The Shape of Night
by Tess Gerritsen

Hardcover, 288 pages
Published October 1st 2019 by Ballantine Books



Goodreads synopsis:
A woman trying to outrun her past is drawn to a quiet coastal town in Maine–and to a string of unsolved murders–in this haunting tale of romantic suspense from New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen.

Ava Collette is punishing herself for an unspeakable tragedy. So she flees Boston and rents an old home named Brodie’s Watch on a remote coastal peninsula of Maine, hoping to work on a cookbook inspired by New England cuisine that she’s been trying to finish for months. She immediately feels at peace in the isolated house–until she starts to hear strange noises.

Rumor has it that a sea captain named Brodie has haunted the house for decades. Then, one night, Ava is awakened to find herself face to face with an apparition who looks–and feels–all too real. Meanwhile, there’s been a series of accidental deaths nearby that don’t add up. And as Ava starts to check into the previous renter’s mysterious disappearance, she starts to realize that there’s a disturbing secret some in town are desperate to keep hidden.

Soon all of Ava’s waking hours are consumed by her investigation, and her nights are ignited by Captain Brodie’s ghostly visits. But even as she questions her own sanity, she knows she must uncover the truth before a killer strikes again.
***

4.5 Stars

I really didn’t know what to expect going into this book. It was part murder mystery, part paranormal romance and part horror novel all rolled up in one book.

Ava is trying to finish writing a cookbook that is one year overdue to her publisher. Good thing her agent is her best friend and has her back or that contract would have gone bye bye a month after she missed her first deadline.

This character can’t move on from a bad choice she made one night when she was drunk. Now she has holed herself away in a small town staying in a seaside mansion of a hundred year old sea captain who is haunting the place. Of course, he is not scary old and crotchety. He is handsome, thrilling and scary. He wants to give Ava what she wants. And what she wants is to be punished.

There are two mysteries happening at the same time in this book but they initially look like one villain has done multiple crimes. You really need to pay attention to the clues here.

While Ava is staying at this awesome seaside kingdom, she meets the local vet, Ben, who is the most eligible bachelor in town. For some reason he only has eyes for Ava and no one in the local community will do. Thus, we have two men vying for Ava’s affections: one is a ghost and one is flesh and blood. Could they both be killers?

I am going to leave this pretty vague since the unfolding of the plot is the most exciting thing in this story. I really enjoyed this concept and hope to read more of Tess Gerritsen’s writing in the future.

If you love to be scared and have a thing for paranormal romance, check this out.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

The Shape of Night by Tess Gerrittsen is an interesting thriller, and a concept that is not utilized as often as it could be. I really appreciated the atmosphere of the story as well as the message surrounding regret and death.

I give The Shape of Night 4.5/5 stars.

I received The Shape of Night as an e-arc from Netgalley

I just love this author so I was so happy to receive this book from NetGalley. The premise of this book is different from her usual thrillers. I would categorize it as supernatural romance mystery. I loved the setting of this house in a small town by the sea. She did a great job describing it. The story moved along well and I liked the main character. She had issues and an interesting job. I enjoyed both the mystery and the romance. This was well worth the read.

Ava is an author of cookbooks who likes to give a history or theme to her writing and recipes. Ava decides to rent a house in New England that is steeped in history. The house was built over 150 years ago and belonged to Captain Jeremiah Brodie and since it sits overlooking the sea they named it Brodie's Watch. As she is determined to test her recipes and write her cookbook, she feels like there is a presence in the house. She can't determine if the presence wants to harm her or help her. While attempting to rent another house, Ava becomes friends with the local doctor, Ben Gordon. They become fast friends. Ava decides to stay at Brodie's Watch after all but strange things start to occur.

Do you believe in ghosts? Ava Colletter does ... she's actually seen Captain Jeremiah Brodie who's been haunting Brody's Watch for more than a century. She's touched him, been touched by him, and talked with him. He looks and feels as real as anyone who is still among the living. He welcomes her with open arms.

Ava has rented this mansion for the summer i order to write her next cookbook. And fleeing from a disaster, this is the perfect solution. Or is it?

Before too long, Ava is questioning her own sanity. But he has become her addiction.

But the house .... and the ghost ... come with a terrible secret.. one that could add her to the list of other women who have lived there before her.

This is a haunting tale of suspense, obsession, and a dangerous passion... largely reminiscent of the old Gothic novels. There is plenty of action in this well crafted novel. A few twists kept me riveted from the very first to the surprising unpredictable ending.

Many thanks to the author / Random House Publishing - Ballantine / Netgalley for the digital copy of this paranormal suspense. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

I started reading Tess Gerritsen's books after watching Rizzoli and Isles. This book is a departure from her usual genre. Not surprisingly, I was intrigued by the first page. I thoroughly enjoyed the ghost story, and satisfied with the ending.

