The Keepsake

First I'd just like to say that I love all of Tess Gerritsen's work. I just can't get enough of her books. I really enjoyed this story as well. You won't be bored or tempted to put the book down, as she keeps you interested until the very end. However, I had already read 'The Keepsake'; and when I came across this book, 'Keeping the Dead' I thought I had overlooked a new book and was anxious to read it. However, I soon learned as I began reading the story that this was the same story as I had already read, but with a different title: 'The Keepsake'. Just be aware before you purchace the two mistakenly as I did.

I've read all of the books in this series. I enjoyed this one very much but I wanted to read more about Daniel and Maura. I wish the writer would write more about the main characters personal relationships. I think this would make the books more interesting. I enjoyed the last book more because I liked reading about Jane's family problems. I'm looking forward to the next one.

In her latest crime thriller featuring crack Boston Homicide Detective Jane Rizzoli, Tess Gerritsen's found a creative new wrinkle in the genre, blending archeology, psycophathy and obsession in this captivating new novel. From the gripping opening chapter right through to the last pages, this book never lets up. Fast-paced with rich characterizations; flawless plotting and pacing; fascinating science; and not a wasted word anywhere. If you're like me, and try to anticipate the twists ahead while you're reading, you'll find yourself regularly surprised as the story unfolds. This is, flat out, one of the most entertaining books I've read all summer. Get it!

When a before unknown mummy is discovered in the storage basement of the small, private Crispin Museum there is great excitement all around Boston. People love mummies, and the press is out in force as "Madam X" is transported to the hospital to be checked out by a Cat Scan. One of our favorite medical examiners, Dr. Maura Isles, dubbed by the press "Queen of the Dead", is present at the invitation of the museum curator. But things do not go as expected, because mummies do not have modern dental work or bullets in their legs. Or a very personal message for the Crispin's Egyptology expert Josephine Pulcillo, who it seems, has her own deadly secrets. Into the investigation steps the team of Detectives Jane Rizzoli and Barry Frost, familiar from Gerritsen's previous books in the series, and before long there are other grisly discoveries for the duo to delve into. Soon there is evidence that they have a serial killer on their hands and indications that Dr. Pulcillo is very intimately tied into this macabre mystery. Now I must confess that I was a little concerned at the beginning of the book that, between a mummy, the dottering museum director and secret hiding places in dusty basements, I might have stumbled into a game of Clue with Professor Plum in the Conservatory with a candlestick. But fear not, very quickly things took on Gerritsen's customary fast paced, suspense filled and yes, quite creepy pace. Creepy is a very entertaining thing in her skillful hands. One sign of good suspense story is that we, the reader, are kept on our toes. Just when we think we have it figure out, the rug is pulled out and we are happily dragged around another series of twists and turns. And be assured there are ample twists and turn in this latest appearance of the excellent characters of Isles and Rizzoli to keep we reader on the edge of our seats. The Keepsake is a taut, action packed, suspense story that will not disappoint Tess Gerritsen's many deserved fans.

When the ancient Egyptians mummified their dead, they often layered amulets and jewels within the linen wrappings. Finding such treasures in a 2000-year-old mummy is not unusual, but "Madam X" is full of surprises. After a CT scan reveals a bullet in the mummy's leg and modern dental work in the jaw, medical examiner Maura Isles and Boston PD Detective Jane Rizzoli have a murder investigation on their hands. The mummy was recently discovered in an unlabeled crate in the basement of the Crispin Museum, a small family-run museum in the Boston area. When Jane and her partner Barry Frost uncover more preserved human remains in the museum's storage area, they realize they have a very intelligent and unorthodox serial killer on the loose. The discovery leaves them with more questions than answers. What is driving the Archaeology Killer (as the murderer is dubbed by the press)? Why does he go to such lengths to preserve his victims? What is his connection to Egyptologist Josephine Pulcillo -- a woman who, like Madam X, is harboring many secrets of her own? Most importantly, how do they stop him before he claims another victim? As someone who has had a lifelong love of archaeology (in particular, Egyptology), I greatly enjoyed the archaeological elements in The Keepsake. The book was so vividly atmospheric and creepy that I found myself looking over my shoulder more than once during my reading - just in case. Tess Gerritsen has created another chilling, fast-paced thriller that is sure to delight fans of the Rizzoli/Isles mystery series. Readers new to Gerritsen's writing will also find The Keepsake very accessible and enjoyable.