Keeper of the Bride [Mass Market Paperback]

Tess Gerritsen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2002

Had she survived because of fate, coincidence or just luck? If Nina Cormier's wedding had taken place, she would be dead. But after the bride was left at the altar, the church stood empty when the bomb went off. It wasn't until a stranger tried to run her car off the road, however, that she realized someone wanted her dead.

But who?That's what Detective Sam Navarro needs to find out . . . fast. As a cop, he knows better than to become attached to the woman he's trying to protect. But as a man . . .

With a nightmare unfolding around them, Sam and Nina decipher the stunning truth. Now they're at the mercy of a brilliant madman who plays for keeps . . .

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Tess Gerritsen . . . throws one twist after another until the excitement is almost unbearable." -- San Jose Mercury News

About the Author

Sunday Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen is one of the biggest names in crime fiction. A former doctor, Tess has now retired from medicine to write full-time. She and her family live in Maine. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Mira (September 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1551669358
• ISBN-13: 978-1551669359
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,038,071 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm a physician as well as the New York Times-bestselling author of medical thrillers and the Jane Rizzoli crime thrillers.

Readers who are familiar with my graphic autopsy scenes and forensic details may be astonished to learn that my very first published novels were actually ... romantic suspense. So why did I leave writing romances and turn to thrillers?

It was all because of a chance dinner conversation some years ago. The man sitting beside me at a restaurant one night was an ex-cop who 'd recently been traveling in Russia. Moscow cops had told him that orphans were vanishing from the streets, and they believed the children were being kidnaped and shipped abroad as organ donors.

I was horrified by the tale. Weeks later, unable to forget those missing Russian orphans, I knew I just had to write a book about them. I wanted to bring into it all the medical and autopsy details that I'd learned from my years as a physician. The sights, the smells of the autopsy and operating rooms -- everything.

My first medical thriller, HARVEST, was released in hardcover in 1996, and it marked my debut on the NEW YORK TIMES bestseller list. It was followed by my medical thrillers LIFE SUPPORT (1997), BLOODSTREAM (1998), GRAVITY (1999).

In 2001, my books took another abrupt turn, to forensic thrillers. THE SURGEON was my first Jane Rizzoli thriller. Since then, I've written THE APPRENTICE (2002), THE SINNER (2003), BODY DOUBLE (2004), VANISH (2005 -- and an Edgar Award nominee), and THE MEPHISTO CLUB (2006).

I believe my readers want me to tell them secrets. And that's exactly what I try to do. I take them into the autopsy room, and show them what I've seen. But most of all, I hope I'm revealing what lies in the hearts of my characters. Jane Rizzoli and Dr. Maura Isles are real people to me now. I hope they're just as real to everyone who becomes acquainted with them!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Earlier Attempt By A Great Author!! Really Worth Reading!, January 16, 2003

By 

Kristi Ahlers (Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Keeper of the Bride (Mass Market Paperback)

Since I have only read Ms. Gerritsen's newer works such as "The Surgeon" and "The Apprentice" it was fun to read one of her earlier works and to see how far she has come as a storyteller.

This is the story about Nina Cormier who is a ER nurse from a very affluent but dysfunctional family. The story opens with Nina being left at the alter. To add insult to injury while she is sitting in a car waiting to go home the church blows up. And still in the same day someone tries to drive her off the road. Why is this all happening to her?

Bomb detective Sam Navarro is called to the scene of the latest bombing and ends up questioning the bride to be. Sam has his own problems from the past and really has no plans to ever share his life with someone else. Now he finds himself drawn to the witness and there is still the huge mystery as to how Nina fits into the puzzle of the recent bombing, and other murder attempts.

The chemistry between these two people was great and Ms. Gerritsen shows her potential as a suspense novelist. You don't want to miss this one.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Deservingly belongs to our keeper shelves, November 25, 2002

By 

Desmond Chan (Bishan North Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Keeper of the Bride (Mass Market Paperback)

It isn't difficult to see why Tess Gerritsen is such an accomplished writer of present medical thrillers including The Surgeon and The Apprentice. Her earlier foray into romance suspense distinguishes her as one of the few who churns out jugular action and gorgeous romance - and Keeper Of The Bride displays her punchy, knockout style within a laconic 250 pages.

ER nurse Nina Cormier not only had her wedding plans bombed when her intended hooked up with another woman, and narrowly escaped a planned bombing. Was it a deliberate attempt on her life or one of the guests in her wedding? Why did the characteristics of the bombing point to the work of dead terrorist Spectre? Sam Narvarro, the Portland detective is determined to root out the perpetrator but passion gets in the way of his obligations. Danger arises when Nina and Sam is thrown together in the mad schemes of a vengeful bomber...

Keeper of the Bride may have a cliche plot but maestro Gerritsen moves the story swiftly and gives her characters dimension with insecurities and sincerity. It is a mystery wrapped with treachery and cutting suspense right up to the explosive climax - and with Ms. Gerritsen's background as a physician, forensic evidence flows along to give credibility to the plot. This book deservingly belongs to our keeper shelves with her clean dissection of suspense and love.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not up to par, October 16, 2003

By 

Angela B. Tela (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Keeper of the Bride (Mass Market Paperback)

If you are attracted to Tess Gerritson's novels of medical suspense, then this book is not for you. It was written well before her newer releases like The Sinner, The Apprentice, Gravity, etc. While a good effort at combining the suspense of a woman on the run from a mad bomber, this novel falls flat of creating any emotional connection to the characters. The heroin, Nina, is being stalked by a bomber, after being left at the alter by her horrendous fiancée. You'd think she'd have a lot on her mind, yet she still finds time to fall for the bomb squad investigator assigned to protect her. The book goes on to detail her thinking as well as his in a pathetic tennis match of who loves who, who doesn't love who, whose too scared to love who, etc. Ultimately, at the end of the book where I would normally be turning pages awaiting the climax, I found myself not caring whether Nina did get out of the whole mess alright, and was frankly irritated by the whole romantic banter part of this book. Bottom line, if you like The Sinner, The Apprentice, Gravity, Bloodstream, etc stick to Gerritson's newer work and stay away from Keeper of the Bride.