Reviews

The Surgeon, by Tess Gerritsen

savagemommy's review against another edition

4.0

Great thriller by a physician author!

bookworm5041's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

tronnai's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Overall I enjoyed the book, the writing style was easy and the pacing good, so I felt engaged the whole time.

The story itself was a bit predictable, I was waiting for more of a twist at the end after we had found out who the killer was but didn't get one. Also the characters weren't very likeable or well developed, but as this is a series I guess we'll learn more about them over time?

I'm looking forward to reading more by this author!

emmarj's review against another edition

4.0

I was engrossed by this but a little disturbed by some of the sexist language. In a mystery that involves rape and rapists, obviously there will be sexism, but the protagonist herself has a lot of sexist thoughts and self-loathing. I hope that improves as the series continues.

alexblackreads's review against another edition

3.0

This was a really solid start to the series. Not my favorite thriller, but definitely worthwhile enough that I want to continue reading more. This book also reads like perhaps it wasn't initially planned to be a series, so I want to see where she goes with the characters. Rizzoli is interesting and unhappy, and Isles hasn't even been introduced yet (a slight disappointment, but not all that surprising).

I didn't enjoy the romance. It felt unnecessary to the overall story and I really didn't like the cop dating a victim of a current case he's working on element. It's super predatory, although not intended as such in the narrative. And it just didn't need to exist. It added nothing to the story.

I did really enjoy the writing style and the story structure. Despite the fact that I've seen the show so I kinda knew the plot twist and overall mystery, it entertained me. There was enough story and character development to make the whole book interesting beyond just the whodunit aspect.

Beyond that there were definitely sexist and transphobic aspects, but I'm not sure how much was just the characters being generally terrible people (because most of them were). I like when the characters are all garbage human beings in cop thrillers so that didn't bother me too much. Definitely something that gave me pause more than a few times, though. I'm hoping it gets a little better in later books.

Overall, it's a fine thriller. I enjoyed it. Nothing special, but I'm interested in continuing on with the series and I'm looking forward to seeing how the books differ from the show. It's kind of a neutral recommendation so far. I don't think I'll be pushing this series on anyone yet, but I also wouldn't discourage anyone from reading it.

alicevicini's review against another edition

3.0

Meh… I liked this book, it wasn't horrible but I really expected something else. I really couldn't wait to read it and in the end it was a bit disappointing. There wasn't much suspense and the ending was quite obvious. I didn't like the revelation of the "surgeon" as

Spoiler

we didn't really know him. I would have preferred that the surgeon was a character that we knew very well or that wasn't suspicious at all

.
However, as I said, this book wasn't bad at all, a perfect crime/detective novel, but maybe I expected something else.

paigeantonacci's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.25

paolaarvelo's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

lynnreadsbooks's review against another edition

4.0

I’m a huge fan of the Rizzoli & Isles TV show, but was assured by colleagues that the books were almost entirely different, but still really good. Gerritsen does not shy away from graphic details, there is no “hide the ball” of what happened to the victims – she tells you, straight up, with anatomical detail. Despite occasionally feeling a bit queasy, I appreciated that. It left the mystery to the “who dunnit” part of the novel, rather than the “what happened” part. I also found that her direct approach made it easier to stomach some of the more nauseating parts of the book. Though, if you don’t have a strong stomach, this is never going to be a book for you. I’m also not entirely comfortable with the idea of a novel premised on so much violence against women. This easily would have been five stars but even after reading it, I’m still not entirely uncomfortable with the subject’s focus. Looking forward to getting into the series and some other “villains” that might not be quite as personally disturbing.

wendy_verbiest's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.25