The Mephisto Club by Tess Gerritsen. This is book six in the series, and after reading The Keepsake (the seventh), I was hesitant to start this one. That said, I am glad I did! This was by far one of the best mysteries I’ve read in a long time.
That said, it does have it’s drawbacks. Dr. Maura Isles is more focused on her obsession with the off-limits priest than she is the current murder case. Unfortunately she would rather spend her time even while working, thinking about Father Daniel Brophy and their illicit affair–as well loathing thoughts towards him and his profession. In fact, this is essentially the most prominent thing she seems to contribute to this novel, and is so centered around this that she takes to being rude not only to Father Brophy but to friend and colleague Detective Rizzoli as well. It became increasingly frustrating to read chapters from Maura’s third-person point-of-view, as these chapters only grew more and more centered around her and Father Brophy.
Detective Jane Rizzoli, while always blunt, does in fact have the best intentions in mind with both Dr. Maura Isles and her work partner, Detective Barry Frost; she is happily married and a proud mother, though when it comes time for her shifts at work, she is fully engaged in the cases that come across her desk–unlike a certain pathologist with the Boston PD. In this novel, we get to see the effects that the taxing job of lead homicide detective actually has on her. It comes across in a PTSD sort of form, and with some Christmastime Rizzoli family drama going on, along with the incessant, crude prodding she receives regarding the case, Jane begins to obsess over solving it, working long hours and taking the work home with her.
The work of demons seems to haunt the targeted homes, and the murders are brutal. There are half a dozen suspects, being killed off one by one, only bringing in more mystery and even less clues as the killer strikes again and again. A runaway young woman holds many of the answers that the Boston PD is searching for, but as seen from her interesting, mysterious point-of-view, she is hard to track down, living off the grid as she runs from the Devil itself.
If this book needed a rating between one and ten stars, I’d give it a seven point five, perhaps even an eight. I definitely would recommend this novel to any mystery enthusiast looking for a new read.
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