The Surgeon
Penzler Pick,August  2001:Tess Gerritsen left a very successful career as an internist to  raise her children and devote more time to writing. After several books that  have had moderate success, Gerritsen has now written a gruesome and frightening  story that should put her among the top women thriller writers working today.A serial killer is on the loose in Boston. The victims are killed in a  particularly nasty way: cut with a scalpel on the stomach, the intestines and  uterus removed, and then the throat slashed. The killer obviously has medical  knowledge and has been dubbed "the Surgeon" by the media. Detective Thomas Moore  and his partner Rizzoli of the Boston Homicide Unit have discovered something  that makes this case even more chilling. Years ago in Savannah a serial killer  murdered in exactly the same way. He was finally stopped by his last victim, who  shot him as he tried to cut her. That last victim is Dr. Catherine Cordell, who  now works as a cardiac surgeon at one of Boston's prestigious hospitals. As the  murders continue, it becomes obvious that the killer is drawing closer and  closer to Dr. Cordell, who is becoming so frightened that she is virtually  unable to function. But she is the only person who can help the police catch  this copycat killer. Or is it a copycat? To complicate matters even further,  Detective Moore, often referred to as Saint Thomas as he continues to mourn the  loss of his wife, is getting emotionally involved with the doctor.The suspense inThe Surgeonis almost unbearable. The writing is superb  and the stunning twists and turns make it almost impossible to put down.-- Otto Penzler