Is evil born or made?

By Ande Jacobson

Tess Gerritsen’s sixth Rizzoli & Isles book, The Mephisto Club, was first released in 2006. This time, Gerritsen uses her Stanford undergraduate degree in anthropology to explore ancient myths through texts predating the major monotheistic religious artifacts and scriptures. This book is a dark story, but the academic exploration is fascinating. The investigators cross paths with an eccentric group of sleuths with an international presence who happen to be co-located at the site of a gruesome murder. As is often the case in this series, Gerritsen weaves seemingly disconnected threads together, introducing readers to key characters before the events of the investigation take place.

The past sheds light on the Saul family. Lily Saul survives of a series of horrific events one summer long ago from her teenage years. She lost her younger brother and her mother to horrific accidents that summer, and shortly after those losses, her father died in what the police at the time attributed to suicide. All three losses occurred in the space of just two weeks. Lily was the one who found each of them, and since has spent her life running from these tragedies carrying a desperate and dark secret of her own. The other person who had been there at the time of these events was her cousin Dominic Saul. Dominic stayed with Lily’s family the fateful summer when these tragedies occurred after losing his own father shortly before arriving. What happened between Lily and Dominic is an open question, for a while. Readers learn a lot about Lily Saul through the story, including how strong her survival skills have become, and why she’s needed them ever since her family’s tragedy.

The Mephisto Club is both the title of the book and the organizational center of this story. The local chapter of the club is headed by Anthony Sansone, a mysterious man of great wealth and a mysterious obsession. He’s tormented by his family’s ancestral past and has spent a large portion of his life searching for evil with the intention of destroying it. Through the investigation, he introduces Maura Isles and Jane Rizzoli to his world asking them to consider that evil lurks in what he asserts is an offshoot of humankind just waiting to assert itself in a final test of good and evil. His assertions date back to ancient texts including The Book of Enoch and The Book of Jubilees. He explains that the assertion that the evil that walks among us was originally spawned stories from fallen angels mating with unsuspecting human woman giving rise to watchers or Nephilim who commit inexplicable evil acts that show them to be inhuman. He believes these stories to be factual, and in fact, the texts mentioned in the story are real, and they have been debated for centuries within the theological community. In the story, neither Maura nor Jane accept this at face value, although Maura ever the scientist, is curious.

As the investigation into four present day murders across numerous jurisdictions proceeds, connections come to light, and the investigative team as well as the members of The Mephisto Club find themselves in a difficult and dangerous situation. There are religious overtones, but the question at the heart of it all is whether evil is born or made. Does one’s bloodline direct their actions and predilections, or are evil deeds affirmative choices one can make all on their own?

Recall that earlier in the series, Dr. Joyce O’Donnell studied such evil in her research on serial killers. She claimed that she wanted to understand what drove them from an academic perspective, yet she also seemed to be thrilled by their stories. With that history, it comes as no surprise that she is a member of The Mephisto Club, although Maura and Jane are both taken aback when they encounter her at their crime scene at Anthony Sansone’s house. Joyce’s involvement this time is deeper than before and she plays a major and unsettling role in this story.

Gerritsen’s medical and anthropological expertise shine in this series installment. As always, a bit more of the main characters’ back stories come to light, but less so in this book than in the previous ones. There is more than enough academic intrigue to fully engulf the members of The Mephisto Club, the murder victims, and the potential suspects. Jane and Maura are thrown into yet another dangerous situation in their pursuit of the truth, though the story focuses more on the newly introduced characters this time.

As usual, Gerritsen weaves an intricate story that is difficult to put down. The book reads quickly, and readers learn something about the ancient myths at the heart of the story through osmosis. As always, the surprise twists keep readers on the edge of their seats while keeping them from solving the case too quickly.

Given the resolution, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that readers may encounter some members of The Mephisto Club again in this series. While dismissing their theories, the club makes an impression on Maura. She’s not interested in joining them, but their thorough study and results give her slight pause.

Even so, the central conceit of the club that evil is born rather than made is a little hard to accept. This conceit has dogged Maura ever since she found out who and what her biological mother was earlier in the series. She’s adamant that her biological mother is nothing to her, and that she doesn’t share any of her traits, and yet, there’s a nagging thought that she can’t escape, especially after the events that unfold through The Mephisto Club.

It’s clear from the story that regular people can be pushed into situations where they take actions that they’d never normally consider. Fear and mortal threats can cause one’s survival instincts to override their moral objections in the moment. Still, that doesn’t necessarily make them evil. And on the other side of the equation, there are some among us who would commit horrific acts without fear or danger prompting them. They do it for pleasure. They do it for the thrill. But does that mean they aren’t human, or is that instead all too human?

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