an unidentified woman. Jane Rizzoli has appeared in THE SURGEON and THE APPRENTICE. It is not necessary to read the former stories to enjoy THE SINNER, but it helps with character development. Also, both earlier books are excellent. This is not a book for the faint-hearted. The crime scenes and autopsies are very graphic. The book is well plotted with some really good twists, and it really keeps you reading. I liked the characters, but both women seem to be a little more intelligent in their careers than in their private lives. The ending was a bit to pat and was a little bit of a letdown after the promise of the strong beginning and middle of the book. Overall, it was not quite as good as the previous Rizzoli books, but still far superior to most medical/forensic thrillers.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Read!!!
Review: Although I was loath to put this book down until the final page, it still was not as gripping as her last two books. Still if you like medical thrillers you can't go wrong with Ms. Gerritsen. Without giving too much of the plot away the opening takes us to India and a massacred village. Then we are back in Boston at a brutal murder of a young novice and the injury of an older nun. The violence is unbelievable and there seems to be no indication of motive. But when the investigation moves forward ties between the murder of the young novice and the murder of an unidentified women in an abandon building are linked by bizzare circumstances. Detective Jane Rizzoli and Dr. Maura Isle work together to bring a killer to justice. I enjoyed reading about Jane and I actually liked that Ms. Gerritsen was willing to portray this strong woman with normal human feelings of not thinking that she can do it all. I don't feel that romance was a huge part of the book. I'm a huge romance genre fan and the romance between Jane and Agent Gaberial Dean was way far back on the back burner and since I have been reading all the books involving Jane I was happy to see this relationship was continued and developed. As for the romance issue with Dr. Isle I feel that it played a part in the storyline and again this was not a priority in the plot. Yes, this book is not as griping as her last two...but then it is dealing with a different type of killer. This book is worth picking up just keep and open mind and don't expect it to be like her others. Suspense is at a premium and favorite characters from previous book are included. If you have not read the last few books by Ms. Gerritsen don't worry, this book is still a stand alone story and by no means relys on previous titles. This is a fast paced read and a good way to spend a weekend.
Rating: 
Summary: Exciting and emotionally deep
Review: Dr. Maura Isles sees a lot of death--the cops even called her Queen of the Dead. Still, the two nuns, one murdered, the other near death, are a little much to take. When she discovers that the younger nun had recently given birth, the mystery seems largely solved. But deeper currents run through the mystery and soon the feds bring in evidence connecting this and other murders to a massacre that took place in distant India. Isles pushes herself to continue the investigation, to find the possible connection. What she finds is more damaging than she could have imagined. In a strange way, even Isles becomes a victim. Detective Jane Rizzoli suspects that she may be pregnant as a result of a brief affair with a fed. The autopsy on the dead nun's baby pushes her to the limit. But she swears she'll find out the truth. The truths she finds, however, are about something deeper than simply crime. Author Tess Gerritsen writes an emotionally compelling and exciting adventure. Both Isles and Rizzoli are sympathetic characters caught up in the aftereffects of terrible crimes and in their own emotional nightmares. Each has built a protective shell, but the mystery that they uncover together shreds those shells, leaving them exposed to a world more terrible than even they had wanted to believe. Gerritsen's highly professional writing and her obvious technical understanding of the medical procedures adds to the reader's enjoyment of this exciting story. A prologue gives the reader more information than the protagonists enjoy about the motives behind the mystery, I'm not sure this was necessary or helpful, but it does add a different type of suspense to the story as we wonder how Isles and Rizzoli will be able to trace the murders back to their cause. THE SINNER is an interesting and emotionally satisfying story. Once I started it, I found I couldn't do anything else until I'd finished it.
