Boston homicide detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles pool their resources to find the killer of a young woman found with no signs of trauma or a struggle but holding her eyes in one hand. The woman belongs to a group of horror-movie filmmakers (passionate wannabes, funded by the victim's indulgent father). The grotesque death scene echoes one in their films. A second mutilation murder follows, also ghastly, this time with religious iconography. While Rizzoli and Isles try to decipher the motive behind these murders, another narrative voice emerges, that of a woman with a deep secret in her past. Figuring out whether this woman is predator or prey proves fascinating more so, in fact, than following Rizzoli and Isles' investigation. The interplay between the leads lacks depth here, depending too much on what readers may know of the characters from previous episodes in the long-running series. Fans of the books, and the popular TNT series based on them, won't mind, but new readers may be disappointed.--Fletcher, Connie Copyright 2017 Booklist

The latest in the Rizzoli and Isles series (Die Again, 2014, etc.) mixes martyrdom, murder, and mystery.Indie filmmaker Cassandra Coyle's body is found with what medical examiner Maura Isles calls "bilateral globe enucleation" and what Boston homicide detective Jane Rizzoli calls "someone cut out her eyeballs." The corpse reminds Isles and her priest friend of Lucy, patron saint of the blind. More strange murders follow, apparently mimicking the terrible deaths of other saints. Timothy McDougal, for example, dies with three arrows in his chest, like Sebastian, patron saint of archers. Meanwhile, Rizzoli and Isles learn that Coyle and her associates had been making Mr. Simian, a horror flick featuring similar killings. Coyle and the other victims, all young adults, were among the accusers 20 years earlier of a man named Martin Stanek in the Apple Tree Daycare child molestation scandal, and they have all died since his release from prison. So Stanek looks good for the murders, but as a Coyle colleague says: "Horror 101the killer's always the person you least suspect." Young Lizzie DiPalma disappeared from the school back then, and her presumed murder remains a mystery. Another former student, Bill Sullivan, now is missing and perhaps dead, and Rizzoli puzzles over the cause of death in two more apparent homicides. Into this gruesome mix are added the personal lives of Rizzoli and IslesIsles visits her dying biological mother, Almalthea Lank, a convicted serial killer serving multiple life sentences. Luckily, Isles was adopted away from her "family of monsters" and raised well, proving that "one's true family is defined not by DNA but by love." Gerritsen's fans won't be surprised at the grisly crimes or the graphic autopsiesnot for nothing is Dr. Maura Isles nicknamed "Boston's Queen of the Dead." One character's statement that "sometimes up really is down" applies to this complex and enjoyable story. It's a worthy addition to the series. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

The bitterness of a Boston winter doesn't hinder a killer with a knack for gruesome murders, in bestseller Gerritsen's twisty 12th Rizzoli & Isles mystery (after 2014's Die Again). As Det. Jane Rizzoli puzzles out why the murderer is selecting seemingly unrelated victims, medical examiner Maura Isles struggles to discover what exactly killed them. Dogged police work ties the victims-a woman burned to death, a filmmaker with her eyes removed, and a man pierced with arrows-to an infamous child abuse case at a local day care center. When a fourth person connected to the abuse case disappears, Rizzoli must protect troubled Holly Devine, the only remaining child abuse victim in the day care case and the next person on the killer's list. Meanwhile, Rizzoli must bear witness to her mother's growing unhappiness in a loveless marriage, and Isles's biological mother, cold-blooded murderer Amalthea Lank, has once again found a way to sink her claws into her daughter's psyche. Gerritsen smoothly blends her leads' domestic dramas with the hunt for the ruthless killer. Agent: Meg Ruley, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

In light of the cancellation of the TNT series Rizzoli & Isles after seven seasons, it's exciting that Gerritsen will continue to write about these wonderful characters. Boston detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles investigate a series of murders in which the killer is reenacting scenes from horror films. Be prepared for an exciting ride with unexpected twists and terrific writing. [See Prepub Alert, 1/20/17.] © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.