I Know A Secret by Tess Gerritsen (UK edition)

Title: I Know A Secret (Rizzoli & Isles, 12)
Author: Tess Gerritsen
Genre: Crime, Detective Novel, Mystery, Thriller
Source: The publisher
Publisher: Bantam Press (10th August 2017)
Blurb:

I have a secret.
And someone wants to make sure I never tell . . .

In a house decorated with horror movie posters, a young woman’s body is found. She lies on her bed, two bloodied objects clutched in her palm. Detective Jane Rizzoli and Forensic Pathologist Maura Isles are called to the murder scene, but even faced with this gruesome sight they are unable to identify the immediate cause of death.

Their investigation leads them to a high-profile murder case that was seemingly solved years before. But when another body is found in horrific circumstances, the link between the two victims is clear. Was the wrong person sent to prison? Is the real killer out there right now, picking off new targets?

One woman knows the killer is coming for her next. She’s the only one who can help Rizzoli and Isles catch him.

But she has a secret that she has to keep . . .

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5 stars)
Review:

I KNOW A SECRET by Tess Gerritsen is the twelfth instalment of her fantastic Rizzoli & Isles series. Detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles are on the case of a murderer who killed a horror film producer and gruesomely staged it. Maura cannot identify the cause of death; the woman seems perfectly healthy and yet she is dead. With no clues about the how or the why, Rizzoli and Isles are perplexed by the case. Things get even weirder when there appears to be a link to a high-profile murder case that was seemingly solved years ago. And a woman with a secret to keep knows the killer is coming for her.

Oh boy! This book is a real treat. I was sucked straight back into Rizzoli and Isles’ world, and straight into the story of I KNOW A SECRET. I really enjoyed the way Gerritsen has set out the narrative of the story. The plot itself is nicely intricate, and whilst there were bits I could guess, the big reveal definitely surprised me. It seems really weird to say this, but I actually found this to be quite a “fun” book and I think if you’re a fan of horror films then you will definitely be in for a treat.

The main plot of I KNOW A SECRET focuses on a series of mysterious murders that are gruesomely staged, but the actual cause of death is hard to find. The story is an interesting mix of the detective genre and the horror genre, a mix that I think Gerritsen does a fantastic job pulling off. I really enjoyed the way Gerritsen plays with my expectations throughout the book. Like in the previous book, DIE AGAIN, Gerritsen interweaves the main plot of the novel with Rizzoli and Isles’ lives, which I really enjoyed. It was nice to take a break from the horror, and to get to know the main characters a little more. I also really quite enjoyed the ending of this book; I thought it was brilliantly done. I am definitely looking forward to reading more books in this series.

I definitely have more of a background with the TV show that this series is based on, I’ve only read the previous book DIE AGAIN, but I found the story easy to get into and follow. If you’ve watched the TV show but never read the books, then I highly recommend that you give the series a try – I think you’ll have no trouble falling into the story and world, even with the differences, and will really enjoy the story. I KNOW A SECRET is a compelling, complex, and well written detective novel that will pull you in, until you have no choice but to race to the end to find out how it ends.

If this book intrigues you, you can pre-order a copy on Amazon UK, Waterstones, and The Book Depository.