In the murky shadows of an alley lies a female’s severed hand. On the tenement rooftop above is the corpse belonging to that hand, a red-haired woman dressed all in black, the body nearly decapitated. Two strands of silver hair — not human — cling to her body. They are Rizzoli’s only clues, but they’re enough for her and medical examiner Maura Isles to make a startling discovery: This violent death had a chilling prequel.

Nineteen years earlier, a horrifying murder-suicide in a Chinatown restaurant left five people dead. One woman connected to that massacre is still alive: a mysterious martial arts master who knows a secret she dares not tell, a secret that lives and breathes in the shadows of Chinatown. A secret that may not even be human. Now she’s the target of someone, or something, deeply and relentlessly evil.

Cracking a crime resonating with bone-chilling echoes of an ancient Chinese legend, Rizzoli and Isles must outwit an unseen enemy with centuries of cunning — and a swift, avenging blade.

A note from Chic Galleria’s Editor in Chief, Beth Anderson: I received this book in the mail via KLOUT along with a series of videos for the TNT show Rizzoli and Isles.  I started reading this book having no idea what the TV series was about.  Through the first several chapters I was trying to grasp the details of each character as they were introduced. The introduction to the story line was compelling because I knew the obvious answers were too obvious.  Halfway through the book, I couldn’t put it down!

I have to admit that I was disappointed when I was too tired to read last night because I was dying to get through to the end.  This evening I put on comfy clothes and settled into my favorite chair ready to figure out all the twists and turns in Tess Gerritsen’s plot.  Needless to say, I was not disappointed.  Even when I thought the story was winding down in the final chapters after an exciting climax, even more shocking story details emerged.  I was captivated until the very last sentence!  After putting the book down, I quickly ordered Tess Gerritsen’s previous novel, Ice Cold.  I highly recommend this book.  The term “gripping novel” is an understatement!

Purchase: The Silent Girl: A Rizzoli & Isles Novel

Tags: beth anderson, book review