My rating 4 stars
He slips into their homes at night and walks silently into bedrooms where women lie sleeping, about to awake to a living nightmare. The precision of the killer's methods suggests he is a deranged man of medicine, propelling the Boston newspapers to name him "The Surgeon." The cops' only clue rests with 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 this new killer is re-creating, 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....
My thought
The novel, which is set in Boston, revolves around the search for a terrifying serial killer – a killer who has been dubbed “The Surgeon” because of the horrifying way that he precisely cuts open women and removes their uteruses. The search is headed by Detective Thomas Moore of Boston’s homicide unit, and he is helped along by Jane Rizzoli, who is still fairly new to the homicide unit, and, as the only woman, feels she has something to prove. Their biggest lead is Dr. Catherine Cordell, the only survivor of a Savannah serial killer with an MO that was almost identical to The Surgeon’s. Things begin to get really tricky for Moore and Rizzoli as it becomes apparent that not only is Cordell the surgeon’s next potential victim, but she and Moore are also extremely, and inappropriately, attracted to one another.
The plot is fairly standard. Serial killer who mutilates young women and as it develops there are few real surprises for anyone who has read or seen these types of mysteries. The intense action does bring with it a dark and disconcerting side, but the book is well-written and keeps you invested. There is a lot of medical details as one of the characters is a doctor. Some of the medical detail can be tedious and some is very real and graphic and may be difficult to get through for some people. The novel is very readable and and the law enforcement and medical worlds are well-drawn and credible, which is a lot of what kept me reading
