Bestselling thriller author, Tess Gerritsen, has released a stand-alone novel of suspense with supernatural undertones, The Shape of Night. It is a chilling story of food writer, Eva Collette who has moved out of her Boston apartment and rented a house called Brody’s Watch located several hours away. She is behind on her book and hopes the new environment will help her forget an incident in her recent past that she won’t forgive herself for. The home she rented was built by a sea captain who was lost at sea over 150 years prior, but while in the house, she sees him and forms a relationship with him. Eva wants to include the history of the house in her cookbook, and as she delves into the history, she learns that the women who lived in the house prior to her all died under suspicious circumstances. The more she learns, the more danger she finds herself in. There seems to be an underlying evil and Eva cannot seem to escape.

Readers who are familiar with Tess Gerritsen’s writing know that she is an excellent storyteller. Her bestselling series, Rizzoli and Isles, has even been made into a television series, and the books are well-written. This stand-alone novel is different from her series, but is also well-written. Gerritsen has developed her characters well, and they seem like people who exist in our lives. For some, the supernatural aspect is a bit far-fetched, but it is interesting, just the same. The novel has a lot of sexual connotation, so it probably isn’t suitable for teens, however, there is no graphic violence or language.

Fans of Tess Gerritsen will welcome this new novel, and will most likely have difficulty putting it down. The plot is good, and the dénouement is surprising.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

So, here's the thing. I liked parts of the story. The mysterious history of a Maine sea captain's home. Missing girl and an old death at the house add to the suspense. But the main character is really hard to like. I do like a main character, especially female, with her back story, bit I just didn't feel invested in her.

I enjoy Tess Gerritsen's work so I thought I would give this a try. Although, I am not a supernatural fan, I thought it was well written, and definitely had a solid mystery to follow, despite the ghost story. The book had a very heavy creepy feel, and painted a very visual picture of the setting of this house in Maine. When Ava is climbing those steep stairs a Brodie' Watch to the widow's walk, I felt I was climbing them too. Worth the read.

This is written with Gerritsen's usual skill in plot, character and description. She really brings the setting to life but the story just wasn't to my taste. I was expecting Victoria Holt meets Maine with a dash of mystery and it was more Victoria Holt meets EL James on the rocky Maine coast. If you like that idea, it's well written and a quick read and I'd recommend it to you...it just wasn't for me.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Ava, a writer escapes to Brodies Watch to write her new book -
A received this book from NetGalley for an honest review
Rumor is the house is haunted by Brodie and when Ava see him in her sexy dreams she wonders if she is losing her mind or if it is real -
As she questions the history of the house - she finds out previous owners were murdered here - - Why?
Will she be next?

I love Tess Gerritsen’s writing style and character development. However, this particular novel lost me when the protagonist started getting sexy with a ghost. If you can get past that, though, it’s a solid mystery!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

I like Tess Gerritsen’s books featuring Rizzoli and Isles, so I was happy to read this new book even though they were not part of it. This stand alone book’s main character was not a police(wo)man or a medical examiner, so it was quite a change from what I have read before.

A cookbook author escapes to a house on the coast of Maine to finish a new cookbook and escape her past. We slowly find out what she did that has caused her to cut off ties to her sister and turn to alcohol to help her forget. However, the house where she is staying was built by an old sea captain who died 150 years earlier, but who’s spirit still seems to remain present in the house. The woman’s interaction with the spirit seem to center around her quilt and repentance.

The woman must choose between the spirit and the local doctor, but the choice is not so clear cut. There are many twists and turns as the history of the house is intertwined with several mysterious deaths and paranormal phenomenon. It is another well written book by Tess Gerritsen.

Tess Gerritsen is well known for her Rizzoli and Isles murder mystery series. This is a very different style compared to her other works. In this thriller Gerritsen sucks you in right away. This story follows Ava who is a food writer who ends up in Maine after running from someone in her past. She soon find out the house holds secrets of her own. This story has a surprising romantic addition into the story line.

