Customer Reviews

The Keepsake: A Novel (Rizzoli & Isles Novels)

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

When a before unknown mummy is discovered in the storage basement of the small, private Crispin Museum there is great excitement all around Boston. People love mummies, and the press is out in force as "Madam X" is transported to the hospital to be checked out by a Cat Scan. One of our favorite medical examiners, Dr. Maura Isles, dubbed by the press "Queen of the Dead", is present at the invitation of the museum curator. But things do not go as expected, because mummies do not have modern dental work or bullets in their legs. Or a very personal message for the Crispin's Egyptology expert Josephine Pulcillo, who it seems, has her own deadly secrets.

Into the investigation steps the team of Detectives Jane Rizzoli and Barry Frost, familiar from Gerritsen's previous books in the series, and before long there are other grisly discoveries for the duo to delve into. Soon there is evidence that they have a serial killer on their hands and indications that Dr. Pulcillo is very intimately tied into this macabre mystery.

Now I must confess that I was a little concerned at the beginning of the book that, between a mummy, the dottering museum director and secret hiding places in dusty basements, I might have stumbled into a game of Clue with Professor Plum in the Conservatory with a candlestick. But fear not, very quickly things took on Gerritsen's customary fast paced, suspense filled and yes, quite creepy pace. Creepy is a very entertaining thing in her skillful hands.

One sign of good suspense story is that we, the reader, are kept on our toes. Just when we think we have it figure out, the rug is pulled out and we are happily dragged around another series of twists and turns. And be assured there are ample twists and turn in this latest appearance of the excellent characters of Isles and Rizzoli to keep we reader on the edge of our seats. The Keepsake is a taut, action packed, suspense story that will not disappoint Tess Gerritsen's many deserved fans.

I enjoyed this novel for the most part. I appreciate the archeology and science angles that Gerritsen incorporates into the novel. These historical / scientific elements are interesting and, while I'm no expert, appear to be well researched. Who doesn't want to know how to make a mummy or shrink someone's head?

Unfortunately, these elements are really just window dressing for a pretty standard 'obsessive stalker turned serial killer' tale. The object of a killer's obsession is driven into hiding with her young daughter. Years later, the daughter, now fully grown and working in an obscure Boston museum, finds herself the object of a killer's obsession and the body count rises - except the victims were all killed decades earlier, their bodies preserved in bizarre ways. The bog bodies, shrunken heads, and mummy's that are found add an intriguing element when they are first introduced, but about mid way through the novel, these elements are largely abandoned as the traditional cat and mouse game plays itself out. I would have liked to have seen these elements integrated into the story in a less superficial way - but, at least they were there.

I found the characterization a little light. As can always be expected with series novels, a certain amount of time must be devoted to update regular readers on the personal lives of central characters. The ME's doomed romance with a priest had no bearing on anything else and is touched on so briefly it barely seemed worth mentioning. Thankfully, the author does show restraint here as well, avoiding the inevitable tendency most series authors have to fill their novels with the mundane details of a character's personal life.

The plot had the requisite twists and turns, all of which can be anticipated by veterans of crime fiction. I had actually anticipated a few extra twists that didn't come to fruition, something that arguably showed admirable restraint on the author's part. I did find that when the pieces all came together, not all of them fit very well. There are a few holes in the plot that I think the author probably could have addressed with small changes to the story. The plotting just wasn't as tight as it could have been.

Despite the fact that I sound like I didn't like this novel, the truth is, I found it pretty entertaining. Mostly I think I just see how much better it could have been. How the characters could be fleshed out a little more, how the plot could have been tighter, and how the archeology elements could have been integrated more fully into the story. I think this could have been an excellent novel, and instead Gerritsen opted to play it safe.

To play on the archeology theme: I think she could have dug a lot deeper and discovered something remarkable. 3 1/2 stars.

When the ancient Egyptians mummified their dead, they often layered amulets and jewels within the linen wrappings. Finding such treasures in a 2000-year-old mummy is not unusual, but "Madam X" is full of surprises.

After a CT scan reveals a bullet in the mummy's leg and modern dental work in the jaw, medical examiner Maura Isles and Boston PD Detective Jane Rizzoli have a murder investigation on their hands. The mummy was recently discovered in an unlabeled crate in the basement of the Crispin Museum, a small family-run museum in the Boston area. When Jane and her partner Barry Frost uncover more preserved human remains in the museum's storage area, they realize they have a very intelligent and unorthodox serial killer on the loose.

The discovery leaves them with more questions than answers. What is driving the Archaeology Killer (as the murderer is dubbed by the press)? Why does he go to such lengths to preserve his victims? What is his connection to Egyptologist Josephine Pulcillo -- a woman who, like Madam X, is harboring many secrets of her own? Most importantly, how do they stop him before he claims another victim?

As someone who has had a lifelong love of archaeology (in particular, Egyptology), I greatly enjoyed the archaeological elements in The Keepsake. The book was so vividly atmospheric and creepy that I found myself looking over my shoulder more than once during my reading - just in case.

