Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Surgeon, by Tess Gerritsen

19 reviews

mxajlikesbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

Steeped in gender roles, misogyny, and the plot heavily revolves around sexual violence. 

Very engaging and easy to read (finished the whole thing in two sittings in less than a day), enjoyed the medical details and I found the killers POV moments creative and intriguing but was bored by the two main characters and found them very unsympathetic (especially Rizzoli's internalised misogyny and both cops' unethical behaviour at different points). Was also highly disappointed by the completely unnecessary "twist" that

Spoiler

the villain had worn a wig/crossdressed, contributing to the tired and queer/transphobic trope of serial killer men donning drag as part of their villainy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Medical content, Misogyny, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Murder, Sexism, Sexual violence, Stalking, Police brutality, Rape, and Violence

Moderate: Transphobia

taque's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Spoiler

really good mystery story, but way more graphic than I would have liked

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Gore, Sexual harassment, Death, Confinement, Murder, and Blood

Minor: Car accident, Suicide, Misogyny, Gun violence, and Grief

madisonbell_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Medical content, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, and Torture

aliteracja's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical content, Blood, Murder, Sexual assault, Torture, Rape, and Gun violence

Moderate: Cancer

hkburke2's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I enjoyed the writing and the pacing was... Motivating, I guess. It kept me engaged. Several things did not age well here, though.

Spoiler

Gender essentialism with the uterus, Rizzoli's whole character is developed around her looks without a lot of depth/appreciation for the systems around her (although there's some acknowledgment of the pressures on her as a woman in the department, it feels really surface level), and the flaw in her character being she just wants to kill suspects - definitely not a good look and something she'd struggle to come back from, for me.

Also weird there's no Isles? I guess this is just further confirming for me that when it comes to books I like cozy detective stories/mysteries, not "modern day" police procedurals. But if that's your thing, the writing here at least could sell you on this. I can see why they wanted it for TV. (I listened to the version narrated by Laurel Lefkow). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Murder, Medical trauma, Blood, Stalking, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexism, Police brutality, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence

Minor: Ableism, Suicide, and Racism

straendeeeeeeeee's review

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Stalking, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexism, Police brutality, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Mental illness, Medical content, Kidnapping, Hate crime, Gun violence, Fatphobia, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Drug use, and Drug abuse

nicolelis's review

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

absolutely phenomenal book! i chose it from a very long list of possible books to read for the final project for my summer forensic science class (based on the synopsis), and am so glad i did. the plot is so captivating and makes the book a very enticing read once you learn a bit about the characters and the crime--it took me 3 or so days to read the first 50 pages but only 1 and 1/2 to read the last 300. i'd definitely recommend it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Sexism

Minor: Stalking and Kidnapping

catandherbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Too much medical jargon when perhaps it wasn't needed. Real didn't like the way the author portrays Jane Rizzoli in the book. The series did a much better job of it. Most of the men here suck. I'll be reading the next one because 1) I want to see how Jane's character develops in the next book and 2) I'm curious to see if Maura's character will be introduced in the next book and/or how the two women's dynamic will be like iwhen she enters this series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and Blood

Moderate: Torture and Sexual assault

lauramorosanu's review

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Murder

Moderate: Gun violence

alies_in_wonderland's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Violence, Sexual assault, Medical content, Torture, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, and Murder