Monday, January 3, 2011

CR3 #2: The Keepsake by Tess Gerritsen

The Keepsake is the seventh of Tess Gerritsen's books in the "Rizzoli and Isles" series. I originally started reading these because I watched the show on TNT this summer and enjoyed it. For anyone else who might have the same thought, I'd like to point out the show is LOOSELY based on the books, and by loosely I mean "just barely".

Jane Rizzoli is still the tough-as-nails Boston detective, and Maura Isles is still the medical examiner. However, from there the characters in the books and those in the show differ almost entirely. Rizzoli is tough, but finds herself unattractive and feels she has to fight twice as hard for everything she gains. However, her husband and new baby daughter are mellowing her out a little bit. Dr. Isles is beautiful but lonely, taking refuge in her work and in a dangerous forbidden romance.

The plot in the book revolves around mummy found in the basement of a museum which turns out not to be what it seems. Rizzoli and Isles have to track down a mysterious woman's past while trying to evade a dangerous and highly intelligent serial killer.

This book is not going to make any "Best Of" lists or win any literary awards, but I though it was a fun, quick read. It only took me a couple hours to speed through it--I had trouble putting it down!--and it makes a good addition to the Rizzoli and Isles cannon. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys fluffy mysteries, though it would definitely be best to read the others in the series first, since the book may be able to stand alone, but probably wouldn't do so well.

2 comments:

The Mama said...

I've tried to read "Ice Cold," another of the Rizzoli & Isles novels, but I just couldn't get into it. I don't know if it was because the characters weren't matching up with what I knew about the tv show, or maybe I just wasn't in the mood. I tried... I really, really did, but I just couldn't get in to it. I'll try "The Keepsake" and see if that catches my fancy more than "Ice Cold".

The Caustic Critic said...

No no! Start with either 'The Surgeon' or 'The Apprentice' -- These books do benefit from being read in order, there is a lot of character development. The show begins with 'The Apprentice', so if you've seen the show, you may wish to start there.

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