Tess Gerritsen has created another chilling, fast-paced thriller that is sure to delight fans of the Rizzoli/Isles mystery series. Readers new to Gerritsen's writing will also find The Keepsake very accessible and enjoyable.

The first couple of books I was really into. Gerritsen can write characters well and even though you have to suspend belief a lot reading this series (because really, how can so much happen to one set of police officers and M.E.) it's worth it because up until recently, the stories were strong and kept you going. Starting with Mephesto Club though it started downhill and with this one it barrelled down the hill fast, I did a lot of skimming. Parts were extremely long winded and boring and it was like the author was so desperate to come up with a new exotic way of killing that it was just over the top and awful. And you already knew who the bad guy was long before the ending, which was way too cliche.
I really like this author, but if she continues this series, I hope she comes back to basics and what the series started out as, strong characters, human relation, character development and not all this ridiculous plot lines that are just way too far fetched to believe.

Tess Gerritsens 'The Keepsake' was a decent enough read with some interesting and unexpected twists in the plot. However it was quite slow paced and ,dare I say it, even a tad boring in places. Points were quite laboured and the majority of the book had to read before anything of major significance happened. A series of barely hinted at clues left me infuriated and I feel that lead characters should have been more involved than they turned out to be. This is not a bad book by any stretch of the imagination and it is well worth a read so long as the reader is prepared to be patient with it.

With each of her books, Tess Gerritsen drops in my estimation. The plots are increasingly bizarre and the characters less appealing and believable. The "drama" is contrived and while it was interesting to expand my knowledge about head shrinking and mummy making, there was little in the book to recommend.

Jane Rizzoli is one of the strongest female detective characters in the genre, and, after having her baby girl, she's back in action. Jane shines in this serial killer/stalker/confused identity thriller, as she struggles to unkink the many tangled lines in these crimes. Gerritsen appears to be attempting to show Jane as a whole person - mother, partner, cop, friend - and it's refreshing to see her uncertain at times, empathizing with other parents at others, trying to be supportive of her soon to be divorced detective partner. And the crimes in this installment are ingenious. While it's possible to make good guesses as to what "went down", there are some gratifying zigs and zags along the way, and at the conclusion, to keep the reader absorbed. 5 stars.

In her latest crime thriller featuring crack Boston Homicide Detective Jane Rizzoli, Tess Gerritsen's found a creative new wrinkle in the genre, blending archeology, psycophathy and obsession in this captivating new novel.

From the gripping opening chapter right through to the last pages, this book never lets up. Fast-paced with rich characterizations; flawless plotting and pacing; fascinating science; and not a wasted word anywhere.

If you're like me, and try to anticipate the twists ahead while you're reading, you'll find yourself regularly surprised as the story unfolds.

This is, flat out, one of the most entertaining books I've read all summer. Get it!

I won't restate the plot...Suffice to say, I liked this one - a good thriller without the usual dose of romance that ruins many a book for me. The mystery was intriguing, the archeological facts very interesting - including asides about mummification procedures, the process for shrinking heads, and the science associated with bog bodies. The story moved along at a very fast pace and it was easy to read this one in a sitting. The two female protagonists were busy doing what they do best - investigating an unusual case with intuition and clever deduction. The threads of the case were all tied up at the end despite some red herrings and I look forward to the next in the series. Recommend: BUY!

I have only read a few of Gerritsen's books and confess to being disappointed in them in that in every case Rizzoli takes over the book, she becomes the main character. I had hopes Doctor Maura Isles would be lead and there would be more fascinating discoveries, that a less competent M.E. would never have noticed or known what they were, and thus added more interest instead of degenerating into a conventional multiple murder mystery. But a thousand year old mummy becomes a centuries old mummy, and other fascinating and off beat body preservation methods are mentioned, if head shrinking can be classified as a body preservation method. A discussion of these preservation's means is given but is not necessary to the solution; I wanted them to be more meaningful even if it meant only one method were chosen for all, however the explanation of them did contribute to my interest in the book. However tracking down of the killer is what the book really is all about, isn't it? After all, it is a suspense novel and the customary conflicts, false trails, hidden motives, and, hopefully, the killer is kept concealed from suspicion up until near the climax or end of the book.
The above is a general review to explain the three rating, and why not a four or five although the interest is at a higher level. It is now necessary to be more explicit and follow the book. A mummy is found in a private museum with little provenance to guide the caretakers. It is found to be only hundreds of years old, not thousands and has advanced dental fillings and a bullet in its ankle. These discoveries cause the entire holdings of the museum to come under scrutiny. Bog preservation and skin shrinking are found in other artifacts. A recently hired archaeologist gets tangled in the investigation, we are informed that she holds a false name, that she and her mother had been fleeing undisclosed pursuers for years. Peelings are slowly unwrapped from these discoveries, the woman is kidnapped and detective Rizzoli goes into high mode and finds out facts about the museum owners and donors, eventually leading to a resolution and Doctor Isles gets lost in the rush. All these complications hold our interest and create suspense, however why they happen when they do is not always explained satisfactorily. Still, it did make an interesting read.