The Shape of Night isn’t terrible. But with a ghost playing a major role in the story line, a flawed but not very likable main character and other characters who weren’t particularly fleshed out... I just couldn’t bring myself to care about pretty much any part of it. Except that living on the Maine coast in the summer sounds amazing!

I really did not love this book, although I though I would since I love gothic novels and I've enjoyed the author's other books. Once it turned into a weird 50 Shades of Gray with ghosts, I was done. I did not realize I signed up for that. Thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine books for allowing me to read this early in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to review this book before publication. I haven't read a 'ghost' story in a long time. I wasn't sure I would like it, wasn't sure it was even going to be a ghost story. However, Tess Gerritsen is a great writer, I've read a lot of her books so of course she pulled me in. Ava is running from her past and ends up in Maine on the coast. The house is a mansion on the water, there is something in the house, watching Ava, along with that there have been numerous deaths in the house. I have always enjoyed Tess Gerritsen's characters. Loved being surprised where the author takes me. Enjoy!

This is a standalone from one of my long time favorite authors but this one kind of let me down. It was less of a mystery (I solved it early in the book) and more of a gothic romance type novel. A female protagonist who was almost unlikeable and not the kind of character I really prefer to read about. She seemed to prefer being a victim. The location...Maine, was beautifully portrayed and you could really feel the atmosphere. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir will spring to mind for many readers but probably not in a good way. I really wanted to like this but at the end of the book I can't really say I felt like it was time well spent. Some will enjoy this...just not me. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

Expertly written, and a welcome change from thrillers that depend on 3-D gore. It is rather formulaic, though, without the imagination shown in Gerritsen's other works. The protagonist rang true, but the supporting characters weren't fleshed out enough. The shredding of the Ghost-and-Mrs.-Muir story was interesting, but I had the whole thing figured out less than halfway through.

Tess Gerritsen is one of my all-time favorite authors! This book does not disappoint. She has a style that grabs your attention and holds it, making it hard to put it down..

An extremely well-written story with excitement and intrigue, delving into loss and shame. What happened on that New Year’s Eve sent Ava into an alcohol fueled depression that she doesn’t seem to be able to pull herself out of. She escapes to Brodie’s Watch, on the Maine coast. The house, at first, made he feel like she should run... but once inside she feels welcome. But something in this house is feeding off of her shame... maybe her first impression was correct!

What happens to her in this house changes her tremendously... but will anyone believe what happened? Did anything actually happen.to her, or was it alcohol fueled?

This is such a great read! If you like Tess Gerritsen... you will love this book. If you are new to Tess Gerritsen, hang on... there are many more books to read from her, and they will blow you away! She is a great writer!

As I sit down to write this review, I am truly conflicted. I have read all of Tess Gerritsen's books and enjoyed every one. I really wish I could say the same about this one. On the positive front, Gerritsen is a talented writer. The book is set in a small, coastal town in Maine, and Gerritsen captures the atmosphere beautifully. The star of the novel is Ava, who is a cookbook author with a serious drinking problem and a whole lot of guilt, the source of which is dragged out throughout most of the novel. I enjoyed getting to know Ava and loved the parts of the book that focused on her cooking and writing. I also loved the character of the town and its inhabitants.

On the negative side, everything else. I'd describe The Shape of Night as a weird mash-up of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir and 50 Shades of Gray. I guess I wasn't expecting such a paranormal focus in a book from Gerritsen. While there is a mystery/suspense aspect to the novel, it's clunky. The mystery aspect is never as well developed as the paranormal aspect. I was also disappointed that Gerritsen, who usually writes such strong female characters, wrote this one more about a damsel in distress-type character. I'm just confused.

I'd rank this as 2.5 stars, but I'll round up to 3 stars because it's very well written, and I can see that there will be an audience for it, just not Gerritsen's usual audience.

My thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have been a great big fan of Ms. Gerritsen for many, many books, and her books never disappoint. The main character is Ava, a food writer who lives in Boston. She is renting a grand old house on the Maine coast. It was built long ago by a sea captain who ultimately died at sea. As she spends time there living and writing, she experiences strange goings on...could the house be haunted? This book is quite different from her gritty medical thrillers, as it is more in the supernatural genre. Gerritsen is such a good writer and I look forward to her next book!

The Shape Of Night – Tess Gerritsen

I was fortunate to receive this book as an Advance Reader Copy from Netgalley, in exchange for an objective review.

Ava, a food writer, fleeing from a situation that shames her, has left Boston for the summer and has rented a home in Maine. The house, Brodie’s Watch, was built in 1861 by a sea captain, Jeremiah Brodie, who later perished in a shipwreck. But his home still stands as a sentinel to the sea, with renovations ongoing in hopes of an eventual sale.

Upon Ava’s arrival, she senses that the house has accepted her, and soon she thinks she sees someone standing on the deck of the widows walk. She searches the home for an intruder, but there isn’t one. She chalks up her sighting as a trick of the light but makes a mental note to research the background of Captain Brodie for her new book. After too much whiskey one evening, she heads to bed, and wakes suddenly after feeling something touch her breast and hears a voice say, “You are the one I’ve been waiting for…”. A search of the house again reveals no intruders. He again appears a few nights later, and Ava feels herself being drawn into his spell.

Curious about her experiences, but unsure who to talk to, Ava seeks out the advice of a ghost hunter named Maeve who. Listens attentively. She also assures Ava that she will research the news archives a bit to see if there is any history of tragic events that have occurred that could indicate a pattern, or a problem other than a ghost.

As Maeve digs deeper into Captain Brodie’s background, she learns some unsettling things – she also learns that all of the women who have entered and resided in the house have inexplicably died, and she fears Ava’s home may harbor a demon. Meanwhile, in Ava’s dreams, the Captain continues to visit, and the events that follow make him seem all too real, and Ava finds herself drawn to him and the house in ways she can’t explain.
Needing to know the truth about the ghost in the house, Ava turns to Maeve for help. Maeve assembles her team of ghost hunters in an effort to document Captain Brodie’s visits. Will they find a ghost or a demon? Or is it possible that a living killer in their midst may be responsible??

I was a bit curious to see how this stand-alone book would turn out after reading all of Tess Gerritsen’s early works. This seemed like a bit of a departure from the norm for her, so I was a bit ambivalent…that lasted only until the first few pages – then I was hooked!! I could not put the book down and read it in a day! I may have fallen under the Captain’s spell a bit myself! I really enjoyed this book, was sorry to see it end as I turned the last page, and I highly recommend it to any who love a good, paranormal who-dun-it!

To be honest, books about ghosts and paranormal activity are not my cup of tea. However, because this book was written by Tess Gerritsen and I have enjoyed her previous books, I decided to give this one a try. Still not a fan, but I have to say this story kept my interest even if only to see how the author was going to finish it. The plot of this book didn’t seem very well developed to me, but the descriptive phrases about the area, and the emotions of the characters were very well done. The fear felt by the characters was palpable. This was an easy read.

The Shape of night is an absolutely fabulous read. This is my first Tess Gerritsen novel, but it won’t be my last. She develops the characters so you feel you are on every page, not wanting the chapter or the book to end. A mystery, set in a beach town in Maine, the author has a wonderful lesson for the reader, which you already knew, but she so aptly reinforces. I hope I get to meet the heroine again in her next novel

I reviewed this book on Goodreads under the name Jeannie Huie today. I was glad to get to read the ARC. The book was definitely different from Gerritsen's other books. It is suspenseful and interesting, but there was more sex than I felt comfortable with!

A very average mystery book with a dash of Fifty Shades of Gray. Having never read this author before, I cannot compare this book to any of her others.

