The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen

The Surgeon is a meticulously written story about a murderer who is exclusively targeting women killing them and leaving behind no clues at all. The Surgeon is the first book of the Jane Rizzoli series where she is a detective in Boston Homicide Unit. The story of The Surgeon is highly engaging and is one of the few books that I have read till the last word. However, there were a few downsides to the main character too but not enough to disengage me off the book. The book is mostly written in present while a few chapters have the antagonist as the 1st person detailing what goes through the mind of The Surgeon and how he plans the murder.

The character of Jane Rizzoli is described as a small, square jawed woman with dark, probing, intense eyes. She is the only woman working in the homicide department and always tries to be the best at her job. She has a sort of passive aggressive attitude towards her male counterparts because she thinks that women have always been subdued in the society. Within six months of her transfer to the homicide unit, she already had problems with another detective, charges of sexual harassment, counter-charges of unrelenting bitchiness. However. her dedication towards her job makes her one of the best detectives in her unit.

Plot

The prologue is written in the murderer's  point of view. He has murdered a woman, Diana Sterling who lived alone in her apartment. The prologue sets the stage for how meticulously he plans the murder and remains calm throughout and after his deed. With a time skip of 1 year, the first chapter depicts a murder that has happened in Boston city, of a woman Elena Ortiz. Detective Jane Rizzoli and Thomas Moore along with other detectives visit the morgue to check on the body. They find signs that the body had been tied down to immobility and cuts had been made on her throat and abdomen. They also find that the cut on the abdomen was made to remove the uterus out of the body. This method of killing reminds Thomas Moore of  case that he had not been able to solve last year.

"According to the autopsy report, he takes his time. He is meticulous. He slices through the abdomen layer by layer. He uses suture to control the bleeding. he identifies and removes the only organ he wants. Nothing more. And what he wants is the womb."
"What does that tell us about him, detective Rizzoli?"
"He hates women. He cuts out the one thing that makes them women."

On further inquisition, they find out that such murders had happened few years ago in Savannah but the perpetrator was killed by one of the surviving victims, Dr. Catherine Cordell. The intricate details of the way of killing leads them to believe that the two cases are connected somehow.They sifted through the old reports and find out that the murdered women in all cases were rape victims too, however only one of them had reported the crime. The murders had moved from Savannah to Boston along with the moving of Dr. Catherine Cordell which leads the detectives to believe that she is somehow related to the murderer, that somehow The Surgeon is targeting the one victim that had gotten away. The murderer sends her signals and hints that insight that he wants her to be afraid of him. He takes pleasure in his victim's fear and cherishes their dread for the eventual death. Catherine Cordell is taken for hypnosis where she remembers that she had heard one voice other than that of Andrew Capra, the perpetrator who had tied her down. So Thomas Moore decides to check the past of Andrew Capra when he was a medical student. on visiting the college, he finds out that Capra had a colleague, William Hoyt who had withdrawn from college after he was found in obscenity with a cadaver after he had removed the uterus from the body.

He turned and said, "Lock your doors, Rose."
"oh, you always say that."
"I always mean it too, tonight more than ever."

Jane Rizzoli was being sidelined by her fellow detectives due to her errs during the investigation including killing a suspect without a proper reason. When she reads the report of the investigation, she tries to follow up on a lead where an unidentified black hair had been found on the crime scene. On inquisition in the local area she finds out he address of a person that the hair might belong to. When she reaches the house, she finds Catherine Cordell's car out in the garage; The Surgeon had already abducted her. With a little fight, Catherine shoots William Hoyt and all of them are sent to the hospital. In the end William Hoyt aka The Surgeon is brought to jail and Rizzoli is congratulated by her fellow detectives for her work.



Overall, The Surgeon is a very engaging read. With its graphic description of the crime scenes, it rightly builds up the stature of the murderer making the reader even more involved in the story. I personally felt there were a few flaws in the character of Jane Rizzoli. Interestingly, to me she never felt like the main character of the book. With her prejudice towards men, where she acts like a jerk to every human she encounters, she almost comes off as a substandard character. Detective Thomas Moore on the other hand felt more like the main character with his composed persona and demeanor. Nevertheless, the character flaws were not enough to take my mind off of one of the most gripping thrillers I have read.  It would be a must read for all the thriller lovers and I am already looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
You can either buy the book or download an e-publication version at Library Genesis.