Most popular fiction doesn't hold my interest anymore. All too often, the writing is too bland and unimaginative, the plots are standard fare, and the characters are one-dimensional. Tess Gerritsen is one of the few thriller writers whose work I've enjoyed in recent years. Her writing isn't that special, but she does have real storytelling skill, so that her books have always kept me reading.

The first two books featuring Jane Rizzoli, THE SURGEON and THE APPRENTICE, were truly suspenseful. Rizzoli is close to being a believable character, with the kind of problems that most of us can identify with. In the third novel, THE SINNER, Rizzoli moved to backup status, to make way for the pathologist Dr. Maura Isles. Unfortunately, Isles has yet to become a realistic character. She is more of a placeholder, an inert viewpoint character who exists simply as a device to hang the plot on.

And that's a real problem with BODY DOUBLE. The story has much of the gruesome fascination of THE SURGEON and THE APPRENTICE, and yet it lacks tension. It's fitfully suspenseful, but I got through 150 pages and felt like I was waiting for the story to get started. Over halfway through the book, I still felt that way, and came close to setting it aside for something more interesting.

I finally started skimming, and it finally got interesting again towards the end. However, most of the mystery is unraveled about 50 pages before the story finally concludes, so the rest of the book feels like a long epilogue.

For me, this was just a badly built plot, one that fails to build tension and only delivers sporadically. Far from being the kind of riveting read I was expecting, BODY DOUBLE was a book which thrilled me mostly when I was done with it, and could read something else.

I'll probably try the next book in the series (since I already bought it) but I'm surprised at how highly rated this one is. I hope VANISH sees a return to form.

This series of books by Tess Gerritsen is absolutely a page-turner. I couldn't read fast enough. This series was purchased by my niece who is stationed with the Army in Afghanistan. She loves to read mysteries, and I know this series will keep what little spare time she has occupied.

This is the fourth book in the Patholigist Dr. Maura Isles/Detective Jane Rizzoli series, and stands up pretty well in comparision with the other three novels.

In this one, Dr. Maura Isles has to go deep into her past, and find hidden, shocking truths, about her family in order to solve a modern day crime.

As always, the characters of Maura Isles and Jane Rizzoli are engaging, and the plot in this book had quite a few twists in it, too. There was frequently something new being discovered, or an event happening, in the storyline, that would make you want to read on further.

Body Double is Gerritsen's fourth novel in the Detective Jane Rizzoli series of medical thrillers. She interweaves her main plot, discovering the murderer of her main character's (Dr. Maura Isles) adopted twin sister, with several subplots, including locating her birth mother, the pain of a frustrating romance, the death of another lover, all intermingled with personal death threats. Her series hero Jane Rizzoli is in the last trimester of her pregnancy, which adds another layer of apprehension to the novel, in that the suspected murderer is involved in human trafficking, namely selling babies stolen from their mother's womb. The story has very little "down time," and Gerritsen does a first-rate job of building tension throughout the book.

The book starts with Dr. Maura Isles touring the Catacombs of Paris and contemplating her own mortality. That is just the beginning! She returns home to her house to find that her front yard is a crime scene, and the police and her coworkers are looking at her like she is a ghost. That is because they all thought the dead woman in the car in front of her house was Dr. Isles. The book is downright scary at times, and had me feeling really claustrophobic in parts the descriptions were so real. I won't give anything away, but pay close attention to the prologue in this one. I look forward to the next book in the series.

Excellent book, suspenseful, a definite page turner. This is the fourth book in the Jane Rizzoli series that I have read by Tess Gerritsen. As expected, the story is filled with intrigue, the characters come to life, and I have not yet been able to guess the ending. Highly recommend "Body Double." Received in perfect condition, and quick and easy transaction.

Although I've not read any earlier Gerritsen novels, I found the characters likable and don't feel that I've missed out on any past histories by starting with this book.

There were two concepts I found especially interesting throughout the novel. What it must be like not to grow up having a twin, but to discover in later life that there is someone who is just like you...even down to operational scars! Many people find the idea of identical twins fascinating and the idea of watching a post mortem performed on 'yourself' was definitely creepy.

The other idea that captured my imagination was that a certain kind of career may be determined by your genes. Add a sinister plot, interesting characters and you have a great page turner!

I've been told that you can give an artist the most hackneyed, the most overused, and the most simple idea and they can make something new of it that's worth looking at. I don't know that everyone can do that, but there are a select few that can.

Most writers are told there are only a handful of plots in the world. Literary professors seem convinced that every plot that has ever come out in American novels can be found within Mark Twain's HUCKLEBERRY FINN. I'm not going to disagree with that assessment, but I am going to doubt it a little.