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Summary: A Secret Worth Killing For
Review: In a remote leper village in India Howard Redfield photographs the dead. He's afraid, and well he should be because what he photographs here will ultimately lead to his murder in Boston a year later. There are secrets that some will kill to protect. It's snowing, Christmas is close, when Boston M.E. Maura Isles gets the call to go out and investigate the murder in a contemplative order of nuns. She finds Detective Jane Rizzoli at the scene, learns that novice Sister Camille has been brutally murdered and that aging Sister Ursala has been horribly beaten. As it turns out the killer was after Sister Ursala and had thought he'd finished her, but how could he know that the nun had a congenital birth defect, one of her carotid arteries didn't pump blood, so when he checked for a pulse, he found none. A woman is found dead in a seedier part of town. Her face has been ripped away, her hands and feet had been severed. Maura deduces Hanson's disease, leprosy. The killer hadn't been taking trophies, after all. He'd been trying to hid the illness. From the disease they guess the victim might have been from India. Sister Ursala had worked for a couple years with a group of lepers in India. Was there a connection? Then Howard Redfield turns up dead. This book, one of Tess Gerritsen's best, is a thriller of the first order, a mystery full of red herrings that will keep you guessing as you burn through the pages, and there is even that special touch of romance for Rizzoli that will touch your heart, even if you're a guy. Review submitted by Captain Katie Osborne
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Summary: Queen of the Dead
Review: "Queen of the Dead." Boston Medical Examiner Maura Isles knows that's what they called her behind her back, but she shrugs it off, pretends she doesn't hear. She has a tough job to do, but still it hurts. However she can't let words get to her, because crime in the city doesn't stop, bodies keep coming in, she's seen it all. At least she'd thought she had, but when she gets the call on a cold and snowy December morning to go out to Boston's Graystones Abbey, home of a contemplative order of nuns, because one of them had been brutally murdered, another badly beaten, she is shaken. Who would break into the Abbey grounds and do such a thing? When she arrives she finds that the order is all older women who had spent most of their lives sheltered from the world, except for their new novice, the young and very dead, Sister Camille. Maura quickly finds out that Camille had been pregnant and suspects Father Brophy, the priest who says mass for the nuns once a week and hears their confessions. But there are much darker forces at work. With her friend, Detective Jane Rizzoli, she dives into the secrets of Sister Camille and learns that the intended victim had been the other nun, the aging Sister Ursala, who'd left the order for a couple of years to work with lepers in India and who had recently returned because the leper village had been wiped out by a group of guerillas or maybe it was bandits. Or maybe it was something else much more sinister. As usual Tess Gerritsen delivers with her usual flair. Her characters are as real as the guy next door. Her story razor-sharp and Teflon-slick. And as far as why whodunit did it, well, she'll have you guessing right up until the end. Reviewed by Vesta Irene
Rating:
Summary: A gripping read
Review: This story gripped me from the start and kept me turning the pages well into the night. Lots of suspense and interesting material. I look forward to reading more of Tess Gerritsen's work.
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Summary: Typical Gerritsen ...
Review: This was just a typical Gerrtisen book -- and that means it's a great book! Although not her best (I wanted to see more of Rizzoli), this is a great, exciting read. The subject-matter is very interesting, the characters real and intriguing. Read it!
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Summary: Good Plot and Characters but Something Missing
Review: The Sinner is a decent medical thriller which I enjoyed, although not as much as the past two books by the author, The Surgeon and The Apprentice. The strength for me was the plot which had me guessing and the style of writing which was lyrical and descriptive. The characters Jane Rizzoli (a detective) and Dr.Maura Isles (a forensic examiner) were interesting but it seemed strange that they both were successful professionally and yet hopeless with men and relationships in general. The book was written in a
way that made it seem as though only cold, extremely tough and blunt women can succeed in a professional arena. In my review for the Surgeon I said that I liked reading about a controversial, edgy female (Jane Rizzoli) and that still stands. However, I found some of Rizzoli's needless rudeness and nastiness towards anyone who shows her concern to be wearying this time around because it was so unnecessary in many cases and she came across as petty rather than angry about sexism in the police force. I also found the dealing of the Catholic Church to be very heavy handed and biased. All the nuns were described many times as old and detached - not a single one of them was given any personality, depth or kindness. The only young nun was written about in an equally negative way. Secondly, both Maura and Jane were lapsed Catholics and were highly cynical about religion of any kind. Of course, this is fine, but there was simply no balance to the book as no religious characters were allowed to speak. In the end I found the constant sniping about faith and belief to be jarring. Overall the Sinner is a competent thriller and the medical details were excellent. There were surprises and shocks along the way and the characters were believable if not always likeable. JoAnne
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: This was disappointing is so many ways: the plot started out nicely then took a huge wrong turn -especially when the ultimate villain was someone who would never have been allowed to be in the position he/she was in (I don't want to spoil the end for those who may want to read the book); both lead female characters were too "pat": strong women who excelled at that work, but were unlucky in love. A fast read, but in the end, a dissapointing one.
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