The hidden and the hiding

By Ande Jacobson

Tess Gerritsen’s fifth Rizzoli & Isles book, Vanish, was first released in 2005. Like the previous books in the series, this one follows seemingly separate storylines that intersect in disturbing ways, this time tackling human trafficking and abuses by the powerful.

Gerritsen jumps into the first arc of the main story without a prologue. The story opens in the past in Mexico narrated by Mila. Mila is a young Russian immigrant who thought she was going to a land of opportunity, but instead she finds herself in a nightmare. She’s trapped with several other young women in the desert in Mexico traveling north to the U.S. What she doesn’t know until she gets there is that she and her companions will be forced into a type of slavery that is far too common.

Chapter Two introduces the second story arc back in Boston in surroundings familiar to Gerritsen readers. Although not immediate, Dr. Maura Isles stumbles upon something that may terrify the unsuspecting reader – a corpse that isn’t a corpse after all. Thus begins a harrowing medical adventure that quickly veers off in an unexpected direction.

The third story arc connects to the first two arcs as it traps Jane Rizzoli in an untenable hostage crisis at the hospital. Instead of being in a professional police capacity, Jane, at nine months pregnant, is a patient in the wrong place at the wrong time. Her husband Gabriel is on the outside trying desperately to get her out safely. In the course of navigating the hostage crisis, the FBI, local police, and state agencies get involved for very different reasons. There are hidden agendas with this one, and it takes time to unravel the complexities of the crisis. Through the hostage crisis, readers get a deeper understanding of the strength of Jane and Gabriel’s relationship, each thinking of the other no matter how difficult the situation becomes.

All of the elements come together in a gripping negotiation and power struggle uncovering disturbing government involvement to the point where it’s difficult to know who to trust or believe. The hostage takers have nothing left to lose. Their mission isn’t to hurt but to help others who have lost all agency.

Once the story arcs are set, Gerritsen masterfully jumps back and forth between past and present to build the full picture of how the hostage crisis came to be. Readers know the hostage takers from early on recognizing that they aren’t necessarily evil but are instead desperate. Their desperation pushes them to take unthinkable actions and risks. The response is complicated, not just because of the jurisdictional machinations, but because of what would and should be uncovered if the hostage takers survive.

This is a dark story that needs to be told. Although it is built from disparate slayings, it isn’t strictly a murder mystery. Vanish is a really a political/spy thriller wrapped in a multiple murder case, and the terrifying circumstances are all too possible in today’s world.

Gerritsen draws attention to the real world problem of the exploitation and oppression of women, particularly young women, by men of power, wealth, and position. Although the story in the book is fictional, there are innumerable victims of similar crimes in real life. Raising awareness with characters who represent those without a voice can help. Gerritsen’s resolution presents a way to stop the escalation of the types of abuses depicted in the story, acknowledging that there is no quick fix. It takes dedication and honest effort to both decrease the demand for such abuses and to hold those who engage in them accountable no matter their station in life or society. Accountability matters, something that is almost a daily utterance these days.

Vanish is deadly serious. While the television series the Rizzoli & Isles books inspired has many lighter or even comedic moments, the books are more focused and more expansive on both the investigative and medical sides of the story as well as in exploring the motivations for the actions on the criminal side. There aren’t any light moments in this installment, but there is a fair amount of backstory surrounding the hostage takers that allows readers to fully understand the need for and consequences of their actions.

References:

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