Customer Reviews

Freaks: A Rizzoli & Isles Short Story

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Usually when you download a free Kindle story, you can expect it to be somewhat good but not truly something you'd want to read if it were a full novel. This I definitely wish was a full novel! It's actually a short story meant to get you involved in a series of novels by the author, and it did a really good job.

The story centers around the murder of a teenage girl whose dead body is found next to a coffin in a cathedral. She'd been living there with her boyfriend for a while; both considered themselves vampires and had diets that consisted mostly of animal blood. Did her boyfriend finally decide that he needed human blood? Or did a homicidal maniac simply stumble upon her body in the church?

The story is fantastic! I loved every aspect of it! Also, like I mentioned earlier, the writing style truly makes you feel as if you're reading a professionally published book instead of a Kindle freebie.

The main story takes up the first half of the download, but also included in the download is the beginning of one of the full length novels from the same series, featuring the same characters. I normally do not enjoy promos at the end of books at all, but I'll be honest, it did a fantastic job of making me want to purchase the full length book. It did such a good job that I am planning on eventually reading that book.

Overall, I highly recommend this download! It's a fantastic read that is truly an enthralling mystery.

NOTE - A TV series (Rizzoli and Isles) has been based on the main characters of this series and is currently airing on TNT.

EDIT - Because of having read and enjoyed this short story so much, I actually did buy the first two books in the series. Therefore, I do think that this short story is good enough to cause the reader to want more.

It doesn't take long to read and if you like the mystery and suspense genre, you should definitely try this one! I'm not going to give away the story, just read it.

It really doesn't take a whole lot to amuse me, so I fell right into this short story full force and loved it. I've always liked Tess Gerritsen's books, but I haven't read one in a while. I haven't even seen the TV show, but I will be sure to tune in after reading this.

The two ladies, Rizzoli and Isles, are called out to St. Anthony's Church which has been boarded up for quite some time. Of course, a victime lies dead inside the church and along with the bats who live in the church, there is an open coffin but without a body in it. There is a suspect, but is he guilty or not?

This is a fast-paced and well-written story that caught my attention from the first paragraph right to the end. I, for one, didn't figure out the perpetrator until it was revealed, and I'm glad I didn't. I loved the story and also the first part of a new novel that is introduced after the short story.

Some have complained about the story being a lead-in for the next novel, as well as the first few pages of it, but if I were a writer, I'd want some marketing out there and some advertisement for my books, too. After all, we have a good free story to read and no one forces anyone to buy the books. I say it's great marketing!

Tess Gerritsen writes a number of books about medical examiner Maura Isles and her friend Detective Jane Rizzoli. Her books have been turned into a TV series. In this episode a seventeen year very undernourished girl is found in an abandoned building, apparently strangled. Rizzoli finds an 18 year old boy who claims that he and the girl are a kind of vampire. They live, he claims, on air and blood, but do not harm people. He was sleeping in the building in a coffin and she in a crate that he found for her, a crate from South America. He claims that he did nothing to the girl, not even sex. The girl's father is convinced that the boy killed his daughter and wants to kill him in revenge. The story reveals how she was killed and by whom.

The Freaks are two teenagers who believe they are vampires. When one is heard screaming from an abandoned church the police are called. When Rizzoli arrives she finds a dead girl, bats, an open coffin and another teenager who runs.

The characters stay true to form. Jane is brave, takes risks and never gets queasy during Maura's autopsies. Maura is still brilliant and works well with Jane to solve the girl's death. Barry Frost also makes an appearance. He is still one step behind Jane and is not a fan of autopsies.

Short. Enjoyable. Free.

After hearing some of the foo-fah surrounding this tale, I downloaded it and gave it a read. A fun and engaging short story by one of my fav writers. What is it with all the idiot reviewers whining that the FREE story is "too short." This was a fun promo item and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Crisp and fun with some nice twists and turns with a teaser off her new book. Thanks to all of the "free isn't free enough" whiners, the writer won't be doing this again. Thanks for ruining it for all her REAL fans. Download this SHORT story and have some fun - you won't be disappointed.

I'm not very familiar with Tess Gerritsen's work although I have heard of her. However, I am a fan of the TV show Rizzoli & Isles on TNT. I love Angie Harmon and I'm glad that the show is coming back for a second season.

This is a free book with a preview of the next Gerritsen novel called The Silent Girl. But I'm not going into that.

Freaks is a short story about a case Detective Jane Rizzoli gets that has a rather supernatural nature. Dr. Maura Isles helps Rizzoli and her team in not only solving this crime but also proving that this is far from anything paranormal.

I needed a distraction from the other books I'm reading right now. One has a very slow start and I wasn't feeling it. This definitely got me back on track and I am looking forward to Gerritsen's other work.

Rating: 3/5.

Recommendation: Short and very quick. Fans of the show (who are not familiar with the books) will love it.

Enjoyable little story that was a nice diversion for 5 minutes here and there while I waited for appointments. The file is a nicely crafted vehicle for advertising.

At free, it's not bad. I wouldn't pay for it. Here's why: it's very short, ends abruptly, and the file is half advertising. The story starts out strong and held my interest for the few minutes it took to read. Along the way it started to feel sketchy and forced. Then it was over abruptly, leaving me feeling like it was chopped off with a quick gimmick to make sure I'd continue and read the marketing material. I knew there was advertising at the end, but didn't know that it took half the file.

The table of contents makes it look like you're getting something substantial. It lists the cover, other books by this author, title page and copyright. Then it has 10 chapters (it's so short there's really no need for chapters), an excerpt from The Silent Girl novel, and then Rizzoli and Isles bonus material, and About the Author.

Kindle doesn't show pages, but shows location 693 is the end. For reference, I set Kindle (6" K3) to the smallest font. Each chapter takes about 2 screens on Kindle; each screen is about 2% of the story at the smallest font. Here's where the sections of the file begin:

1% front matter (cover, other books by this author, title page, copyright, contents)

4% Chapter One

48% Preview of "The Silent Girl" upcoming novel; includes Chapters 1 and 2

91% script excerpt from RIZZOLI & ISLES television show, season premiere episode "We Don't Need Another Hero"

99% rizzoli & isles, All New Season Mondays on TNT promotional photo

100% About the Author

As I said, a brilliant advertising vehicle. I was tempted to stop at the end of "Freaks" but continued. Now I'm intrigued by "The Silent Girl." Admittedly, it didn't have to tell an entire story in the space that "Freaks" does, so it could develop character and curiosity. I enjoyed "The Silent Girl" excerpt more than "Freaks" with its uneven writing. I'm already a fan of the TV show, so I appreciated the sneak peak at the script for the upcoming season opener.

Geez, talk about SHORT story! At the end I was, WHAT?! I mean it was okay and I'm glad it was free but I was disappointed in the length, or lack of. Plus, ANOTHER push for the Silent Girl novel. That has been at the end of the last 3 or 4 of her Kindle books I've purchased.

I downloaded this for my wife because A. she likes the TV show and B. she likes the first few books in the series. This short story did not disappoint. If there were more like this from this author on the same subject, I would definitely download them.