The Silent Girl is the ninth in Tess Gerritsen’s murder mystery series, Rizzoli & Isles. It brings back all the character’s we’re used to, along with now retired Detective Vince Korsak, Angela Rizzoli, and the easily hate-able Frankie Rizzoli.
Along with these characters come the new ones; police officer Johhny Tam, who is eager to investigate a Chinatown murder, aiming to become a homicide detective before the age of thirty. Widowed Iris Fang, seeking justice for a family friend accused of a murder-suicide, while looking for answers for her dead husband and their missing daughter. Persistent Bella Li, Mrs. Iris Fang’s friend and a fellow teaching instructor at the martial arts school; Bella holds a dark past and hidden history, fiercely protective of the widowed woman who has become a surrogate mother. And of course, there’s the elusive, mythical Monkey King, come to life from Chinese legend.
Maura Isles, as usual, is more interested in her personal life and preoccupied by thoughts of Father Daniel Brophy; deciding to have a house guest, teenaged “Rat,” of whom her life is indebted to, she ignorantly shoves aside work files and hesitates on autopsies, to continue going her merry way in her self-centered life. Once again, Maura Isle’s is so aggravating that her chapters are better off skimmed.
Jane Rizzoli draws strength from her worrying but caring FBI agent husband, Gabriel, and her two year old daughter, Regina, and is becoming less self-conscious, pouring her entire focus into a multiple homicide investigation linked to a nineteen year old murder-suicide at Chinatown’s since abandoned Red Phoenix restaurant.
This is by far the best I’ve read from Tess Gerritsen, and suspects are found in spades, from victim’s families, rich Irish mob bosses, and victims themselves. Chinatown is full of secrets, and the Red Phoenix massacre is only the beginning of a very long and complex case with suspects galore; missing girls, multiple homicides, and yearly notes reminding the victim’s families of the long-ago tragedy. The elusive Monkey King appears to have become flesh and blood, traipsing through Chinatown like a cat burglar, in all the wrong places at just the right time, leaving Jane Rizzoli and Barry Frost wondering if they’re just imagining things, or if there really is more to this case than the eye can see.
This book is full of unexpected twists and shocking turns, suspenseful moments and surprising truths, that will make you gasp, cry, and stare in a mix of shock and horror. A wonderful work of gruesome mystery and haunting secrets; an incredible piece of fiction from best-selling author Tess Gerritsen, and highly recommended for any mystery fan. Nine of ten stars for The Silent Girl.
SheReadsWorlds 