One thing for certain, Tess Gerritsen's fourth Boston Police Department Homicide Detective Jane Rizzoli novel at first appears to be a writer in search of a plot. Medical Examiner Maura Isles came to the forefront of the last novel, THE SINNER, and she remains the focus of this one.

The idea of a "mysterious twin" or "dark twin" is one of the oldest plot tricks in the book. Mark Twain performed his magic on the plot device in THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER. Before that Alexandre Dumas did it with THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK and Anthony Hope used it in THE PRISONER OF ZENDA.

Just as these other masters of fiction pulled successful rabbits out of their hats, Gerritsen does the same with Dr. Maura Isles and her murdered twin. During the course of this novel, Jane Rizzoli is sidelined to degree while in her eighth month of pregnancy. Her relationship with FBI Special Agent Gabriel Dean continues to grow and this one, although they have problems back and forth.

Isles's provocative relationship with Father Daniel Brophy (barely touched on in THE SINNER) looms larger in the series as both Isles and Brophy have to fight against temptation and old feelings that haven't gone away.

The story opens in a gripping fashion with Isles arriving back at her house after a forensic conference in France. Police cars and Rizzoli are already at her address. When Rizzoli reveals the dead woman, Isles is blown away. The woman looks just like her.

Enough to be her twin.

In fact, subsequent forensic investigation reveals that the dead woman has to be Isles's plan. Their blood work and even their DNA matches. Isles was raised as an adopted child and had no clue that she had a blood family, much less an identical twin.

After digging into the dead woman's background, Isles and Rizzoli discover that sheet - like Isles - was adopted. In fact, the same lawyer attended to the placement of both children.

Driven by her need to know who she really is and who her family was - not out of curiosity, but out of self-preservation - Isles begins the painful search for her true roots. The trail is twisted and filled with a lot of unpleasant surprises. More than that, Rizzoli becomes convinced that Isles is tracking a serial killer whose work fantasies involve killing pregnant women - which makes Rizzoli a prime target.

BODY DOUBLE is a compelling experience that drags the readers through the pages at a frantic gallop. Although some of the plot at times feels familiar, Gerritsen brings so much to it that is new. This novel is definitely one of the most tense of the series and delivers a slambang ending.

Gerritsen's newest novel, THE BONE GARDEN, is a stand-alone and not a Rizzoli and Isles book. However, from the description it sounds like a roller-coaster ride waiting to happen. Unfortunately, fans of Rizzoli and Isles are going to have to wait at least one more year for another tale.

Yes: the sexy cover, plot synopsis, and rave reviews littering the dust jacket of "Body Double" don't necessarily stand out to a distinguished reader of suspense fiction. I, personally, walked by Gerritsen's novels in the bookstore thinking "more dull medical thrillers." But I am so happy that I finally picked up this novel (my first by Gerritsen) because - in all honesty - it's quite good.

Once you get past the initial far-fetched premise (a medical examiner discovers a murdered woman who happens to be her long-lost twin sister) the story is more plausible than you'd expect. The motives of the characters (and villains) are completely believable and Gerritsen doesn't resort to cheap thrills to keep the story going.

What I liked best about the novel was Gerritsen's way of developing the story. Instead of stuffing the novel with red herrings, she allows the mystery to complicate itself and grow into something very compelling. Three-fourths of the way through, you'll be asking yourself not only "whodunnit?" (as with most suspense thrillers) but "why?" and "how?" And what's more, the pay-off is exciting (without being over-the-top) and plausible (the revelations are air-tight).

All in all, you can't go wrong with "Body Double" - - a better-than-average adventure in suspense that avoids the trappings of its genre.

I loved learning all about Isles and the way the story intertwines the history with the present. Fast paced as usual. I loved it.

I love thrillers, but I hate the type where every page is a blood bath, and the author focuses more on grossing out the reader than on trying to create a good story.

That's why I am so happy to have discovered Tess Gerritsen. She offers a page-turner that actually has a plot that makes me want to keep reading.

Body Double is one of my first Gerritsen books, but I wasn't hampered by the fact that I wasn't familiar with the characters. The author does a great job of making everyone accessible, while not giving TOO much backstory and boring the reader.

Dr. Isley, otherwise known as the "Queen of the Dead," is a medical examiner with a cloudy background. Even she isn't too sure of where she came from as she was adopted as an infant. Her past catches up to her when a woman who could be her double is found shot outside her apartment. Isley must discover who this woman was, who killed her, and why she's next on the list.

