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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
Billed as Rizzoli and Isles #1, but Isles isn’t in it. Rizzoli is introduced but male detective Moore is equally featured. Rizzoli and Moore would make a great team for a series.
This is an excellent psychological thriller / police procedural. I really didn’t like the pieces written by The Surgeon about ancient sacrifice rituals. They were boring and really not needed. They drained rather than heightened the tension. But the other 95% of the book was very compelling.
There are some cliche elements in the police office scenes but it’s minor. Almost all the characters are well done.
This is an excellent psychological thriller / police procedural. I really didn’t like the pieces written by The Surgeon about ancient sacrifice rituals. They were boring and really not needed. They drained rather than heightened the tension. But the other 95% of the book was very compelling.
There are some cliche elements in the police office scenes but it’s minor. Almost all the characters are well done.
Finally got around to starting this series. While I've seen an episode or two of the show, I'm not so much off a fan of it, so I was very happily surprised by the book. It's gritty, gruesome and very detailed. It's a brilliant story & I'm definitely reading more of the series. So much better than the show!
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Violence against women is not for me
I guess after watching the TV series Rizzoli & Isles I was expecting something different - not sure why because I know how often TV/film interpretations can differ so wildly to original books, but this was so very very different (main difference being no Isles) I guess you see echoes of this book in the TV series as this is Jane's origin story...
I don't know that I would read more of the series but I did enjoy this one after I got over the differences!
I don't know that I would read more of the series but I did enjoy this one after I got over the differences!
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I liked it - sort of, and only in relation to my enjoyment of the TV show - and will continue the series, but I’m hoping the books get better from here or I won’t be continuing for long. For being the Rizzoli and Isles series, Isles wasn’t even in it. She wasn’t even mentioned. This one was actually kind of painful. There was a ridiculous amount of sexism that is not present in the show. Meat is “men’s food” and a daughter’s career - Jane’s career - is less important than either of her “good looking brothers.” Frankie is a huge jerk in this one, and can’t be bothered to help either his mother or his sister in the kitchen, and Jane was yelled at for having to rush back to work in the middle of a case because Frankie is home from war and he should be her priority. Worse yet, Jane was openly sexually harassed by another detective when he put one of her tampons in her bottle of water. One character even had all white furniture specifically because it was “pure” and “virginal.” Supposedly this was written in 2001, but that one made me question if it was actually written in 1901. It was just deplorable. I know the show came from the books, but so far the show is WAY better.
I get that this book is a product of its time, but the repeated bashing over the head of the reader that the uterus is what makes a woman a woman is stomach churning. So women who had to have hysterectomies weren’t actually women anymore? You would think a medical doctor would be less clueless about the harm that did even back then.
I get that this book is a product of its time, but the repeated bashing over the head of the reader that the uterus is what makes a woman a woman is stomach churning. So women who had to have hysterectomies weren’t actually women anymore? You would think a medical doctor would be less clueless about the harm that did even back then.
It doesn’t take long to remember this was written over 20 years ago, and the reminders never stop coming. From medical charting being done by hand, the explanations of what chat rooms are, what CODIS and VICAP are, to referring to a character as not quite as attractive as Mel Gibson but still good looking, the dated references just keep on coming. That Mel Gibson reference did NOT age well at all. It even refers to AOL accounts being used in office settings (which I never knew was a thing seeing how expensive it was). There was also a black guy with a cop’s boot on his neck and no one batting an eyelash. I nearly stopped at that point.
The narrator was HORRIBLE. She doesn’t know how to pronounce the first victim’s name, Ortiz (and apparently no one else involved in the production of the audiobook knew either). She also couldn’t pronounce basil, saline, epinephrine, or synapses. All of these words came up multiple times, and considering the author is a medical doctor, you’d think you’d get someone who could say these basic words, but no. Considering this version of the audiobook was recorded in 2020, it’s just ridiculous.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Transphobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Murder
dark
tense
Unlikable main characters. Extremely misogynistic. Disrespectful to rape victims.
Although the premise was very interesting and I was intrigued by the medical focus, I decided not to finish this book.
First, the rape victims and topic of rape are written about terribly. For example, one character who is supposed to be on the victims’ sides says that the rape victims permanently belong to the rapist forever after the attack.
Secondly, althoughDetective Moore is supposed to be the “good guy” cop, he has feelings for the traumatized rape/attempted murder victim of an ongoing investigation. I assumed this would be called out later in the book as creepy and extremely unprofessional- however Moore and Catherine married at the end of the book.
I have better things to do than continue to read this.
Although the premise was very interesting and I was intrigued by the medical focus, I decided not to finish this book.
First, the rape victims and topic of rape are written about terribly. For example, one character who is supposed to be on the victims’ sides says that the rape victims permanently belong to the rapist forever after the attack.
Secondly, although
I have better things to do than continue to read this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Medical trauma
Moderate: Misogyny