"Fantastic reading experience"

THE SURGEON aka Walter Hoyt has been in prison for over a year but the Boston police detective who put him away still bears the emotional and physical scars he inflicted on her at their last meeting. She is not confident in her abilities anymore and she uses three locks on her front door to keep out the predators that she knows lurks out there.

A copycat killer emulates the crimes of THE SURGEON and Jane is the lead detective on the case when Walter escapes from prison. He joins his copycat associate with both perpetrators focusing their attention on Jane and making very sure she knows it. FBI agent Gabriel Dean, who is working on his own agenda, tries to get Jane to remove herself from the case but the feisty detective is determined that she will bring down Walker and his partner with him.

Tess Gerritsen can always be counted on to give crime thriller fans a fantastic reading experience and she succeeds with her latest novel THE APPRENTICE, which is heading to all the bestseller lists. Her wounded heroine is very likable and readers feel as if they share a bond with her because of her emotional scars. Ms. Gerritsen's works appeal to readers who love the novels of Patricia Cornwell and Linda Fairstein.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted July 15, 2002

Summary

It is a boiling hot Boston summer. Adding to the city's woes is a series of shocking crimes, in which wealthy men are made to watch while their wives are brutalized. A sadistic demand that ends in abduction and death. The pattern suggests one man: serial killer Warren Hoyt, recently removed from the city's streets. Police can only assume an acolyte is at large, a maniac basing his attacks on the twisted medical techniques of the madman he so admires. At least that's what Detective Jane Rizzoli thinks. Forced again to confront the killer who scarred her? literally and figuratively?she is determined to finally end Hoyt's awful influence . . . even if it means receiving more resistance from her all-male homicide squad. But Rizzoli isn't counting on the U.S. government's sudden interest. Or on meeting Special Agent Gabriel Dean, who knows more than he will tell. Most of all, she isn't counting on becoming a target herself, once Hoyt is suddenly free, joining his mysterious blood brother in a vicious vendetta. . . . Filled with superbly created characters?and the medical and police procedural details that are her trademark?The Apprentice is Tess Gerritsen at her brilliant best. Set in a stunning world where evil is easy to learn and hard to end, this is a thriller by a master who could teach other authors a thing or two.