Guest Review: The Silent Girl - Tess Gerritsen

 

Today I have a guest review written by the lovely Andy from The Pewter Wolf.  Despite his claims not to be a proper book blogger Andy has a lovely blog and is passionate about books and reading so if you aren't already following him make sure you go and check out his blog!  Thanks for taking the time to write such a lovely review for me Andy!

In a Chinatown alley in Boston, a severed human hand is found. On a roof in the vicinity is the decapitated head of a woman. Nearby is a body, and on the corpse are found strands of non-human hair. Involved in the investigation of the crime are Rizzoli and Isles, who quickly discover some starling facts about events that preceded the murder: nearly two decades before, a grim assault on a restaurant in Boston claimed the lives of five people, with only one survivor of the carnage -- a woman skilled in martial arts who is party to a dark secret. Rizzoli and Isles realise that there is something malign and ancient in Chinatown – and that more lives are at stake.


The Rizzoli & Isles Series:
The Surgeon
The Apprentice
The Sinner
Body Double
Vanish
The Mephisto Club
The Keepsake
Ice Cold
The Silent Girl

Visit Tess Gerritsen's website for more information

Andy's Review:
I would to, quickly, thank Sarah for allowing me to do a quick guest review for her site while she is away. It was kind of her to say yes to my offer, seeing as she knows my blog isn't exactly what most people would call a "standard book blog".

In a Chinatown alley in Boston, a severed hand has been discovered. On the roof above the alley is a decapitated head and, on another roof, a body of a woman. Missing a head and hand? Found with the body is hair that isn’t human. Investigating the case is Jane Rizzoli and Dr Maura Isles, both who discover that near 2 decades ago, a terrible murder-suicide that happened in a small restaurant that took five lives. And it's strange that the families of the victims have started to receive notes saying that the truth is about the come out.

All bar one. An elderly woman who's a master in martial arts. A woman that might know more than she is willing the share. And now, it looks like the Monkey King from Chinese myth has come to life and wanting justice. The truth is going to come out in a way no one could possible imagine…

Now, I listened to the abridged version of this audiobook, which has its advantages and its disadvantages. One of the disadvantages is the story itself. It focuses so much on the crime story at hand, that we never see Jane and Maura's lives outside of work, and when we do, it is very brief in an almost "Blink and you miss it" kinda way. So, if you want to see Jane and Maura out of work, get the unabridged version.

Also, because of this, we don't see Maura a lot. She's there for the body and then she's gone. Only to appear right at the end. Isn't this a "Rizzoli and Isle thriller"? If it is, where was she?

I nitpick over this point as this is an "abridged" audiobook and I have issues with abridged audiobooks. If I had the cash, I would have got the unabridged version, but that's me for you. So, ignore my biasness on audiobook length.

Although the reader – Tanya Eby - I'm not 100% certain she was the right person to read this. I know that, in the past another reader, Laurel Lefkow, has read a few Tess Gerritsen novels and I quite like her voice (I never listen to her read a Rizzoli and Isle audiobook but I have heard her read other audiobooks). But this Tanya Eby sounds odd. She does the voice of … well and I like that. But it's hard to warm to a voice when you have what Rizzoli and Maura sound like in your head. Plus, if you live in America and have seen the TV inspired by these books (no news on if it's coming to the UK), you have the actresses voices in your head as the characters.

Now, the story as a whole. Now, I love Tess Gerristen. She's not as crime as she was when I first read Body Double, Vanish or even The Mesphio Club, but she knows how to get your pulse rate going and get you on the edge of your seat. You get pulled into the dark world of assasins, murder and conspiracy theories and, because of that, while you're in the story, you don't sit there and go "Wait? That makes no sense" or "That's impossible! That won't happen in real life!". It's only afterwards when you return to real life that you go "Huh. Ok. That might not happen in real life. But it could. Maybe."

But the problem I have is that so much happens, you feel that a lot of things are happening that you feel that you're not having a "calm" moment where you see Jane and Maura's private lives. These moments are sometimes what you need to get your head round all the information.

If you are a fan of fast-paced thrillers that get the pulse going, then this will be good for you. But if you are going to listen to this, I would suggest that you get the unabridged version or go get the book/eBook.

Source: Andy's own copy

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.