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    The Surgeon: A Rizzoli & Isles Novel
    Unavailable
    The Surgeon: A Rizzoli & Isles Novel
    Unavailable
    The Surgeon: A Rizzoli & Isles Novel
    Audiobook (abridged)5 hours

    The Surgeon: A Rizzoli & Isles Novel

    Written by Tess Gerritsen

    Narrated by Dennis Boutsikaris

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    In her most masterful novel of medical suspense, New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen creates a villain of unforgettable evil--and the one woman who can catch him before he kills again.

    He slips into their homes at night and walks silently into bedrooms where women lie sleeping, unaware of the horrors they soon will endure. The precision of the killer's methods suggests he is a deranged man of medicine, propelling the Boston newspapers and the frightened public to name him "The Surgeon."

    The cops' only clue rests with another surgeon, the victim of a nearly identical crime. Two years ago, Dr. Catherine Cordell fought back and killed her attacker before he could complete his assault. Now she hides her fears of intimacy behind a cool and elegant exterior and a well-earned reputation as a top trauma surgeon.

    Cordell's careful facade is about to crack as this new killer recreates, with chilling accuracy, the details of Cordell's own ordeal. With every new murder he seems to be taunting her, cutting ever closer, from her hospital to her home. Her only comfort comes from Thomas Moore, the detective assigned to the case. But even Moore cannot protect Cordell from a brilliant hunter who somehow understands--and savors--the secret fears of every woman he kills.

    Filled with the authentic detail that is the trademark of this doctor turned author . . . and peopled with rich and complex characters--from the ER to the squad room to the city morgue--here is a thriller of unprecedented depth and suspense. Exposing the shocking link between those who kill and cure, punish and protect, The Surgeon is Tess Gerritsen's most exciting accomplishment yet.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateAug 21, 2001
    ISBN9780553754056
    Unavailable
    The Surgeon: A Rizzoli & Isles Novel
    Author

    Tess Gerritsen

    Internationally bestselling author Tess Gerritsen is a graduate of Stanford University and went on to medical school at the University of California, San Francisco, where she was awarded her M.D. Since 1987, her books have been translated into 37 languages, and more than 25 million copies have been sold around the world. She has received the Nero Wolfe Award and the Rita Award, and she was a finalist for the Edgar award. Now retired from medicine, she writes full time. She lives in Maine.

