The Mephisto Club

A Rizzoli & Isles Novel

By: Tess Gerritsen

Narrated by: Kathe Mazur

Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Evil exists. Evil walks the streets. And evil has spawned a diabolical new disciple in this white-knuckle thriller from New York Times best-selling author Tess Gerritsen.

PECCAVI. The Latin word is scrawled in blood at the scene of a young woman's brutal murder: I HAVE SINNED. It's a chilling Christmas greeting for Boston medical examiner Maura Isles and Detective Jane Rizzoli, who swiftly link the victim to controversial celebrity psychiatrist Joyce O'Donnell, Jane's professional nemesis and a member of a sinister cabal called the Mephisto Club.

On top of Beacon Hill, the club's acolytes devote themselves to the analysis of evil: Can it be explained by science? Does it have a physical presence? Do demons walk the earth? Drawing on a wealth of dark historical data and mysterious religious symbolism, the Mephisto scholars aim to prove a startling theory: that Satan himself exists among us.

With the grisly appearance of a corpse on their doorstep, it's clear that someone, or something, is indeed prowling the city. The members of the club begin to fear the very subject of their study. Could this maniacal killer be one of their own, or have they inadvertently summoned an evil entity from the darkness?

Delving deep into the most baffling and unusual case of their careers, Maura and Jane embark on a terrifying journey to the very heart of evil, where they encounter a malevolent foe more dangerous than any they have ever faced...one whose work is only just beginning.

©2006 Tess Gerritsen (P)2006 Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Deftly plotted." (Publishers Weekly)

Pure evil in the flesh

A gruesome murder bring Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles out in the frigid Boston night on Christmas eve. Inverted cross symbols, a circle with five black candles along the circumference at the points of a pentagram, and a dismembered body lead the police to believe they are dealing with a Satanist or satanic cult. A few weeks later another body is found in the garden of Anthony Sansone, who we learn is a member of a very unique organization - the Mephisto Club. The purpose of thisclub is to track evil around the world and try to put a face on it. Sansone and his fellow members believethe killings are directed at the club, and so begins the game of cat and mouse.
The book is full of history, albeit no history I have read before. Stories of Nephilim, fallen angel who mate with humans, and ancient symbols abound. There is also some history given about some of the ruins in Rome, and reminded me of Dan Brown's books.
I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery and did not see the end coming. I would recommend this to any fan of mysteries who doesn't mind missing out on a little sleep, because you won't be able to put it down.

Great Book

This new book from Gerritsen is worth the wait! It is one of the best, if not the best in the Moira and Jane series. A little far fetched, but good story telling and strong characters.

intriguing and exciting suspense

this book is by far my favorite in the series. intrigue, suspense, keeps you on your toes to solve the mystery.

Great book

I love love love this author. This is my third book I’ve listened to and they just keep getting better and better

Is it a world-wide conspiracy, or is it revenge?

I love the Rizzoli and Isles series by Tess Gerritsen, but of all the books, this is one of my favorites. Gerritsen does a fantastic job of weaving between past and present, keeping you wondering throughout whether the murders are the work of a psychopath with an occult obsession, or part of a global conspiracy of evil. Along the way she deepens the characters of both Rizzoli and Isles, paying special attention to Isles in this book. Kathe Mazur does a wonderful job of narrating the characters and capturing their regional dialects. I highly recommend this one! (Audible 20 Review Sweepstakes Entry)

My favorite of the series.

I have listened to all of the series available on audio. This is my favorite. There are characters here that show up in other books. Their backgrounds and relationships seem to come across with more detail in this episode.

As usual, the mystery involved is engaging. Maura and Jane always work well together and have each other's back.

Narration is appropriate; the "accents" are difficult to portray.

BTW: The network version doesn't do the books justice. The story line diverges greatly and seems rather vanilla by comparison.

The Mephisto Club will not disappoint!

Very interesting story drawn from the pages of history and written for today's time. Very well written and great narrator.

AMAZING

Everything about this book is great! The reader is great also, kept us listening and not wanting to miss a word! We listened in the car on our way to Florida to visit family and finished on the 10 hour drive home! 7 1/2 hours into the drive home the book sadly has come to its conclusion! Don't miss this read!

Good Summer Read

Intriging characters and good story line - more than one plot and some interesting twists.
I got a whole lot of gardening done because I kept the 'read' for my time outside and kept finding excuses to get outside and tune back in.

Slow Moving, Boring

Slow moving, boring story line in its performance. I just couldn't like this book at all