by Sandra Murphy

Details on how to win a copy of Die Again at the end of this review, along with a link to purchase the book where a portion goes to help support KRL & indie bookstore Mysterious Galaxy.

Die Again is the latest Rizzoli and Isles book by Tess Gerritsen. For those not familiar with the series, Jane Rizzoli is a detective with the Boston PD and Dr. Maura Isles is the medical examiner. One of the best things about this series is the chemistry between the two coworkers and friends.

The brutal and bizarre murder of big game hunter Leon Gott is their latest case. The victim is found bound and hung upside down just like a hunter would do to his prey after a successful hunt. His body is also sliced open in a style similar to that of a kill being trimmed for meat consumption. The victim is famous for his taxidermy work of wild animals and had just been commissioned to stuff an endangered snow leopard from a local zoo, and the valuable pelt is now missing. Oddly, the autopsy leads Dr. Isles to believe that he was likely killed by a leopard, which doesn’t make any sense in the middle of Boston. When a worker at the same zoo is killed by another wild cat, things start to get even stranger, and Dr. Isles feels that the deaths are somehow connected.

There are also chapters that take us into the past to a safari tour gone wrong in Botswana, and slowly the two stories start to connect. Could the same person who killed all but one of the members of that tour years ago, now be responsible for these new murders? This case takes Jane all the way to Africa to try and find the killer.

I have only read a few of the Rizzoli and Isles books, after being introduced to the characters through the TV show of which I am a huge fan! One of my favorite things about the show and the books, is the friendship between Jane and Maura, despite being about as opposite as you can get. In Die Again, Maura also has personal drama going on involving the mother who abandoned her.

The books, while a little different from the TV show, are every bit as good, and I look forward to eventually going back and reading them all. Not only are they great characters, but this is a top notch, well written, edge of your seat police thriller.

To enter to win a copy of Die Again, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “Die Again,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen January 24, 2015. U.S. residents only. If entering via email please include your mailing address, and if via comment please include your email address.

Check out our interview with Tess in 2011, and a fun video interview with Tess from 2012!

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & short stories in our mystery section.

Use this link to purchase a copy of the book & a portion will go to help support KRL & indie bookstore Mysterious Galaxy:

Die Again: A Rizzoli & Isles Novel

Lorie Lewis Ham is our Editor-in-Chief and an enthusiastic contributor to various sections, coupling her journalism experience with her connection to the literary and entertainment worlds. Explore Lorie’s mystery writing at Mysteryrat’s Closet.