The Apprentice by Tess Gerritsen

The Apprentice
Tess Gerritsen
Publisher: Ballantine Books (July 29, 2003)
Read: 6 January 2011
3/5 stars

After having to stay up all night to read The Surgeon, it was with great excitement that I opened The Apprentice, and at first I was not disappointed. A grisly serial killer was beginning to imitate "the Surgeon", who Detective Jane Rissoli had put away a year ago. Given the similarities, she's called in to check out a case outside of Boston, and then becomes lead detective when "the Dominator" strikes again inside Boston.

This had all the elements to be a excellent page turner, but it just fell flat somehow. Where the previous novel left me looking over my shoulder, this one just didn't give me the same thrills. The mystery solution was just not as believable, and the danger and fright elements were just not as jarring. Even the serial killer action just didn't have the same edge to it.

Oh, it was a good enough read; I still read it all in one sitting, because I was curious as to how it ended. But, it simply was not as good as the other two novels I have read by Ms. Gerritsen, simply didn't live up to it's potential. If this had been the first novel I had read by her, it would probably be the last. As it is, I'll just say it is not a good example of her fine writing talent.