Doctors make the scariest villains

By Ande Jacobson

First released in hardback in August 2001, The Surgeon is the first book in Tess Gerritsen’s Rizzoli & Isles series even though Medical Examiner Maura Isles isn’t introduced until the second book. Making full use of her background as a practicing physician before retiring to write mysteries full time, in The Surgeon, Gerritsen creates a riveting mystery that draws the reader in and doesn’t let them go even when they get to the last page because they know there will be more. In another book. Even so, The Surgeon is at turns gripping and terrifying, and the resolution to this first book in the series is satisfying with a whiff of “happily ever after” for some of the characters.

The villain displays disturbing medical skills in his murders. Slashing his victim’s throats in a single stroke after surgically removing their uteruses earns him the nickname “The Surgeon” in police and news circles. The cases are perplexing, and they have a multi-state trajectory. Through thorough investigation, the detectives realize that seemingly disconnected cases committed by a perpetrator who was killed during the commission of his final crime may be related to the current spree despite the disparate locations and timeframes. The current spree is in Boston, but a similar series of crimes previously occurred in Georgia.

The principals in the story include Detectives Jane Rizzoli, Barry Frost, and Thomas Moore; Medical Examiner Dr. Ashford Tierney; Doctors Catherine Cordell, Peter Falco, and Andrew Capra; and of course the new villain who shall remain unnamed.

Catherine Cordell was the only surviving victim of a horrific series of attacks on women in Savannah, Georgia. She was assaulted in her own home by Andrew Capra, one of her interns who had come by ostensibly for advice on his performance at work. When he didn’t get the answers he sought, he viciously attacked Cordell. Cordell killed Capra in self-defense during the assault and thought that was the end of it. She relocated to Boston, established a thriving surgical practice, and tried to put things behind her though that’s far easier said than done. Her partner in the practice, Peter Falco, is also a talented surgeon, and together they tackle difficult cases while training the next generation of surgical residents. Cordell’s world starts to fall apart when the police arrive at her hospital and bring up her past in the course of their investigating two disturbing local murders with striking similarities to her attack.

Through the investigation, Detective Moore develops a close relationship with Cordell, something that while unethical is grossly out of character for the detective who has a reputation for being an absolute boy scout in all things. Their closeness creates some friction in Cordell’s professional partnership as Falco also has feelings for her. Personal relationships aside, there is danger lurking much closer than anybody initially suspects.

Gerritsen expertly weaves a compelling story with characters that readers can relate to and care about. She also includes numerous medical details that flow easily within the story and help educate the reader about various aspects of both medical practice and forensic methods.

The book series was later adapted for television in the seven seasons of Rizzoli & Isles, though there are several differences between the page and the small screen versions of the characters. Even though Maura Isles is absent in the first book, many other regulars become familiar. Jane Rizzoli is the lone female detective in the homicide division, and her no-nonsense personality keeps her colleagues and family at a distance. Jane’s brothers are mentioned in the book, but neither is in law enforcement. Frankie, Jane’s older brother in the book, is a marine; whereas, in the television series Jane is the eldest and Frankie is on the police force, first as a uniformed officer, then later as a detective. In the book there is also far more friction between Jane and Frankie. Many of the personal relationships and characterizations will clearly develop throughout the book series though several differences from the television adaptation will remain. One big one is the relationship between Jane and Maura which begins in the second book in the series. In the books, their friendship is professional rather than personal. They don’t cross into each other’s personal lives; whereas, in the television adaptation, they become very close personal friends almost immediately.

One interesting feature of Gerritsen’s writing in this first book is that she gets into the character’s heads, so readers are aware of their thoughts and motivations. The perpetrator’s thoughts are clearly delineated even without knowing his identity too soon. Readers find out who he is before the investigators uncover his identity. Amidst some careful misdirection along the way, the layers are slowly removed. The eeriest scenes are the ones taking place inside the killer’s head as he contemplates his next actions and victims. His crimes are carefully considered, but even he isn’t entirely sure of his motivation for committing them. His thoughts are clearly pathological, or some might say evil.

Gerritsen’s depth of exploration of the killer’s mind begs questions of accountability. As the killer’s identity and past are uncovered, it’s clear that the professional training he received, even though incomplete, prepared him to inflict the injuries he does on his victims.

Without giving the solution away, suffice it to say that the villain in book one reappears in book two, albeit with a slightly different objective and modus operandi, so the first two books of the series are tightly coupled.

The Surgeon isn’t a medical mystery in the classic sense and is instead a murder mystery. The inclusion of significant medical details enhances the story. The crime scenes and autopsies carry more weight than they might with a storyteller less informed on the medicine involved. Beyond the clinical discussions, there are some tender moments that break the tension and focus before the heart pounding solution is revealed. And once the killer is revealed and dealt with, the whiff of happily ever after is very welcome, but the story doesn’t quite end there. The Epilogue is unsettling but not immediately threatening, and yet it primes the reader to move quickly to book two in the series, The Apprentice.

References:
The Surgeon, by Tess Gerritsen
The Apprentice, by Tess Gerritsen
https://www.tessgerritsen.com/
https://www.starttv.com/lists/the-differences-between-the-rizzoli-isles-books-and-tv-show