Product Description

He slips into homes at night and walks silently into bedrooms where women lie sleeping, about to awaken to a living nightmare. The precision of the killer’s methods suggests that he is a deranged man of medicine, propelling the Boston newspapers to dub him “The Surgeon.” The cops’ only clue rests with the victim of a nearly identical crime: Two years ago, Dr. Catherine Cordell fought back and killed an attacker before he could complete his assault. Now this new killer is re-creating, with chilling accuracy, the details of Cordell’s own ordeal. With every new murder he seems to be taunting her, cutting ever closer, from her hospital to her home. Her only comfort comes from Thomas Moore, the detective assigned to the case. But even Moore cannot protect Cordell from a brilliant hunter who somehow understands—and savors—the secret fears of every woman he kills. . . .

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1408431 in Books
• Published on: 2004-06-29
• Released on: 2004-06-29
• Original language: English
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 368 pages

From Amazon.co.uk
Tess Gerritsen left a very successful career as an internist to raise her children and devote more time to writing. The Surgeon, following several books that met with moderate success, is a gruesome and frightening story that should put Gerritsen among the top women thriller writers working today.

A serial killer is on the loose in Boston. The victims are killed in a particularly nasty way: cut with a scalpel on the stomach, the intestines and uterus removed, and then the throat slashed. The killer obviously has medical knowledge and has been dubbed "the Surgeon" by the media. Detective Thomas Moore and his partner Rizzoli of the Boston Homicide Unit have discovered something that makes this case even more chilling. Years ago in Savannah a serial killer murdered in exactly the same way. He was finally stopped by his last victim who shot him as he tried to cut her. That last victim is Dr Catherine Cordell, who now works as a cardiac surgeon at one of Boston's prestigious hospitals. As the murders continue, it becomes obvious that the killer is drawing closer and closer to Dr Cordell, who is becoming so frightened that she is virtually unable to function. But she is the only person who can help the police catch this copycat killer. Or is it a copycat? To complicate matters even further, Detective Moore, often referred to as Saint Thomas as he continues to mourn the loss of his wife, is getting emotionally involved with the doctor.

The suspense in The Surgeon is almost unbearable. The writing is superb and the stunning twists and turns make it almost impossible to put down. --Otto Penzler, Amazon.com

From Publishers Weekly
A creepy cerebral serial killer vaguely reminiscent of Hannibal Lecter pursues a charismatic female doctor in this thoroughly satisfying if somewhat derivative thriller. Skillfully drawn surgical backdrops sizzling with ER intensity balance out the obligatory romantic intrigue and familiar plucky police professionals, attesting to Gerritsen's authentic medical expertise as a former physician. Dr. Catherine Cordell, the main character in this chilling tale, thought she had shot and killed her rapist and would-be murderer two years earlier in steamy Savannah, where he was a surgery intern at her hospital. Now, in Boston, as another hot summer begins, he appears to have miraculously returned and embarked once again on his grisly mission: he rapes women, then surgically removes their wombs. As two intrepid detectives Thomas Moore and Jane Rizzoli investigate, Cordell begins to doubt her own memories (or lack of) and discovers that not even her OR is safe. Gliding as smoothly as a scalpel in a confident surgeon's hand, this tale proves that Gerritsen (Harvest; Life Support; Bloodstream; Gravity), originally a romance writer, has morphed into a dependable suspense novelist whose growing popularity is keeping pace with her ever-finer writing skills. (Sept.)Forecast: National print advertising in People, the New York Times and USA Today, plus a major promotion campaign, will ratchet Gerritsen's sales up yet another notch.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
In this frighteningly suspenseful tale, Detective Tom Moore and his partner Jane Rizzoli try to discover who is playing "surgeon" in Boston, and why. A serial killer strikes, butchering his female victims with a precision that indicates he has expert medical knowledge. Some years ago in Savannah, GA, a serial killer murdered women in exactly the same way, until his last victim, Dr. Catherine Cordell, who now works in Boston, shot and killed him. As the investigation progresses, Cordell is brought in to help. The Surgeon is a fascinating medical story with a gripping plot and rich, complex characters. Christine Marshall's clear and thoughtful reading adds to the depth and level of suspense. Highly recommended. Denise A. Garofalo, Astor Learning Ctr., Rhinebeck, NY
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.