I'm gonna start off by saying this book was totally different from any other Tess Gerritsen book I've ever read. Ava is hiding from a horrible event that changed everything in her life. She moves to a old house in Tucker Cove, Maine and gets way more than she bargained for. This book is part paranormal, part murder mystery. I love a good ghost story and this book certainly delivers that. It also had kind of a Gothic romance feel to the whole thing.I did not see that ending coming at all. Overall this is another great story and goes to show you whatever Ms Gerritsen writes is a page turner.

I just could not get into the ghost romance. I expected more of a hard mystery with a hint of spookiness and it was more a supernatural romance. However, the writing was top notch and better than any other romances I’ve tried lately, despite its over blandness to me. So I would recommend it, just not for me.

I've read four of Gerritsen's prior novels, medical thrillers HARVEST, LIFE SUPPORT, BLOODSTREAM and GRAVITY--rating each 4-5 stars--and I'm a huge fan of the haunted house trope in general: HELL HOUSE by Richard Matheson, BURNT OFFERINGS (film version), Hell House LLC (film), GRAVE ENCOUNTERS (film), THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE by Shirley Jackson, anything by Darcy Coates, etc. So I assumed that Gerritsen's newest book would knock my socks off. She's a great writer whose books feature thoroughly researched subjects and unique premises.

That said, THE SHAPE OF NIGHT fell a little flat for me.

I didn't particularly care for Ava, as her character felt two-dimensional. She didn't have redeeming qualities, quirks, or personality enough to counteract her vices. Why doesn't she have friends other than Lucy (with whom she's on the outs) and Simon to flesh out her character profile a little bit? Why is Donna, an indifferent realtor, her only sounding board? Why does Donna frown on seeing her with Dr. Ben: is Ava paranoid, is Donna jealous, or is Donna suspicious of Ben (kinda like Ned is)?

When it comes to the paranormal, there will never be a definite answer, yet I'm still puzzled regarding who or what resides in the house. Is another entity present in addition to Brodie? Are readers supposed to give the demon angle any weight? Wouldn't the door slamming, the chandelier falling, and the vase crashing be more in line with a poltergeist (as mentioned by Maeve) than a demon or benign ghost?

Also, the prologue (re: Ava's nightmares about the house) doesn't seem to match the last, "One Year Later" chapter, even though both take place after her stay in Maine.

Finally, the first person POV felt clunky...too formal, maybe?

Ultimately, I guess I have a lot of questions about how everything ties together. This narrative doesn't feel as seamless or conclusive as her others. If that's intentional, given the different genre, I understand.

Having enjoyed many of Tess Gerritsen’s novels in the past, I was looking forward to this new offering. This psychological horror theme is a change from the medically based suspense thrillers of yesteryear.

In the first half the plot seemed to be “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir” meets “50 Shades of Gray”. Then the character who had disappeared (prior to the beginning of the book) turned up murdered so that added a murder and suspense element to the plot. And OH! Of course, we had the current requisite “secret” that had ruined lives and shattered sisterhood. All of this would have been OK with a decent follow through. But then the plot became more and more implausible, based on the foundation Gerritsen had laid. And the finale was most unsatisfying.

Unlike her other books, it was difficult to decide what she was trying to say, where she was going or what she was attempting to accomplish. Was this supposed to be a murder mystery? A paranormal suspense thriller? A family drama? A 150 year old series of unsolved murders? A ghost story set in a sleepy Maine town?

There were simply too many disparate elements which never worked together nor came to a conclusion.

I received this Kindle copy as an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely amazing book!! Couldn't put it down once I started. It was insanely suspenseful and kept me on the edge of my seat. It kept me guessing all of the way through and that ending absolutely blew me away.

Ava Collette flees to coastal Maine and the old house known as Brodie’s Watch. Here, she’s sure, she can escape her demons and write the cookbook that’s already a year overdue.

