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)

Must Read

I always enjoy this series of books and wasn't disappointed here either. It was interesting enough to keep me going with the unabridged version because there were so many details and events. It's one I will keep in my library to listen to again later.

A fun mystery...

This was fun to listen to, but its certainly not a classic. It has a real soap opera feel to it. If it were made into a movie it would be destined for the Lifetime Channel.

Too Well Written

This book is too well written. It scared me. Maybe I was feeling vulnerable, because books just don't scare me...but this one did. My thoughts while listening were about the author, "this woman knows evil...I wonder how she understands it so well." Like the pragmatically minded Detective, Jane, I don't believe in monsters separate from the blackness found in the human heart. I believe that some people choose evil as a way of life. Others facilitate it by doing nothing. The author's suggestion of a separate race of demons kept me sane during the reading; it allowed me to finish the book, providing the distance I needed between the evil described and my own heart. I strive not to choose evil, but I have felt its influence in my life, suffered from its full effects, and, yes, evil scares me. I cling to the good.

Praise when praise is due

I am often critical of the many audio books I have listened to over the years.... critical in the negative sense. So my praise of this story and author is significant for myself if no one else.
The story was very intricately woven into a very believable suspense yarn. The "weaving" of anthropological myths or truths was very appealing and gave substance to the story.
I unequivocally state that it gave me as much enjoyment as the Da Vinci Code and believe we will see the story in cinematic format. I would encourage all to enjoy this most excellent read.... listen.

P.S.- I enjoyed the narrator and thought she did a very good job!

Great pacing, dark, wonderful narrator

This was my first Tess Gerritsen, and I enjoyed it. The Mephisto Club's members search for actual evil in the form of Nephilim, the descendants of fallen angels and man, inspired by the book of Enoch. The main characters were well developed, and the plots were very well paced.
I had two main issues with the book. First, even though most of the plot lines were wrapping up quite nicely, the ending was too abrupt. Second, the scholars that were consulted dragged out everything they were saying, and while this could arguably have been character choices, all of the scholars consulted did it, so these parts felt like info dumps from cardboard cut outs. Thankfully, the main characters didn't consult them often, and the story took over.
Fast paced, well plotted, great narrator.

Yawn

Long slow moving story lines that didn't go anywhere. Difficult to follow characters through narration. Plodding.

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.

I had a hard time getting through this one

At times, I know that writers like to explore a bit with theories that interest them. But, this plot takes the prime characters a bit too far off their center. The author explores the bodily existence of evil due to her interest in the Book of Enoch and Book of Jubilees.

I think this subject should have been explored in a separate book, as the author has done in the past. She is a great writer, but using the Rizzoli & Isles characters was the wrong venue.

I had a very hard time getting through this book. There were many parts that I simply FF through. Animal sacrifices by weirdos (technical term there!), graphic torture.. I simply can't stomach.

I've enjoyed this series up until now. I'll try one more book to see if this exploration continues.. if it does, I'll stop the series.

Would I recommend this book? No. At least, not to anyone with any semblance of a sensitive soul.

waste of time!!!!

This novel is so bad, the author has to excuse it with a long afterward. what a waste of time and money. I'd give it zero stars if that was an option,

poor quality

the plot was reasonably functional, the dialog was sophmoric. I would have liked the scientific aspects to have been stressed more.