A review by sourcerunner
The Mephisto Club by Tess Gerritsen

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

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

1.75

The main characters are not depicted as having the intelligence, training, or research capacity expected of investigators and medical examiners. They are not innocent enough to not already know the things about which they claim to be clueless when the author needs to add some exposition. Additionally, for having studied anthropology at a university level, the author either doesn't have a good grasp of mythology vs. history vs. rigorously discredited works, or she isn't inclined to define the differences in her narrative or her author's note, leaving anyone not familiar with all of the works she references with an erroneous impression about each. There's a place for adventure and not breaking suspension of disbelief, but this book is irresponsible about all of it.

On the positive side, the book does not telegraph its resolution. When the narrative is not peeving a sufficiently well-read reader, it is a good mystery.