This is not my normal genre, but I decided to try it because I've read other things by the author that I liked. This one did not work for me, though I would probably recommend it to patrons who enjoyed Fifty Shades of Grey.

This is an eerily spooky story. After a devastating tragedy, Ava, a food writer with a book deadline escapes to Maine to finish her book. She rents an old mansion whose previous tenant has left in a hurry and hasn’t been heard from since. The house Ava rents is called Brodie’s Watch and was built by a sea captain in the late 1800’s. The house feels sentient and it is rumored to be haunted. Ava has several encounters with Jeremiah Brody but is he a ghost or has Ava been drinking too much? After digging into the house’s history Ava finds out that all of the women who’ve lived there have died there. As Ava works through her demons she is falling in love with and is terrified by Captain Brody. The previous tenants body is discovered and it is determined she was murdered. Is the ghost killing the women who all look similar to Ava or is someone else in Tucker’s Cove responsable? I liked this story, it was creepy and spooky and just right for an October read. My one problem was with the dialogue. Ava was very short and rude when interacting with people in town. Most were very nice to her but I found her personality a bit abrasive. I know she was suffering from guilt but I think she could have been less abrupt. Overall, I liked this haunted house story and wanted to taste some of Ava’s dishes. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

As always a winner! Gerrirsen hasn’t lost her touch to write a best seller! Loved this book and will be looking for more!

Hold onto your seats, this is a real nail-biter! From the first word to the final gulp, you’ll be mesmerized. Paranormal delight! #Unputdownable! #Gobsmacked
#nailbiter #edgeofyourseatthrills #supersuspense

Unfortunately, I was very disappointed in this book. I have enjoyed the Rizzoli and Isles series and the other non-series books by Tess Gerritsen, but this book fell short of her normal quality. I'm not offended by the paranormal aspect, but when you factor in the main character's alcohol issues and the sexual experiences, it was essentially an alcoholic pornographic story.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Tess Gerritsen's newest novel, The Shape of Night, will have you hooked at the prologue. In a book that is very different than her other novels, this story takes us on an adventure of a house that appears to be haunted and how the current person renting this house reacts. This story will make you wonder and question what you learn until the very end. I will say that this book is one that you just can't put down. That said, perhaps you should find a well lit area to enjoy this read, because you will be in for a ride of surreal occurrences that will have you a little on edge.

The Shape of Night Prologue

We start with a first person account of a dream about Brodie's Watch. Brodie's Watch is a house that is a main character in this story. The mist is curling around their feet as they stand in the driveway looking up at the house. They know that Death waits behind the front door, but they are still drawn forward because the house is calling to them. Once inside they discover that everything is wrong, and the revelation that they discover in the master bedroom will have you taking a deep breath before you have to keep reading.

Ava Collette

Ava is the current occupant of Brodie's Watch, as she has rented it for the summer so she can write her current cookbook. The cookbook is about traditional New England cooking of seafaring families. She is behind deadline, so this house seems to be a great answer for her research, testing recipes and exploring a village that has a lot of history. She is sharing the house with Hannibal, a 26 pound Maine Coon cat . Hannibal is a great hunter and he puts food above all else.

As Ava begins to experience strange events she watches how Hannibal reacts to figure what is real and what may be a result of her turning to alcohol to escape something in her past. Something that is so bad, that she has even cut off communication with her sister Lucy. This is a secret that is too much to bear, but yet one that she can never admit to. As Ava learns about Captain Jeremiah Brodie, and she is visited by him on certain days, she finds that he knows all of her secrets. He uses that power to keep her wanting to stay in the house. A house that he built back in 1861.

This book is full of twists and turns, mystery, and a questioning of what is real and what is made of dreams. The Shape of Night is a book that you will want to add to your reading list. Whether you are a long time fan of Tess Gerritsen, or if this will be your very first time reading her great brand of storytelling, you will be remembering this book for a long time to come. I give this book 5 stars (I'd give more if I could) so I hope you bump it up to the top of your reading wish list.

Tess Gerristen’s newest novel is a departure from her well-known series's and stand-alone novels. This ghostly thriller features cookbox writer Ava, escaping to the haunted house on the cliffs of Maine from a troubled past in Boston. We start to learn about Ava’s guilt as we get to know the very real ghost Captain Brodie.

A story wrapped in several others takes many twists and is entirely impossible to put down. I don’t tend to enjoy this type of mystery, but really enjoyed this story.

Grateful for the advanced reader copy for an honest opinion.

This is my first book by Tess Gerritsen, I was a fan of the show based of her popular series and I've always wanted to dig into one of her books. I was super excited to try one with a paranormal twist.

