Rating: 
Summary: Move over Robin Cook!
Review: Published in 1996, Tess Gerritsen's first medical/criminal suspense/thriller novel, Harvest, showed that she was going to give Robin Cook a run for his money in that particular writing genre. With the 2001 publication of The Surgeon, her 5th novel, she has pushed him aside to become the more exciting writer.Dr. Catherine Cordell is a young, attractive, trauma surgeon who harbors a dark secret from her past in Savannah, Georgia - her rape and near mutilation and murder and then her successful killing of her attacker. Two years later, similar attacks/murders occur around her in Boston, Massachusetts. She is asked to assist the police in their investigation and then finds that she is the real object of the killer's obsession. As a surgeon myself, I especially enjoy the detail and accuracy of the medical stuff about which Dr. Gerritsen, a former internist, writes. Her writing skills have developed with each novel, and her character development is now quite good, especially with Dr. Cordell, her surgical partner Peter Falco, the two lead detectives Thomas Moore and Jane Rizzoli, and the killer. She knows how to build to a climax, and I could not put the book down after I got halfway through. Finally, she can just flat out write a very chilling scary thriller! A final caution - this book is not for the sqeamish or younger audience due to the graphic descriptions of female mutilation.
Rating: 
Summary: At a surgeon's pace...
Review: This is my first venture into Tess Gerritson. The Surgeon is the typical fare of the slasher/cop genre. And typical is my reaction to most of the book. It falls in line with the James Patterson, Jonathan Kellerman style of novels. The villian is unkown, and the author throws a curve every now and again to keep you guessing. The surviving victim of a brutal attack two years ago in Savannah, Dr. Catherine Cordell establishes a new life in Boston. But the past is following her as new female victims are being killed in Boston in the same fashion as before. Enter Detective Thomas Moore, a widower and perceived saint among the Boston PD, and his chip-on-the-shoulder partner Jane Rizzoli. Of course, Moore and Cordell fall in love, Rizzoli is not happy, the killer is getting closer to his ultimate prize - finishing what was not accomplished two years ago. Overall, the book was a fun read. If there was a 3 1/2 star choice, I'd rate it there. I'm not to the point that I'll immediately purchase another Gerritson novel...I'm not totally sold yet. But I will go to the library to check one out.
Rating:
Summary: an intelligently written medical thriller/police procedural
Review: The person who wrote this book is actually a real life MD (specializing in Internal Medicine) who gave up her career to write full time. This book she wrote is nothing short of brilliance. Not only was she able to use her medical expertise to write out all of the gory details of the killings, but she does well in putting together great detective work and really makes some interesting and believeable characters. The story is centered around the search for a serial killer who performs hyterectomies on women in the Boston area while they are still alive and then kills them. The killer is called the surgeon because he seems to have skills that only someone with specialized medical training should have. The killings seem strikingly similar to the style of another killer over two years ago in Savanna, Georga. But the killer in Georga was killed by his would-be victim (Catherine Cordell). One would think that maybe it's just coincidental that another killer just happened to have the same style as another killer who was killed over two years ago. The possiblility of it just being a coincidence was shattered when the police realized that the same woman (Catherine Cordell) who killed the killer two years ago is now living in Boston. The killer starts taunting Catherine by writing her email messages and even writes a message to her on a victim's body. But what is this killer's link to what happened in Georga and why is Catherine being targeted? Another part of the story focuses on the relationship of a male detective (Thomas Moore) with Catherine and the building resentment of a female detective. It also takes us into the world of a female detective's struggle for recognition and respect on the police force.
Rating: 
Summary: Good thriller
Review: Tess Gerritsen's latest is a pleaser.
2 years ago, while living in Savannah, Dr. Catherine Cordell barely survived a brutal rape. The serial rapist/murderer known as Andrew Capra, aka 'The Surgeon', had previously raped and killed three other women. His last victim, Dr. Cordell, fought back and killed him.