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    Reviews for The Surgeon

    4/5

    1,223 ratings85 reviews

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    • 5/5
      The first book in the Rizzoli & Isles series is a suspenseful story that had me turning pages.
    • 5/5
      Good book, kinda nerve wrecking.
    • 4/5
      This was my first Tess Gerritsen novel and I loved it. I had a hard time putting it down.
    • 3/5
      Not as good as I remembered.
    • 5/5
      I've been putting off reading this series due to the Rizzoli & Isles television series, but it wasn't necessary. Like Longmire, the producers use the authors' works as springboards to new storylines, so both books and television series can be enjoyed.I think the detail that threw me the most was the absence of Dr. Maura Isles, who isn't introduced until the next entry, The Apprentice. I had already been informed of the differences between literary Rizzoli and her TV counterpart-- and that's enough comparisons between the two mediums!I have to admit that the serial killer part of The Surgeon was a tad old hat, but this was written in 2001 when he would've been much fresher. Watching the investigation unfold was fascinating; it took a lot of basic police work, dotting the i's and crossing the t's. Going back over the same ground until some small detail stood out and begged to be followed up on. Due to Gerritsen's medical background, readers get an excellent feel for the protocol in hospitals and the split-second decisions that must be made in the emergency room. But the overarching theme of The Surgeon is women competing in what has always been considered a "man's world." Jane Rizzoli and Catherine Cordell both have cores of steel; they have to because of their occupations. Too many times women have been treated as victims, as a sex not worthy of being heard, only of being ignored, protected as something "lesser," or... of being disposed of. Tess Gerritsen makes readers feel every second, every ounce, of this injustice. It's this passion of hers, along with her fast-paced story, her fascinating characters, and her eye for detail that will keep me reading her books.
    • 4/5
      I'm guessing, based on the number of reserves this book had at my library when I went looking for it, that many people are discovering Tess Gerritsen these days because of the new TNT show, Rizzoli & Isles. It's based on Gerritsen's books, and it's a fun, though not original, police detective procedural. Angie Harmon's Jane Rizzoli doesn't seem that different from Angie Harmon's Lindsay Boxer (from another police procedural book-to-TV adaptation, based on James Patterson's Women's Murder Club), and Sasha Alexander's Maura Isles seems like a copycat of Temperance Brennan on Bones (also a book-to-TV adaptation, of course). So of course, being the reader that I am, I was curious to see if the show's characters were faithfully drawn from the pages of the books, or if they were merely loose interpretations. This first book in the series doesn't even introduce Isles yet, so I wasn't able to pass judgment on her, but Rizzoli is present from the beginning. She's almost relegated to being a supporting character; Detective Thomas Moore is the protagonist here. Angie Harmon isn't a bad visual representation of book-Rizzoli; aside from the book's boxy pantsuits and perhaps a few inches in height, they seem pretty similar. The show loses nearly all of Rizzoli's defensiveness and acerbic attitude, but I'm wondering if the character changes enough over the course of the books to warrant that difference.As for the book itself, it's got everything a fan of detective/serial killer/procedural thrillers would want. There's nothing groundbreaking here, but it's definitely a great example of the genre. The plot shows up very vaguely in the show's first episode, but the stories are so different that neither is going to spoil the other. I've got the second book in the series on reserve at the library and look forward to meeting book-Isles.
    • 3/5
      This is a very decent mystery story. The only odd thing is that it's labeled as "Jane Rizzoli & Maura Isles Series #1). This is odd because the character of Maura Isles never appears in the book. And Jane Rizzoli appears to be secondary to another character, a Detective Thomas Moore. So I spent most of the book wondering why Rizzoli was secondary and Isles was absent. A decided distraction from the plot of the story.
    • 4/5
      This is only the second Gerritsen book I've read, but I love her writing. Again, such a light read, but absolutely engrossing. I read this in two sittings, couldn't put it down it was so good. Amazing read! Can't wait to pick up another one.
    • 5/5
      Just wondering why on earth this was narrated by a man?? For a novel that highlights the struggle of a woman in a profession dominated by men, it seems a slap in the face to give the job of narrator to yet another man
    • 3/5
      Wow. Very strong for a first novel. At first I was surprised that Jane took a back seat in this book. It made it so much higher value when she starred at the end though. Still waiting to discover how many other show characters are from the books.
    • 5/5
      This book is a riveting read. It’s a well written medical thriller and is a gripping and terrifying book. This is the first in a series and has also been made into a TV series featuring Rizzoli and Isles. The book is deep, dark and very disturbing…..I couldn’t put it down.
    • 3/5
      I ended up skimming most of this. It was well-plotted and the police procedural aspects were good, but I found the attitudes to women and rape troubling and dated. The romance thread felt a bit inappropriate too. I'm undecided as to whether to persevere with this series.
    • 3/5
      Starting new series! I hope the rest of the books are as page-turning, up-half-the-knighting as this was.
    • 4/5
      This is only the second Gerritsen book I've read, but I love her writing. Again, such a light read, but absolutely engrossing. I read this in two sittings, couldn't put it down it was so good. Amazing read! Can't wait to pick up another one.
    • 5/5
      This is the first book in the series and the start of amazing books. This one was just fantastic and a real page turner. I really enjoyed these books and I would recommend that everybody read this series.
    • 2/5
      I’m trying to think of any moment in this book that didn’t feel like a complete cliche, and I’m having a hard time. The hard-working but unattractive woman who hates herself because of said unattractiveness. The sexy cop whose only hang up is that he still loves his wife who died. I feel like there being two murderers all along is probably also a cliche for books of this genre. Christine got kind of bad-ass at the end but the rest was just predictable and flat.
    • 4/5
      One of the better mysteries of Moore and Rizzoli .. liked the twist, Rizzolis angst, and the suspense. good yarn
    • 4/5
      Finally getting around to reading this series and found this Rizzoli novel a quality crime/mystery read. A few parts get a bit bogged down, but overall, some good suspense and interesting police work.
    • 4/5
      This was an intense book. I stayed up late reading it, because I wanted to find out what would happen. The killer is very evil. I was a little annoyed by the parts where we are in the killer's head. I thought it was giving away too much about his identity, and I wanted to be more surprised. This was the first appearance of Jane Rizzoli, and I found her a bit whiny and abrasive, but I still enjoyed reading about her and the case. Tess Gerritsen has written some memorable books and this is one of them. I can't wait to read more from her.
    • 5/5
      This is a well written book that maintains its tension throughout and I enjoyed this book . However, it is a very gritty book and I wouldn't recommend anyone reading it who didn't enjoy gritty books! If you do enjoy gritty this may be the book for you. Gerritsen obviously uses her knowledge as a doctor to good effect in this. I somehow feel the end of this book won't be the end of the story. 4.5 Stars.
    • 4/5
      Detective Thomas Moore has the reputation of being the most gifted and respected detective working in the Boston police department. Moore is still recovering from the sudden death of his beloved wife two years ago. A brain aneurysm took her right out of his life without warning. As we meet Thomas, he’s packed and ready for a long overdue vacation. Vacation is not in the cards. The police department believe he’s the best at tracking the monsters that prey on people and they need him now for this newest serial killing.

