die again, by tess gerritsen

Die Again is the latest book in the Rizzoli & Isles series by Tess Gerritsen. While I’ve never watched the tv show (which I know has been a success) I am a huge fan of the book series. This latest installment does not disappoint.

The book begins 6 years ago on safari in Botswana. It alternates between Africa and Boston–where Rizzoli & Isles are investigating the murder of a taxidermist. Often times, the flashback technique can be annoying, not so in this case. Gerritsen does a great job of giving you enough of the present day while at the same time making you hunger for more of the Africa back-story.

The twists and turns this book takes keeps you engaged and intrigued until the very end. Jane’s personal drama, which always has a twinge of humor, was ever-present with her family. And we got to see a little more of her FBI husband Gabriel. To top it off, the descriptions of Africa and the beautiful natural landscape had me doing some Google searches thinking…hmmm…maybe.

I read a lot of books–I’m targeting 70 in this year’s GoodReads Book Challenge–and I don’t always remember every detail of books that are series, even the ones I love. Gerritsen make reference to the case where Maura testified against and helped put a police officer in prison, her affair with priest Daniel Brophy (that I remember), and Maura’s mother comes back into the fold. These were all great story lines, it would just be nice if we could get a few more details as a refresher about stories that played out several books ago.

If you are a fan of the Rizzoli & Isles series, this book is a must read. It’s classic Gerritsen with the characters–although Maura is somewhat annoyingly broody, but Jane balances her out. And the story is different and interesting. Truth-be-told, I did learn more about taxidermy than I need to.

to read or not to read recommendation:
to read

tara’s tips: One of the blogs I follow and encourage others to also, is Baked Bree. Bree Hester has started a weekly newsletter devoted to the things she discovers and falls for. One was a book challenge by another blogger, the Modern Mrs. Darcy. I am signing on for it. For all the avid readers out there, I recommend it!