When a severed hand, clutching a gun, is found in a Chinatown alley in downtown Boston, detective Jane Rizzoli climbs to the adjacent rooftop and finds the hand's owner: a red-haired woman whose throat has been slashed so deeply the head is nearly decapitated. She's dressed all in black, and the only clues to her identity are a throwaway cell phone and a scrawled address of a long-shuttered restaurant. With its wary immigrant population, Chinatown is a closed neighborhood of long-held secrets - and nowhere is this more obvious than when Jane meets Iris Fang. Strikingly beautiful, her long black hair streaked with gray, she is a renowned martial arts master. Yet, despite being skilled in swordplay, neither she nor her strangely aloof daughter, Willow, will admit any knowledge of the rooftop murder. And pathologist Dr. Maura Isles has determined that the murder weapon was a sword crafted of antiquated metal from China. It's clear that an ancient evil is stirring in Chinatown - an evil that has killed before, and will kill again - unless Jane and Iris can join forces, and defeat it...

About the Author

Bestselling author Tess Gerritsen is also a physician, and she brings to her novels her first-hand knowledge of emergency and autopsy rooms. But her interests span far more than medical topics. As an anthropology student at Stanford University, she catalogued centuries-old human remains, and she continues to travel the world driven by her fascination with ancient cultures and bizarre natural phenomena. She lives with her husband in Maine. For more information on Tess Gerritsen and her novels, visit her website: www.tessgerritsen.co.uk

Prizes

It's gory. It's gripping. It's Gerritsen. The new heart-stopping Rizzoli & Isles bestseller.

Reviews

In this ninth entry in the Rizzoli and Isles series, fiery Boston homicide detective Jane Rizzoli probes the mystery of a gruesome murder in Chinatown while cool forensic pathologist Maura Isles copes with the consequences of testifying against a violent cop. Tanya Eby-who narrated the previous volume in the series-deftly captures the socioeconomic and emotional differences that distinguish this odd couple. Her Rizzoli is properly blue collar, with a hard Boston accent, while Isles's speech is thoughtful and just aloof enough to suggest an upper-middle-class upbringing. Additionally, Eby provides appropriate voices to gruff lawmen, Irish mobsters, and even several citizens of Chinatown without stumbling into ethnic parody. Perhaps more importantly, she knows how to wring every last drop of suspense out of a tense situation, which this crisp thriller provides in abundance. Eby's excellent interpretation of Gerritsen's well-crafted tale makes for a thoroughly entertaining package. A Ballantine Books hardcover. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.