      Rizzoli another detective comes across as more bitter yet somewhat fragile. Rizzoli is the only woman working on the homicide squad and she’s the object of ridicule and scorn by some of the other detectives or at least it feels that way to her. You decide, reader. Rizzoli is smart and clever. She’s the officer who first starts putting the case together and finds the trail that gives the homicide team more to work with.

      The murders are brutal, as well as the descriptions of them -– even though they’re described in complicated medical terms. The search for the serial killer quickly turns into a cat-and-mouse, which the Killer seems to enjoy even though it makes getting caught riskiest. Reader you, get enough glimpses of the killer’s thought processes to be thoroughly spooked – especially since it seems that the killer is someone who works at the hospital with Dr. Catherine Cordell, who is the Surgeon’s ultimate prey. Catherine has survived so much horror in her young life, yet has made a successful career for herself as a respected doctor. Now there is no where she can feel or be safe from the man who wishes to rape, torture and try to kill her once again.

      Two years before the story started, Dr. Cordell was attacked by an intern she’d flagged for failure. The young man had bound her with duct tape, then raped her and cut her up, intending to let her slowly die. Cordell had freed herself, found her gun and blasted her tormenter to death. That should have ended the killing, but it didn't. It especially did not end her demons that haunted her every day. Is this a copycat killer? But how can he know information that had never been released by the police?

      Rizzoli is the one who noticed the two recent murders, a year apart, are a lot like the attack on Dr. Cordell. She suspects there’s more to the situation than what meets the eye. Of course, she’s right. She the one who realizes the killer was giving the women he killed a piece of jewelry he stole from the woman he killed previously.

      Fast paced and characters you will come to know well.
    • 3/5
      This is a Reading Good Books review.Like I said in my review of Freaks, I am not very familiar with Tess Gerritsen’s work. In fact, this was the first novel that I’ve read from her bibliography. I’ve read a lot of murder mysteries in the past and this was just okay.Women who are murdered in the most grotesque way have been popping up all over Boston. Their throats are slashed, abdomen cut open, their uterus removed. The cuts made were clean and precise, hinting to the police that the unknown subject has medical knowledge. They call him “The Surgeon”. Two years ago, similar murders were committed in Savannah, Georgia. The only survivor of these heinous crimes now reside in Boston. Dr. Catherine Cordell works as a trauma doctor and it seems that the murders followed her there. But she killed her attacker before he could cut into her. Is this a copycat? Did Catherine’s attacker have a partner? Was he after her now? Detective Jane Rizzoli and her partner Detective Thomas Moore are on the case.If you are a fan of the show and are just starting off with Gerritsen’s books, I advise not to expect much. Yes, the first season of Rizzoli & Isles, especially the show pilot episode, was based on this and the next one, The Apprentice. But this book did not have Dr. Maura Isles yet so there will be no playful banter between the two. Jane was not even the main detective on this one. It’s Detective Moore. Sure, Jane ends up being the hero in the end but for the rest of the book, she’s at the sidelines. And I also did not like the constant “because I’m a girl” bitching. It was okay for the first two or three times but every time Jane Rizzoli came in to the picture, that was what she was thinking. Alright, you’re a girl so they don’t see you as an equal. We get it.What set it apart was the medical aspect. I understand that Gerritsen was a doctor before she became an novelist. Her medical knowledge was brilliantly used here. Dr. Catherine Cordell performed a couple of life-saving procedures and it was described almost in full detail. It reminds me of Kathy Reichs’ work (coincidentally, both authors hold degrees in Anthropology) when she mixes her scientific field with her literature. I have read reviews where people thought it was so gruesome but I liked those parts. I felt that it gave Catherine Cordell depth; that it showed a side of her entirely opposite from what you’d think of a rape victim. In her world, she had complete control, thus it gave the unsub a goal. To rattle her protective cage and send her falling to pieces.Overall, it was a good read. Nothing much to talk about.Rating: 3/5Recommendation: It will appeal to those who like medical murder mysteries. I’m not sure how it will appeal to the fans of the TV show as Dr. Isles is not yet introduced in this book and there are differences between the TV and book Rizzoli and Frost. I’m a huge fan of the show and I liked it.
    • 3/5
      A fairly standard serial killa thrilla, but well done. Reminiscent of some of Jeffrey Deaver, some of Thomas Harris. Lots of exsanguination, not for the queasy. Good character development; potential for stereotyping avoided by having a couple people learn things about themselves. This is the first Jane Rizzoli novel; I understand she gains a partner and creates a series. She has an awful chip on her shoulder in this one, but actually does a fair job of knocking it off by herself in the end.Review written in March, 2011
    • 5/5
      Why did I now know about these books before the TV show, and why has it take me 2 years to actually start reading them?
    • 3/5
      So I come to this series as a fan of Rizzoli and Isles. Well, maybe not a hardcore fan. Let's say I love Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander from their previous cop show adventures, and I'm not quite willing to pass up a show that features BOTH of them. In its defense, R&I is getting better.

