This book won't be released till Aug. 15, but I was way too excited about the opportunity to read an advance review copy that I just couldn't wait to get started. That's because the author's "Rizzoli & Isles" series has been a favorite from the start (for the record, this is the 12th). While this one somehow seems a bit darker than most of the others I've read, it's no less well written.

The "darkness," I suppose, comes in part because medical examiner Maura Isles must come to terms with issues that haunt her past, such as her seriously disturbed (and long estranged) birth mother, who's in jail for life after being convicted of multiple murders. Still other characters, including police detective Jane Rizzoli, her uber-Italian mother and her police partner deal with issues of their own. Only Jane's hunky FBI special Agent husband, Gabriel Dean, seems to be home free in the issues department, and perhaps that's why he doesn't get much play here (drat).

At the beginning, Maura reluctantly has a meeting with her birth mother, whose parting words are cryptic as Maura gets a call from Jane that she's needed at the scene of a gruesome new case. A dead woman - a producer of indie horror films - has been found with her eyes removed and placed in her hand. But the eyes don't have it - the cause of death, that is. In fact, it isn't even clear even after Maura's initial autopsy. Could it be simply a case of life impersonating art? Jane and Maura hold that thought - that is, until a second victim turns up amid a similar scenario. Solving those two crimes moves ahead slowly even after Maura finally determines the very unusual COD; the police can find no connection between the two victims, no motive and no clues as to who the killer might be.

But wait, there's more. Another female character is intently watching the goings-on; she's got a big secret from her past, and it's one that just may put her life in jeopardy as well. Chapters shift from the investigation to her point of view and back, all adding layers to the story that build up to a pretty scary conclusion (and non-conclusion, but I won't get into that here except to say it could provide interesting fodder for another book).

My conclusion? Loved this one as expected. Now please, Ms. Gerritsen, don't keep me waiting so long for the next installment!

Wow from beginning to end! How i have missed Rizzoli and Isles!

When keeping a secret can be deadly.. victims start mounting up without any indication of how they died. The obvious injuries occurring post mortem. The possible motive hits Rizzoli close to home with an incident that happened at decades previously at Apple Tree nursery. As the duo dig deeper more clues reveal itself leading to a suspect no one could imagine.
This is the twelfth Rizzoli and Isles installment and it still feels as fresh as her first book. Gerritsens writing keeps you guessing who the culprit it and you can't help but love Rizzoli and Isles. This book is brilliant and I cannot wait to go out and add this book to my collection. Thank you to netgalley and Random House for an advanced copy of this book. I enjoyed every single moment !

I've read this series from the beginning and Tess has never let me down.

A film producer dies a horrific death. How did she die is the first question. Then there is another death and this person's death also raises the question of how they died.

Interspersed with this is the story of a woman who somehow ties into all of this but how?

Typical, excellent story telling by Tess that keeps the reader engaged until the end.

The mystery had plenty of twists. I enjoyed returning to the world of Rizzoli and Isles. I just wish Maura's personal journey didn't slip back into old patterns.

I've read all of the Rizzoli and Isles books but it has been a couple of years since the last one so I had forgotten some of what is going on with these characters' lives. I don't think these books need to be read in order and this would be fine to be read as a standalone. I actually don't care too much about the personal lives of Rizzoli and Isles and so I could have done without some of those secondary plots, but I did enjoy the main mystery and the pacing of the novel kept me up late with each new twist. Fans of the series will enjoy this one as much as the ones before!

Rizzoli & Isles are back with another twisted murder to solve. Kudos to Tess Gerritsen to always deliver the best and giving the reader the unexpected ending!

This book grabbed me from page one and I finished it in one day. Very good mystery, lots of twists, surprise ending, and characters that we really like

If you have only watched the television show Rizzoli & Isles, you have missed out on the real characters as Gerritsen wrote them – real women in male dominated roles who care more about their cases than their make-up. A horror movie producer is dead, from what might appear to be natural causes if one overlooks the fact that her eyeballs are in the palm of her hand. Medical examiner Maura Isles is shocked and surprised, as is Detective Jane Rizzoli. In all the bizarre cases they’ve worked, this one stands out. The killer isn’t done and it’s not long before Rizzoli and Isles are at the scene of another grotesque murder. There are few clues, and the only chance of catching this psychopath lies with the killer’s next victim. I have loved this series since the very beginning and tell everyone I know to read it- while completely divorcing the TV series from their minds. The only things the characters have in common with their book counterparts are names and occupations