Vanish [Import] [Hardcover]

Tess Gerritsen (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0593053516
• ISBN-13: 978-0593053515
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (129 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,564,912 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

90 of 96 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read thriller...easily Gerritsen's best., August 24, 2005

By 

Nick G - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vanish (Hardcover)

Medical examiner Maura Isles is called to examine the body of a beautiful, nameless woman but she
gets the shock of her life when the corpse opens her eyes...

The woman, who mistakenly was pronounced dead, is rushed to the hospital where doctors scramble
to help her, but things turn deadly as she steals a guard's gun, kills him, and takes hostages. One of the hostages is none other than detective Jane Rizzoli who is on the verge of going into labor.

As things begin to spiral more out of control, the crazed woman calls a local radio station with
a simple message "The die is cast."

Now it's up to Jane's husband, FBI agent Gabriel Dean to use all of his negotiating and investigative skills
to get his wife and child out of this alive.

'Vanish' is the best novel Tess Gerritsen has written and one of the finest thrillers to come out in a long time.
From page one the reader is pulled into a tension filled novel that surprises with each new plot twist. Combining well-drawn characters with expert plotting 'Vanish' is a novel that begs to be read in one sitting.

This is a page-turner of the first order and a definite MUST read.

Nick Gonnella

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ms. Gerritsen Delivers Again!!!, September 25, 2005

By 

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

This review is from: Vanish (Hardcover)

When it comes to thrillers Ms. Gerritsen is top-drawer. She always offers inventive storylines, truly dynamic and complex characters and does so without cheating the reader or the story.

Dr. Maura Isles and Detective Jane Rizzoli are back with a vengence and their latest case is not only chilling, it's deeply engrossing.

After a long day Dr. Isles is working on a report and when she can't remember a detail to one of the bodies she autopsied she returns to the cooler only find that there is a body that should be there yet. She's alive...barely. Maura has no idea though that she has uncovered a scandal of epic proportions and the fall out of this has only just began.

Detective Jane Rizzoli is drawing near to her delivery date. This tough, sassy, and pregnant cop is going to sit the stand one more time before she leaves on maternity leave. What should have been an easy in and out court testimony ends up with Jane controlling the out of control suspect with the end result of her water breaking. She is sent to the hospital where Dr. Isles "Jane Doe" was sent. Instead of delivering her baby Jane finds herself in a hostage situation involving "Jane Doe" and a secret she wants heard. But someone doesn't want "Jane Doe" to talk and will do all that they have to in order to seal the lips of this witness. Before they know it Jane, Gabriel, Maura, and more law enforcement agencies than you can shake a stick at. Will Jane and Gabe be able to save the day at the same time avoid losing sight of what's important?

This was an incredibly fast-paced read and one that will completely engross the reader from page one. All of our favorites come back for this story and it was interesting to see how far Gabriel and Jane have come emotionally since their first introduction. Mila is a wonderful character that the reader will see very little of but she is what ties the various threads of this story together. Ms. Gerritsen is a very talented author and one that I highly recommend if you like smart thrillers with all that that entails.

Official Reviewer for Romance Designs

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A tragic loss of innocence., August 27, 2005

By 

E. Bukowsky "booklover10" (NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vanish (Hardcover)

Tess Gerrtisen's "Vanish" has the same general theme as another engrossing novel that I read a few weeks ago--"Dead End," by Mariah Stewart. Both books deal with the loathsome practice of importing vulnerable young girls into the United States from countries such as Mexico and the former Soviet Union. These girls are beaten, drugged, imprisoned, and sold into prostitution.

"Vanish" features some familiar faces, including Boston Detective Jane Rizzoli, who is nine months pregnant, Gabriel Dean, Jane's devoted FBI agent husband, and medical examiner Dr. Maura Isles. The book opens as a seventeen-year-old girl named Mila, from Belarus, tells the heartbreaking tale of how she and other like her were lured into the United States under false pretenses. Gerritsen then switches gears as a startled Maura Isles finds a corpse in her morgue who is still breathing. Next, a man and woman with a hidden agenda hold Jane Rizzoli hostage. A negotiator is brought in an attempt to bring the standoff to a peaceful conclusion. These seemingly unrelated plot lines gradually merge into one suspenseful and horrifying narrative about the abuse of power by influential, wealthy, and immoral individuals.

I have always loved Jane Rizzoli, and motherhood takes away none of her feistiness. Whether she is trying to control her pain during labor contractions, attempting to soothe her screaming baby, or confronting a vicious murderer, Jane is always thinking, planning, and looking for solutions. Gabriel, Jane's beleaguered husband, wishes his wife were just a little more laid back, but he cannot help admiring her honesty and depth of feeling. These two are an interesting and offbeat couple, and their scenes together are wonderful.

Gerritsen is in top form here. She incorporates many elements seamlessly--gentle humor, political skullduggery, terrifying and suspenseful confrontations, betrayal of trust, and a nail-biting conclusion. Using a spare style that avoids melodrama, the author's realistic dialogue, well-developed characterizations, and excellent pacing make "Vanish" a first-rate and thought-provoking thriller.