(26)Last to Die by Tess Gerritsen

Last to Die 

by Tess Gerritsen

@tessgerritsen

Publication Date: August 28, 2012

Pages:  352

Buy it Here!

Having worked at the bookstore, I am very familiar with the works of Tess Gerritsen, but it wasn't until TNT turned her series of books into the television series, Rizzoli and  Isles that I started paying attention.


Having not read any of the previous books, but being familiar with the characters in general, Last to Die finds Rizzoli and Isles a bit at odds because Maura testified (I am assuming in the last book) against a Boston police officer.  They are called to a  homicide in a very upscale Boston neighborhood to discover an entire family slaughtered.  The only survivor is Teddy Clock, their foster child who already lost his entire family to a murderer.  While the rest of the BPD think it is an open & shut case (the housekeeper's boyfriend), Rizzoli's gut is telling her something different. She is there when an intruder breaks into the house of Teddy's foster family, she knows something deeper is going on.  She whisks Teddy off to Evensong, the exclusive boarding school in the wilds of Maine where Teddy will be safe.  Until Rizzoli and Isles discovers that there are two other children at the school with the exact same history as Teddy.  While Dr. Isles stays at the school, Rizolli & Frost are off to track down the truth about Teddy's family and the other students at the school.  Will they find the truth in time or are the kids next to be exterminated?

I really enjoyed Last to Die.  Jane and Maura in the book are very similar to how they are portrayed on TNT and I was glad to see the resemblance. Even Jane's crazy Italian family make an appearance in Last to Die.  There were somethings I missed from the previous books, obviously, but I knew enough to piece it all together.   The mystery itself, of what happened to the families of Teddy, Will, and Claire was unique enough to keep me guessing.  And that is always appreciated in a novel.

Bottom line, even though I was familiar with Rizzoli and Isles because of the television show, I had never read one of the books before and I have no idea why I waited so long. The characters are well written and the mystery is engrossing. If you haven't read the Rizzoli and Isles books before then you must, and if you have, what is your favorite book of the series?  I want to know which one I should read next!