"Horrific Tale of Murder"

Medical examiner, Maura Isles, is called to the convent of Our Lady of Divine Light where novice, Sister Camille, has been bludgeoned to death and an older nun, Sister Ursula, beaten but still holding on. The other fourteen elderly nuns silently watch as Maura and police homicide officer, Jane Rizzoli, examine the body and search the convent. The following day when Maura examines the young nun's body, she is shocked to find that she had recently borne a child.

Dr. Victor Banks has been trying to reach his ex-wife and although she is still drawn to him, Maura is not so sure she wants to have anything to do with him with their diverse life styles. They have been divorced for almost three years and Maura is determined to keep it that way although Victor seemingly has other ideas. He works for a company that does good works in poor countries and that takes him to all parts of the world.

Jane had been dating a man from the FBI and now finds she is pregnant. She is thinking about terminating the pregnancy but finds herself reluctant to do so. She is part of a warm Italian family, a strong woman, a good police officer and a good friend of Maura.

A body is found in an abandoned building and a body of a man discovered in his car have both been mutilated and shot with the same weapon. Why had these two people come to the convent to speak to Sister Ursula and what do they all have to do with each other that they would all end up murdered?

Tess Gerritsen writes a fascinating book -- it is not for the squeamish as she describes the job of a medical examiner and as she performs autopsies on the slain individuals. Jane and Maura come to life on the pages of THE SINNER as the reader tries to figure out the connection among the victims. They are both strong women who work well together and are in for a few surprises along the way in their investigation. The book is written seamlessly keeping the reader turning the pages anxious to discover what is going on until the horror is revealed. Guaranteed, you won't be able to put down THE SINNER written by the talented Tess Gerritsen until you finish the last page. Excellent story telling.

Reviewed by Marilyn Heyman
Posted September 14, 2003

Summary

Not even the icy temperatures of a typical New England winter can match the bone-chilling scene of carnage discovered in the early morning hours at the chapel of Our Lady of Divine Light. Within the sanctuary walls of the cloistered convent, now stained with blood, lie two nuns- one dead, one critically injured- victims of an unspeakable savage attacker.

The brutal crime appears to be without motive, and the elderly nuns in residence can offer little help in the police investigation. But medical examiner Maura Isles's autopsy of the dead woman yields a shocking surprise: Twenty-four-year-old Sister Camille, the order's sole novice, gave birth before she was murdered. Then the disturbing case takes another stunning new turn when another woman is found murdered in an abandoned building, her body mutilated beyond recognition. Together, Isles and homicide detective Jane Rizzoli uncover an ancient horror that connects these terrible slaughters. As long-buried secrets come to light, Maura Isles finds herself drawn inexorably toward the heart of an investigation that strikes closer and closer to home - and toward a dawning revelation about the killer's identity too shattering to consider.

As spine-tingling as it is mind-jolting, The Sinner showcases Tess Gerritsen in peak form - bringing her intimate knowledge of the dark depths of criminal investigation brilliantly to bear. Beneath the layers of startling insight into the souls of its characters, and the richly wrought depiction of the everyday war between good and evil, beats the unstoppable heart of an irresistible thriller.