I'm not a fan of the supernatural, but when Tess Gerritsen writes, you can get caught up in anything! This was a quick, if unbelievable read. It's certainly entertainment for the beach or an airplane ride. But if like me, you're not a fan of the supernatural, you might want to pass. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review this title!
#TheShapeOfNight #NetGalley

I am a fan of Tess Geriritsen and was eager to read her new book. However, I am not a fan of ghosts and demons who demand rough sex. I think that premise is a stretch of my ability to suspend disbelief. I know the reader is expected to realize the main character is reacting based on guilt and failed loyalty but I could not accept such simplistic plot details. It felt very contrived. The novel is well written and I especially liked the back story of the cook book writer and her creation of recipes based on seafoods from another century. The mystery she solves eventually is not especially complicated and I guessed the outcome fairly soon. The ending lacked resolution for me and did not coordinate with the prologue that merely described her continuing dreams of the house and its history. Perhaps this book will appeal more to lovers of the paranormal and ghosts.

This book was excellent! Totally kept my attention and I wanted to find out what would become of the main characters. Highly reccomended.

Ava is a successful food writer from Boston who is working on a new cookbook of recipes adapted from those of old seafaring families. She has rented a house in a quaint village on the Maine coast. She hopes this move will give her the privacy she needs to write, and also provide her with an atmospheric setting in which to write. In addition, she has another, more compelling reason for relocating to Maine - - to escape the memories of a tragic incident that she was involved in and that she desperately wants to forget.

However, when she arrives at her new home, she feels an overwhelming sense of eeriness and foreboding. The house isn’t the cozy, welcoming place she had hoped for. She wonders if she should stay there…..

This is a modern day Gothic novel of obsession, secrets, sensuality, suspense and murder that will draw you in from the first page and hold you spellbound until the end! Passion, supernatural forces and the murder of a young woman combine to make this a book that is hard to put down.

Thank you to Net Galley, author Tess Gerritsen, and Ballantine Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House publishers for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC of this haunting thriller!

This was a good mystery story, but a bit more paranormal than I really love. I am a huge Gerristen fan and I liked that this was different from her other books, I just wasn't a huge fan of the whole ghost relationship idea. I did enjoy the mystery of the story and felt like it was a good read that some people will love! For me it was good and I will continue to read Gerritsen's work! Thank you netgalley for an arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

#NetGalley #The Shape of Night #Hachette Books

I love Tess Gerritsen’s books featuring Rizzoli and Isles. Although this book is completely different from the Rizzoli and Isles series Tess Gerritsen did not disappoint. Very well written story that drew me in and kept me on the edge off my seat.

Ava Collette a cookbook author trying to run from her past rents a house on the coast of Maine to finish a new cookbook. The house is actually a old mansion built by a old sea captain, Captain Brodie. Captain Brodie has been dead for over a hundred years. Soon after arriving at the house Ava starts hearing strange noises and happenings that she can't explain, she realizes that the spirit of Captain Brodie is still in residence. Trying to block out her past, her bad choices and the guilt she feels, Ava drinks heavily. Ava starts having strange interactions with Captain Brodie. We then start to learn about the things she is running from.

Ava learns that the previous woman that was renting the home fled the house in a hurry, leaving a note for the realtor stating she had a family emergency. Ava wonders if the woman left because she was terrified by Captain Brodie's presence and if she also had interactions with Captain Brodie. Ava meets with a local historian and finds that most of the women that lived in the house looked very similar to her and were pretty much recluses that never left the house. Ava becomes obsessed with the house, the former inhabitants and the history of the house. This obsession along with the heavy drinking and a dead body that is found washed ashore in town has her wondering what is real and what is not. There are many twists and turns as the history of the house unfolds along with a few mysterious deaths and paranormal activity.

I have been on a suspense kick lately and will always turn to Tess Gerritsen and her amazing novels for a change in genres. The Shape of Night was sexy, mysterious and full of suspenseful moments. There were times I was on the edge of my seat as Ava tried to uncover the mysteries of Brodie's Watch and the mysterious sea captain who visited her at night!! 

Gah! This book is very different from Gerritsen's Rizzoli and Isles series but still compelling. There were times I had to take breaks as the mystery and supernatural elements had me in all different directions! This was altogether good and while I was confused at some points, overall this was a great read. 

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book for an honest review! 4 stars! ~Ratula

Full Review: http://bit.ly/2JJrZlv