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)

good book

I enjoyed the book, if you are looking for a book to help make your run or swim go by quickly this is a good choice. I have read, not listened, to other Tess Gerritsen books and they too are enjoyable, quick reads.

Mystical evil meets Rizzoli and Isles

Definitely not one of the better Rizzoli and Isles's installments. The killer uses ancient symbolism with (of course) lots of blood, torture, and long-delayed revenge. The story comes complete with a private club of amateur detectives looking for Evil in the world and funded by a fabulously wealthy member. None of it merged very well with the Boston detective series. The real turnoff for me was the appallingly inaccurate depiction of museum research collections, which the author imagines as consisting primarily of taxidermy displays. (There is a big difference between public displays and research collections which rarely have taxidermy mounts.) Jane Rizzoli meets a curator who talks about monetary values of shells and private shell collections. Virtually no reputable modern-day natural history curator would think of specimens in terms of monetary value, not to mention that things like private shell or egg collections reached their peak of popularity over a century ago. Most could not even be legally added to in the US anymore.

If you're a Rizzoli and Isles fan, you'll want to read the book mainly to keep up with the backstory.

Her best

I am a reader not a writer. Great plpt 2 stories merging. Read it every night. Great book.

YES!

Recommending this book and it's author is easy. And to pondering Reader: just do it, Check out an exceptional series (and a few free standing) by a truly remarkable author of psychological terror. You'll thank me...

the twist at the end

I really liked this book, theyvall have kept me interested from start to finish.

If you like devil stories . . .

This is a pretty good story, but in all I think I am through with Gerritsen. I like mysteries not gore, and she is fascinated by gore.

Worth every penny

This is the third time listening to this book. Actually, I'm on my third time listening to this series!. I love the connection between uptight Maura Isles and hard as nails detective Jane Rizzoli. Each character has their own unique style and mannerisms. I didn't watch the t.v. series until I started listening to the audible books. A big plus for me is living in the Boston area

Start with earlier books

This is a very good book, which I thoroughly enjoyed. However, if this is your first Gerritson book, I advise you read the surgeon and body double first, as these stories lend themselves to this story. I didn't do that and now wish I would have. Regrettably, I know the conclusions of those two books, and would have enjoyed listening to those 2 prior to this.

Not one of my favorites but still entertaining

Sometimes I think that when a novel series becomes a successful TV series the books are doomed. Since Rizzoli & Isles aired I always hear and "see" the actresses that portray them on TV and can't seem to get the most out of the novel. In this situation it seems written as a screenplay and not as a novel. The book starts off well but loses it's bite in the middle section. Then the bodies start piling up and I always see that as a bad omen. Really, how many people have to die before the cracker shot team solves the murders. And, in this case, they really don't. The scenario just sort of plays itself out without much help from either main character. I was more interested in Rizzoli's family issues (and I think she was too!) than in the crime itself.

Still, the character development was very well done and I thought the narration was excellent in spite of what other reviewers though of as a bad Boston accent. The story line, although a little far fetched, was rounded out with the crime at hand and the intertwining of the characters personal lives too.

I usually love Tess Gerritsen novels. Perhaps they just don't translate well to audio. I will buy the hardbound editions in the future.

took a long time to get the story going

the story is a good one... It took forever to get going... tried to listen three times but got tired of the pace. When i finely managed to listen long enough... It was a good story.