Rating: 
Summary: Medical Thriller
Review: Are sequels ever as good as their predecessors? Are they written because the author is running out of ideas, and so is recycling previous things?
Series fiction usually has a new case every time, and may not dwell much on the original. But Tara Moss's Makedde Vanderwall series has the Stiletto Murders still fresh in the mind with the first three novels ("Fetish", "Split" and "Covet"). Tess Gerritsen has also brought back her killer, the Surgeon, in this follow-up - "The Apprentice".
We first met homicide detective Jane Rizzoli in "The Surgeon", where the killer preyed on damaged women, and cut out their uteruses. "The Apprentice" (which should be read after "The Surgeon" as it names the killer) sees murders similar to the Surgeon's, but the victims are different - instead of damaged women, they are wealthy couples. And the Surgeon has escaped from prison.
Neuropsychiatry is brought into this novel with an interesting take on murderers - damage to their frontal lobes causes them to kill. Detective Jane Rizzoli considers if this is true... or maybe some people are just born evil.
Tess Gerritsen's most fascinating and thrilling novel is "Gravity". Yet her other medical thrillers are of extremely high quality. Lately she's been into police procedure and life in the medical examiner's world - i.e. the novels are going more mainstream - but still manages to write complex and intriguing storylines. Can you believe this fantastically intelligent and talented author used to write romantic suspense? Tess Gerritsen proves that change really is for the better. And as a former physician, her novels have that ring of authenticity.
"The Apprentice" is well plotted, with interesting characters, curious deaths and murderers who are very clever, indeed. Tess Gerritsen's books must be read.
Rating: 
Summary: "The Surgeon" is Back.....
Review: Boston Homicide Detective, Jane Rizzoli, still bears both the physical and mental scars of her last, and almost deadly encounter with Warren Hoyt, "the surgeon," who methodically tortured, mutilated, and viciously murdered his victims in a killing spree that ended last year. Thanks to Rizzoli, Hoyt is now behind bars, in a maximum security prison, and he's there for life. So you can imagine her horror, when she's called to an eerily familiar crime scene, and it becomes immediately apparent that a copycat killer, soon dubbed "the dominator," is on the loose and has taken over "the surgeon's" work. As the body count rises, Hoyt escapes from prison and joins forces with his apprentice. This very lethal pair are now hunting together, and their next target is Jane Rizzoli, the victim who got away..... Tess Gerritsen is back with a sequel to last year's best-selling and cleverly plotted thriller, The Surgeon. The Apprentice is a fast read, tense and suspenseful, and filled with vivid scenes, and graphic descriptions. But unfortunately, if you read The Surgeon, you'll find there's not much new here, just a rehash of last year's story. The characters are well drawn and interesting, but the large chip on Rizzoli's shoulder, her drive to be always one better than any of her male counterparts, and her constant whining starts to get old and detracts from the story. With a rushed and unsatisfying ending, that leaves several plot lines hanging and too many questions unanswered, The Apprentice is far from Ms Gerritsen's best. For those looking for an intriguing and compelling thriller, read The Surgeon.
Rating:
Summary: A Hot Sequel!
Review: Detective Jane Rizzoli is back as the tough and determined homicide investigator we met in The Surgeon. This time, however, she carries with her the physical and emotional scars given to her by Warren Hoyt. This time around she is slightly broken, a victim survivor that still sees the predator that had once stalked her around every corner. To make matters worse, a series of violent crimes appear to be the Surgeon's handiwork-wealthy men are forced to watch their wives being brutalized, ending in death for both-but he's safe behind bars. The police can only assume that another madman has taken up Warren Hoyt's banner of sadism and murder-an apprentice the police moniker the Dominator. Rizzoli suddenly finds herself the lead investigator in a case that mirrors her nightmares. The investigation turns even deadlier when Warren Hoyt escapes from prison and somehow joins forces with his pupil. Now there are two predators, and their prey is Jane Rizzoli.The Apprentice is a suspenseful and scary thriller that can even be enjoyed without having first read The Surgeon. Jane Rizzoli is a bundle of contradictions, from tough cop to recovering victim to lonely, single woman. You've got to love her and pull for her. The supporting cast is great as well, and the forensic science is superb. My only complaint is we don't get to learn more about the Dominator. He's only the sum of his crimes. This book seems to be more about Warren Hoyt than the new killer. But all in all, The Apprentice delivers the adrenaline rush it promises. You'll be hooked within the first few pages.
Rating:
Summary: A Real Thriller
Review: First, if you have not read 'The Surgeon' by Tess Gerritsen I do not recommend reading the Apprentice first. I made that mistake and probably ruined the plot of the previous book.
The Apprentice was a great thriller. It's the kind of book you get to read once in a while that leaves you on the edge of your seat the entire time. Through the whole book, I was constantly asking myself "who dunnit"? The book is about a Jane Rizzoli, a Boston detective who gets teamed up with an FBI agent to try and solve a recent string of murders. All the killings are nearly the same but there's more it than what the FBI agent is letting on. This was a great book and a real quick read.
