THE KEEPSAKE
Tess Gerritsen
Ballantine Books
Thriller
ISBN: 9780345497628
New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen knows how to expertly dissect a brilliantly suspenseful story, all the while keeping fascinated readers riveted to her side. By turns darkly enthralling and relentlessly surprising, THE KEEPSAKE showcases an author at the peak of her storytelling powers.
For untold years, the perfectly preserved mummy had lain forgotten in the dusty basement of Boston’s Crispin Museum. Now its sudden rediscovery by museum staff is both a major coup and an attention-grabbing mystery. Dubbed “Madam X,” the mummy --- to all appearances, an ancient Egyptian artifact --- seems a ghoulish godsend for the financially struggling institution. But medical examiner Maura Isles soon discovers a macabre message hidden within the corpse --- horrifying proof that this “centuries-old” relic is instead a modern-day murder victim.
To Maura and Boston homicide detective Jane Rizzoli, the forensic evidence is unmistakable, its implications terrifying. And when the grisly remains of yet another woman are found in the hidden recesses of the museum, it becomes chillingly clear that a maniac is at large --- and is now taunting them.
Archaeologist Josephine Pulcillo’s blood runs cold when the killer’s cryptic missives are discovered, and her darkest dread becomes real when the carefully preserved corpse of yet a third victim is left in her car like a gruesome offering --- or perhaps a ghastly promise of what’s to come.
The twisted killer’s familiarity with post-mortem rituals suggests to Maura and Jane that he may have scientific expertise in common with Josephine. Only Josephine knows that her stalker shares a knowledge even more personally terrifying: details of a dark secret she had thought forever buried.
Now Maura must summon her own dusty knowledge of ancient death traditions to unravel his twisted endgame. And when Josephine vanishes, Maura and Jane have precious little time to derail the Archaeology Killer before he adds another chilling piece to his monstrous collection.
THE KEEPSAKE © Copyright 2008 by Tess Gerritsen. Reprinted with permission by Ballantine Books. All rights reserved.
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Critical Praise
"What Anne Rice is to vampires, Gerritsen is to the tale of medical suspense. She is better than Palmer, better than Cook... yes, even better than Crichton. If you’ve never read Gerritsen, figure in the price of electricity when you buy your first novel by her... ’cause baby, you are going to be up all night."––– Stephen King
"It’s scary just how good Tess Gerritsen is --- this is crime writing at its unputdownable, nerve-tingling best."––– New York Times bestselling author Harlan Coben
"Equally fascinating and horrifying... the pages seem to turn themselves."––– The Boston Globe (about THE MEPHISTO CLUB)
"Gerritsen has a knack for stretching believability just short of the breaking point --- and for amassing details that produce an atmosphere in which the most terrible possibilities can and, indeed, should occur."––– Publishers Weekly (about THE MEPHISTO CLUB)
"There’s no denying the power of Gerritsen’s storytelling. VANISH is a perfect example of the best-selling thriller: action-packed, entertaining and compulsively readable."––– Chicago Sun-Times (about VANISH)
"Some will find Tess Gerritsen’s newest thriller a bit too real… But there are rewards aplenty in this book, which I inhaled more than read... Fear not, you are in the hands of a master plotter."––– Boston Globe (about BODY DOUBLE)
"This masterful outing should rocket (Gerritsen) into the top bracket of suspense writers."––– Kirkus Reviews, Starred review (about BODY DOUBLE)
"Gerritsen’s... medical examiner is emerging as a formidable rival to Patricia Cornwall’s."––– Portsmouth Herald (about BODY DOUBLE)
"A good airplane read is a tricky feat to pull off. You need an engaging yet troubled protagonist, a nicely twisted murder, and enough MacGuffins to keep a reader intrigued... Done, done, and done... THE SINNER is as busy and bumpy as a storm-filled sky, and a lot more satisfying than that bag of peanuts."––– Entertainment Weekly, Grade: A- (about THE SINNER)
"[Gerritsen] has an imagination that allows her to conjure up depths of human behavior so dark and frightening that she makes Edgar Allen Poe and H.P. Lovecraft seem like goody-two-shoes."––– Chicago Tribune (about THE SINNER)
"Leave the lights on, check the closets and lock the doors before cracking [THE APPRENTICE]... It’s easy for an M.D. to walk you through the gory land of death and dying; only a real writer can make you want to be there for every cough and splatter."––– People (about THE APPRENTICE)
"A book to make readers’ skin crawl."––– Miami Herald (about THE APPRENTICE)
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