But her demons may have followed her. She is drinking too much, she is still having nightmares about that fateful New Year’s Eve, and she is being possessed by the ghost of Captain Brodie. Women have died in this house. Will Ava be the next?

A gothic tale that will stand up to the best of DuMauriere. Highly recommended.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for the ARC of Shape of Night by Tess Gerritsen. I am a longtime fan of her books and this one did not disappoint. Ms. Gerritsen has the ability to completely immerse the reader into the story. Ava Collette, an author of food related books, has rented a house on the coast of Maine for several months. Ava is presented as an unreliable narrator with excessive alcohol intake following a recent disaster in her past. Maybe because I have read so many books of this type in the past few years, I did not find it easy to like or have sympathy for Ava. I did feel connected to the story through all of its many twists and turns. The paranormal erotica scenes were a little far-fetched for me and not the genre that I normally read. If not for those scenes, I would have given 5 stars. #NetGalley #TheShapeofNight

I usually don’t like books about the supernatural but I did enjoy this book. The author had such a way about her writing that hooked me from the start !

I didn't realize this was a supernatural romantic thriller, as I'm not into such stuff.

This is a story about Ava who escapes a tragedy by residing in a remote village in hopes of a fresh start.
She soon realizes that the old cottage where she lives is haunted and that the house has secrets that the residents would not want them to be revealed.

3.5 stars rounded to four as the story entertained me enough to finish the book.

Thanks Netgalley, Ballantine Books, and author Tess Gerritsen for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a story about a woman who is trying to escape her bad choices in past. She finds a small town in Maine to retreat to in order to work on her overdue book and to try to come to terms with her past. Sadly, she uses alcohol to numb her pain and to help to not feel guilty. It does not take long to realize she has found herself in what many have said is a haunted house and a string of unsolved murders of women all looking similar to her.
Brodie’s Watch has brought her peace, and the Sea Captain Jeremiah Brodie feels more real than ghost to her. Even though she is not really sure what is happening she longs for visits from her Sea Captain. As she learns more about the murders she begins to question what is real or what is due to a few too many glasses of wine. Will Ava be able to determine if her Sea Captain is responsible for the murders at Brodie’s Watch? Or is there a real live killer who is responsible for these deaths? Will Ava ever make peace with her past?
This was a carefully well written story full of suspense and supernatural events. Ava is a complex character, which struggles with her own guilt, which forces her to visit her past mistakes. She will reminder herself of the Captains message on one of their first meetings. “Here in my house, what you seek is what you will find.”
This was an advance copy I was given in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book I have read from Tess Gerritsen.

I liked this book from the very first chapter. I think what drew me in was the story line about the ships captain and him possibly being a ghost. It brought back childhood memories of a TV show ,The Ghost & Mrs. Muir I use to love watching. But it was so much more!This was suspenseful and I could not stop turning the pages. It was also a story that had multiple story's going on with the main character. It was so refreshing to read a story that is unlike all the books out there. I read this book from start to finish in 7 1/2 hours without putting it down.

My usual gentry of books is suspense and mystery. But it seams that some of the books all have the same story line. This book was so much different then what I'm used to and it was very refreshing to read a different type of story.

I usually read a good book but sometimes don't like the ending. This book I liked from begging to end.. Tess Gerritsen can tell a great story and I will be looking forward to more of her books.

I gave this 5 stars.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review The Shape of Night. I am a huge fan of Tess Gerritsen and when I saw a new release I didn’t even read the summary I just requested it and couldn’t wait to read it. I have read most of her previous books and I am very familiar with her style and genre. I was very surprised as I began to reading The Shape of Night, I am not usually a fan of paranormal books and I was about to abandon it, but something kept me from putting it down, and I am so glad that I continued reading it. I loved this book, it was a combination of a paranormal erotic murder mystery. I was so sorry that the book ended...I would have liked a sequel.