The Shape of the Night follows Ava, a women who is dealing with a tragedy and betrayal. She is looking for some place different to concentrate not only of her new culinary book but also the guilt and hurt she has from what happened back home. She rents a house on the lake in a small town in Maine for a while, the house at first is not what she expects, even though its beautiful there was something eerie and unsure she felt before she stepped in. But not until she starts to hear strange noises does she think she's dealing with a haunted house. Then when she comes face to face with the Captain who owned her house long ago does she feel the pull to stay here as well as the frightening feeling she's not thinking clearly.

I loved Gerritsen writing, the flow and ease that she pulls you into the story is wonderful. I loved the small town the detailed description of the house and the small hints of mystery that really got me hooked. Ava herself is a bit of a mess, emotionally and being isolated in a new house and town doesn't help her situation. Her mistake back home that caused her reason for coming was tragic and also I felt angry with her. She has a problem and the reader becomes obvious to it as the book moves forward. I had a hard time connecting with her because she was making more bad decisions, especially when the ghost shows up. I would of been out of that house in a minute, however I do understand that the ghost has a pull towards the people there.

Overall it was a great thriller, but it actually creeped me out it some negative ways. The ghost and how he was with Ava was disturbing. I'm sure that was the authors intention because of what the ghost purpose was but I just got the creeps from the whole interaction, mostly how he was and how he talked. I do like last few chapters because it becomes clear the reasons behind the ghost and how Ava story came about. The murder mystery itself was missing something, not sure what I just didn't feel as invested in solving that as I did about what was going on with the house. In the end I'm glad I gave this author a try, I may not of liked the plot as much as I was hoping for but I did enjoy her writing style.

I have always enjoyed Tess Gerritsen’s books, and this one is no exception. As a matter of fact, I believe I would have to rank The Shape of Night as one of my favorites. Ava Collette is trying to outrun her past. In an effort to accomplish this, she flees to a remote area in Maine and rents a very old and very large house—Brodie’s Watch. For some reason, this area and this house bring a peace to Ava that she has not experienced in quite some time, until something happens to steal that peace away
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Do you believe in ghosts? This is a question that Ava is faced with in her temporary home away from home. Or is it temporary? Is it haunted? Not only is there a hint of the supernatural contained in this novel, there is mystery and romance as well. It is loaded with suspense and will keep you on your toes as you explore along with Ava, attempting to make sense of her life and the things that happen to her.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and hope that Ms. Gerritsen will venture along this path again. Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

A paranormal romantic suspense. Ava Collette, a cookbook author escaping a tragic event, flees Boston to rent an old mansion in Maine in order to have peace and quiet to finish her latest book. There she experiences (and boy does she!) the ghost of Jeremiah Brodie, the dashing sea captain who built the house over a hundred years ago. Over the years, five women living in the house have died or disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Is Ava next? And is the ghost really a demon or just a figment of her guilty, drunken depression? A decent ghostly mystery.

I appreciate that author's want to stretch. I like Gothic stories. I like the paranormal. I actually lived in a house for two years with a ghost, and have encountered others. I have been fascinated by the paranormal for years. Although the story is fiction, I also believe there are things of which the paranormal are capable, and what they're not. Becoming corporal and having sex falls into the "not" category. Perhaps, had I stayed with it, I'd have found that part was only a dream or Ava's imagination, but I just wasn't willing to go that far, so I stopped reading the book, and shan't be posting this review publically.

Gerritsen is an author I've followed from her very first book, but this was just a step too far for me. I know she is capable of excellent writing. I'll wait for her next book, thanks.

I've been a Tess Gerritsen fan for YEARS. I read her way before the Rizzoli and Isles TV Show. I started reading her in high school so that's been....13 years+ oh my!!!. But, this is Tess in all her glory writing a wonderful tight suspense novel. I did love some of the supernatural aspects thrown in. Boy, I had missed Tess's writing. So fantastic. Hard to put down.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. I would give this book about a 3 1/2. Being a fan of Tess Gerritsen's books, I found this book to be a bit different from her other books.

Ava has escaped her issues in Boston and seeks a quiet place in Maine to get her life back on track. She finds that the home that she is renting is haunted, by what is presumed to be the original owner that was lost at sea over 100 years ago. While trying to complete her book that is over a year past due, she must uncover the secrets that are being hidden in the house.

Strange read but a great read! You get away from your life, go somewhere so you can relax and finish your novel. Only relaxation is to far away since you are currently dreaming about a ghost. Paranormal books have never been a favorite of mine, but author Tess Gerritsen has been a favorite because of her Rizzoli and Isles series. Quick read but good content.