Rating:
Summary: I didn't find it a brilliant best.
Review: Gerritson is a talented writer, but you wouldn't necessarily know it from this book. While she manages to keep the pace up, the plotting is sloppy (sudden endings, loose threads) and the characterization feels weak this time around. Hope to see her back with a stronger entry next time.
Rating: 
Summary: Tess Gerritsen does it again!
Review: I have been patiently waiting to get my hands on this book and finally I have. I have read every single book that Gerritsen has released and in The Apprentice I have not been disappointed. It is more or less a continuation of her earlier novel, The Surgeon. The big difference is that this novel focuses more on the female detective that helped crack the case in the first one. Jane Rizzoli was to me not a very likable character in the first book, but in this book she takes on a new light. She was portrayed as a very masculine type of female in The Surgeon, but in The Apprentice she takes on the role of the strong woman who is feminine yet at the same time a spitfire.
When murders start happening in Boston a year after the Surgeon has been in jail, Rizzoli is the only one who sees the connection at first. But as the body count mounts suddenly an FBI agent appears on the scene. Rizzoli who in all of her years as a detective has never seen the FBI work in this way, is very puzzled. Her puzzlement only deepens as her attraction to the FBI agent Gabriel Dean does also. When The Surgeon, Warren Hoyt, who she put behind bars in the first book, escapes from prison, all hell breaks loose. Rizzoli has suspicions that The Surgeon and their new killer, The Dominator are working together to fulfill their murderous fantasies. Tensions increase as Rizzoli and her fellow officers keep coming up with dead ends and no suspects in sight. The only problem that I had with this story was its abrupt ending.
Once again, I am impressed with Gerritsen's style and attention to detail. She is a wonderful story teller and I fully intend to keep reading her books and I highly recommend them to anyone!
Rating:
Summary: What a let-down!
Review: I was SO looking forward to reading this book, a sequel of sorts to The Surgeon, one of the best books I've ever read, but this just wasn't that great. Not that it wasn't real written, it is. I think that Ms. Gerritson's writing style is among the best out there, certainly blowing Patricia Cornwell out of the water, but the ending was horrible, not even developed completely. Perhaps if the first book hadn't been so good, this one wouldn't have been such a let down, but I was looking forward to another awesome book, and I just didn't find it here.
Rating:
Summary: Good, fast-paced, but not scary
Review: Jane Rizzoli, Boston homicide detective, faces another serial killer. She is the classic example of a woman working in a man's world; she has a huge chip on her shoulder and a need to prove that she is the best and is not emotionally affected by the horrific aspects of her job. This time she is up against a killer who reminds her too much of her previous nemesis, The Surgeon. This book really isn't that graphically violent. The killers are certainly psychopaths and inventive in the execution of their crimes. However, we see the aftermath of the crime, rather than the crime itself, since we are looking through the eyes of a homicide detective. The book was fast-paced, but I found the ending to be anticlimactic. This is the first Gerritsen that I've read. When I picked it up, I didn't know that this was a sequel, so if you are like me and dislike reading books out of order, read The Surgeon first.
Rating: 
Summary: Not nearly good enough
Review: Tess Gerritsen has written a serial-killer novel. Other reviewers has said the same thing, and I will repeat it: it is not good enough, it has been done better before! The Apprentice is a rip-off of great serial killer/frustrated police-woman/gruesome medical examiner facts-books by Patricia Cornwell, Kathy Reichs and others, who does it much better than Ms. Gerritsen. There is not much new in this book, and it is hard to feel anything for the characters. Even the serial killer is just annoying. Jane Rizzoli, the frustrated police-woman, battling not only with sexist issues at the station but also the mental and physical scars from the same serial killer in a previous book, is trying hard to find him again, when he escapes prison. She cannot admit that she is scared to death, and while we try hard to gain some sympahty for her, the killer is getting closer and also playing gruesome mindgames with her. She is almost too stubborn for her own good. When the story is about to get going, it ends. Too much space in this book is used to descibe Jane Rozzoli's mental health, and her angst and anxiety and it gets boring. I was not impressed with this book, but - will not rule out that I could pick up another Tess Gerritsen book another time.
Rating:
Summary: Great Thriller
Review: The Surgeon and Jane Rizzoli are back in "The Apprentice" by Tess Gerritsen. Ms. Gerritsen is tops when it comes to portraying a brutal killer. The Surgeon is so creepy, he gave me goose bumps. And now he's teamed up with another killer, the Dominator. Jane Rizzoli is a wonderful chracter and in this book, we get to see a more personal side to her, which I liked. She's a tough cop who's dedicated to her job, trying to deal with scars left behind by the Surgeon. Great thriller.
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