Title: The Silent Girl
Author: Tess Gerritsen
Series: Rizzoli & Isles, #9
Narrator: Tanya Eby
Published: July 2011, Brilliance Audio
Length: 10 hours, 10 minutes
Source: Library
Every crime scene tells a
story. Some keep you awake at night. Others haunt your dreams. The
grisly display homicide cop Jane Rizzoli finds in Boston’s Chinatown
will do both.In the murky shadows of an alley lies a female’s
severed hand. On the tenement rooftop above is the corpse belonging to
that hand, a red-haired woman dressed all in black, her head nearly
severed. Two strands of silver hair—not human—cling to her body. They
are Rizzoli’s only clues, but they’re enough for her and medical
examiner Maura Isles to make the startling discovery: that this violent
death had a chilling prequel.Nineteen years earlier, a
horrifying murder-suicide in a Chinatown restaurant left five people
dead. But one woman connected to that massacre is still alive: a
mysterious martial arts master who knows a secret she dares not tell, a
secret that lives and breathes in the shadows of Chinatown. A secret
that may not even be human. Now she’s the target of someone, or
something, deeply and relentlessly evil.Cracking a crime
resonating with bone-chilling echoes of an ancient Chinese legend,
Rizzoli and Isles must outwit an unseen enemy with centuries of
cunning—and a swift, avenging blade.
My thoughts: While I’ve loved reading/listening to this series, I have to be honest and say this wasn’t my favorite, especially after loving Ice Cold so much. Don’t get me wrong – I did like it, but I just didn’t love it. Still, it was a good story and I do enjoy Tess Gerritsen’s writing.
What I have come to realize as I’ve made my way through this series, especially with the most recent books, is that the focus of the books tends to shift back and forth from Jane to Maura. In this book, Jane is the main character with Maura popping in occasionally – a switch from the previous book. While I wish they both equally shared the spotlight, I can see how in some cases, this makes sense.
There is a new detective introduced in this book, a Detective Tam. He works with Rizzoli on the case, but he just seems to have more to him than meets the eye and I’m curious to see what ends up happening with him in the future.
In this book, once again, Tess shows how she once again gives just as much detail to the backstory as she does to the police procedural/forensic details she provides. The history she gives about the Chinese folklore and cultural traditions was very interesting and provided depth to the story.
As with most of the books in this series, this book is full of twists and turns and lots of action, making it a good thriller. Now that I’ve read all the full-length novels in this series, I’m curious to see what comes next for this fabulous duo…I sure do hope we haven’t seen the last of them!
Audio Thoughts: I’m really glad that I decided to give this series a try on audio. Tanya Eby does a great job giving the characters their voice, even doing a good Boston accent, although it only seems to come out occasionally.
Books in this series:
- The Surgeon 7. The Keepsake
- The Apprentice 8. Ice Cold
- The Sinner 9. The Silent Girl
- Body Double 9.5 Freaks
- Vanish 9.7 John Doe
- The Mephisto Club 10. Last to Die
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I was the opposite one on this! I adored it but I think it was because it reminded me of why I fell in the love with the series. It had been awhile between the two that I listened to it 🙂
Kristin, thanks for sharing your thoughts about this audiobook and series. Chinese folklore and cultural traditions interest me, so perhaps I'll read this series in the not-too-distant future. Very nice review!