      So, I've never as passionate about this genre of books as I am about my fantasy loves. That said, I enjoyed this as much as most of the Kathy Reich's books, and a hell of a lot more than Virals. Still can't say enough bad things about Virals.

      Craving more characterization than this book gave, but since it's the first of a series, I can be patient. I'm trying not to hate book Rizzoli, but she really makes it hard, being so bitchy and one dimensional. Again, I'll be patient.

      Good, believable story with decent characterization. I kind of wish that Dr. Cordell became the focus of the series, but I think that's Ms. Gerritsen's point. Rizzoli has her flaws and it's what makes her real.
    • 4/5
      I quite enjoyed this book. Thiller/Crime books are not really high on my to read stack/list of books to read, but I found this book enjoyable. Even through this book is listed as the first book in the Rizzoli & Isles series, I would call 'The Surgeon' a prequel.If you like the TV Series of 'Rizzoli & Isles', you would like this series.This book was so enjoyable that I read it under 20 hours.
    • 3/5
      Originally I started reading the Rizzoli and Isles series of books with "The Sinner". I skipped this book as well as The Apprentice because they didn't seem to be essential to the series, and I thought I wouldn't be crazy about the plots. I was both right, and wrong (they're not totally essential to the plots, but, the plots are actually pretty okay).It's about a serial killer who does horrible things to women. The story follows three main people. Dr. Catherine Cordell, and Detective Thomas Moore and Jane Rizzoli.Truthfully I really could barely stand any of the characters, especially Thomas. I think as a reader I was supposed to care about his plight or something. The only character I even remotely liked a bit was Rizzoli. Though a lot of the time the whole, 'I'm a woman who's been crapped on by the boys club' gets a bit old, but Gerritsen managed to write the character so that I believed it wasn't just an excuse like it sounds in other books with the same theme.It's an intense read that was made a bit more interesting by the fact that some of the landmarks of Boston Massachusetts were familiar. Though the repeated uses of 'South End' grated on my nerves a little. A solid three stars. Neither good nor bad.
    • 3/5
      The first installment of the Rizzoli & Isles series takes place... without Isles but with a bloody slasher who wants to kill young women after taking out their uterus. A doctor seems to be the next victim of the serial killer while, although or because she was a victim of another serial killer about 2 years ago. Then, she got away, but now, her luck seems to have changed. The female detective Rizzoli is part of the police team but she has to face different demons, too, because her colleagues don't appear to take her seriously as a woman. Her colleague Moore looks like someone who appreciates a female cop but while getting more and more involved in the case, those two detectives drift apart, leaving more opportunities to the vicious murderer who just waits to take his next victims, murdering the women in the most despicable ways, going further to finally enjoy the ultimate kill. This is a very well written detective with interesting characters. And I have to admit that I can hardly wait to read the other 8 installments of the series, but I missed dear Isles of whom I am so fond in the tv-series, so only 3 out of 5 stars...
    • 4/5
      This is only the second Gerritsen book I've read, but I love her writing. Again, such a light read, but absolutely engrossing. I read this in two sittings, couldn't put it down it was so good. Amazing read! Can't wait to pick up another one.
    • 4/5
      Let me preface by saying:I read this book in 2001? and NO... I don't watch Rizzoli and Isles.The Rizzoli we meet here is quite different from the TV heroine (as described to me by friends).I thoroughly enjoyed the first 6 or 7 books.Then I felt they changed in their atmosphere and something inherent in the others was missing.This was just about the time we got wind of an impending TV series.I'm thankful for the Gerritsen's pre-TV offerings....they were good reads.