Now living in Boston and working as a trauma center doctor, Catherine Cordell soon finds out about some recent rapes and murders happening in the Boston area that are very similar to the one's committed by Andrew Capra, the man she killed 2 years ago. This killer starts sending her clues, which causes her to recapture all those hideous moments of the past. She soon finds out that she may be the final target. Detective Thomas Moore is a rather easygoing guy (with a growing attachment to Cordell) assigned to these recent killings, along with lead detective Rizzoli, who happens to be a women struggling to prove herself to a mostly male police force. Filled with well-choreographed emergency room action and engrossing scenes of life and death, this novel does not disappoint. It seemed very emotional and personal due to the often-brought up issue of rape. A well-rounded medical thriller. 'Where we go depends on what we know, and what we know depends on where we go' Recommended
Rating:
Summary: Chillingly Realistic Suspenseful Thriller
Review: Internist Tess Gerritsen's medical knowledge adds an eerie realism to this novel of mystery and suspense. As the lone survivor of serial killer Andrew Capra, Dr. Catherine Cordell escapes the horror she lived in Savannah to go to Boston and starts to put her life back together again. Though she rarely goes anywhere besides the hospital and lives in a very secure apartment, she is able to function very adequately in her position as a surgeon at Pilgrim Medical Center. But her sense of relative security is short-lived as a new serial killer emerges in Boston, and the killings are uncannily similar to those, which occurred in Savannah two years ago. Okay-Andrew Capra is dead, shot by Dr. Cordell, his almost-victim. Thus begins the quest for the new culprit. The endless possibilities add to the allure of this novel: Dr. Cordell, perhaps, a copycat killer, someone avenging Capra's death? Enter Boston's finest, "St. Thomas Moore", the detective who still brandishes a wedding band two years after the death of his wife, Jane Rizzoli, lone female detective out to prove her worth, Darren Crowe, resident male chauvinist. Moore and Rizzoli are a fine addition to this cast of characters-Moore struggles with his attraction to Catherine while Rizzoli struggles to succeed in a male -dominated profession while trying to understand her jealousy of Catherine. THE SURGEON plays like a finely tuned piano, each chord blending in harmony leading to the final resolution. The skillful use of medical terminology as well as the knowledge of anatomy, while somewhat gruesome, adds a chilling sense of reality to the murders. And, as the clues unfold, leading to the identity of the killer, the reader experiences a sense of dread as to who the next victim will be. Lights will stay on all night for this novel that is impossible to put down, and once finished, you won't want to sleep in the dark.
Rating:
Summary: The Surgeon - lock your doors
Review: A great read. Kept me up reading long after everyone else was asleep. The ending could have been a little more exciting but was a book that made me lock my doors.
Rating:
Summary: The Killer is Back from the Dead, or is He?
Review: A woman is found dead in a Boston suburb, her throat cut, a hysterectomy performed with a surgeon's precision, apparently while she had still been alive. The death is a copy of a similar murder a year earlier. Doctor Catherine Cordell is a trauma surgeon who was a victim of a like attack in Savannah two years earlier, however, she was able to fight back and she killed her attacker. It's not possible for this new serial killer to be the same man, but he's duplicating things that only the police know about and that shouldn't be possible. The killer seems to be focusing on Catherine, but detectives Thomas Moore and Jane Rizzoli try to protect her in the face of the taunts and attacks she faces. Can they stop the assassin? How does he know what he does? It's as if he is able to read Catherine's mind. Will she come face to face with a mad killer for a second time? This fast paced mystery is somewhat of a terrifying read, both because of the constant threat Dr. Cordell is under and because of the graphic detail of the murders. There's twists a plenty, red herrings too, and enough shocks to keep you on the edge of your seat as you hurry through the pages to see what comes next.
Rating:
Summary: Ends very well, but 1st half drags
Review: I am glad I stuck it out and finished this book. The second half is far better and far faster than the first. Some will be put off by the slow-moving first half, its excessive wordiness, etc. Even in the second half, there is an obvious revelation in Dr. Cordell's hypnosis session that Gerritsen ignores for 100 pages. Seems to borrow from other famous novels/movies in spots, but it doesn't really detract from the effect. Interesting villain. Quite a bit of educational stuff on mythology. Excellent descriptions of emergency surgery.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Story
Review: I really enjoyed this story. It is a murder mystery, but also a contemporary romance. Dr. Catherine Cordell was almost killed by an attacker years ago. She fought back and lived. She moved to a new town and tried to forget what happened to her. Suddenly, killings began to occur that seem like a recreation of what Dr. Cordell went through. Dr. Cordell will have to work with Detective Thomas Moore to help solve this crime; while dealing with a growing attraction to Det. Moore even though she fears relationships since the attack. I am making this sound like your typical murder mystery novel, but it isn't. The characters are wonderful; the story flows and I would highly recommend.
Rating:
Summary: Gerritsen is in a Class by Herself
Review: This was the first book I read by Ms. Gerritsen, and I quickly became a fan. She is absolutely the best at medical thrillers. I love all the forensic information she divulges to her readers. Jane Rizzoli is a wonderful character and really stands out in this book. The Surgeon is a cruel, brutal killer whose mindset is just creepy. Great book!
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