Full of twists and turns and enough mystery to keep you guessing until the end. Perfect blend of fear and excitement!

Tess is a very exciting writer and this book was a nail biter.

This novel is the fourth novel in the Dr. Isles/Jane Rizzo series for Tess Gerritsen and the second featuring Dr. Marua Isles as the heroine. Dr. Isles arrives home frazzled after her trip to Paris for a convention. Feeling unruffled after a long flight that was delayed for 3 hours followed by lost luggage, all Maura wants to do is be home. However, when her taxi arrives at her street, she is dismayed to discover that her street is closed and she can't in fact, go home. Leaving the taxi, she approaches the police to beg for pity on a weary traveler to be allowed home but is met by the police and crowd alike with stares and open jaws. Finally Jane arrives to tell Maura that a woman was murdered sitting in a car near Maura's house... and she looks like Maura. Eventually Maura proves what she was afraid to think the entire time, this woman was her twin - seperated at birth. This tale follows Maura as she follows the path of her twin Anna in her months before her death - trying desprately not only to prove that Anna's death has nothing to do with Maura but also to prove that blood is not thicker than water.

This novel is full of so many twists and turns one may get caught up and trip a few times. Rarely do I need to go back and re-read passages but this novel had me doing so a few times to make sure I got my facts straight. Somethings in this novel are easy to figure out but others will take you by surprise. The only thing dragging down this story is Maura's love interests - somewhat pertinent to the tale but IMHO they are getting to be cumbersome. Either stick her with someone or not but the constant "cute men" is getting tiresome and are a waste of words. The story itself though is a good one and the trail of death is frightening.

She never lets me down. I have read all of her books and have loved all but one, The Sinner wasn't one of my favorites, but she is back in the goove again. She keeps you guessing from the beginning to the end. Her characters are well rounded and keep me thinking about them even when I'm not reading. I love Maura and Jane. I will be reading all of her books.

Another great book of twists and turns and great storylines for Tess Gerritsen. If you like her books, you'll love this!

The days were so long till I got back to the book... LOVED IT!

Terrific writing and story line. You wont be able to stop thinking about it all day long till you finish it! Excellent twists through out the whole thing too. The story just keeps getting deeper and more twisted. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of Tess' books.

Definately pick up this book!!

The Surgeon is still the best book Tess Gerritsen has written, but this novel is probably second in my opinion. I loved this book. For the first time I liked the character Maura Isles. I could actually understand the issues Maura had to be dealing with. Also, Jane Rizzoli, who I believe is getting stale as a character, was kept out of the forefront enough for me to enjoy the plot. The plot was great. I did not get the feeling of overwhelming evil from the villain, but then a villain does not have to be unredeemably evil to be a villain. Also, the secondary murder (actually the one that puts everything in motion) was resolved in a way that I sure did not see coming. This was a great read, fast paced and intense. This is why I count Tess Gerritsen as one of my favorite writers. Concluding: God, that Dwayne was a creep!!!

First I've heard of Ms. Gerritsen, and I enjoyed this book quite a lot. It's a fast read, never boring, with an interesting plot. A little disjointed at first, however, the different segments fit nicely together as the story reaches its end. I'm looking forward to reading another from this author.

This book was awsome. I read the others in the series, so I devoured this one in just one day. I love these books, and I think this was my favorite.

How would you like to have to perform your own autopsy? That is the conundrum that faces Dr. Maura Isles in Body Double when she returns from a conference in France to find that the identical twin she never knew she had has been murdered in front of her house. The investigation into the murder leads Maura to a mental institution to confront the woman who gave the identical twins up for adoption 40 years before, and also leads Maura into the chilling discovery that a serial killer has been murderng pregnant women.

This book moves quickly as Maura follows the investigation to its very surprising conclusion. It's a pleasure to see Maura team up with Dr. Jane Rizzoli-- Maura seems to take some of the hard edges off of Jane and Jane seems to make Maura a little less of an ice princess. This is an enjoyable book that you will find is hard to put down until the end.

Dr. Maura Isles is very surprised that there are a couple of obstacles that are linked to her throughout the book. Some of the different events and some of the different adversities through the book were strikingly familiar to her ownself. She has been on edge ever since some problems through the book. If you would like an exciting, and would like a book that establishes many different adventures for Maura Isles, this is the book for oyu to read.

Now, I have been reading quite a bit of Tess's books and I must say i found this one an ABSOLUTE enjoyment.

the first chapter was such an attention grabber that it gave me the creaps that it facinates me to think how does she think up of these things!

Dr. Maura after getting back home from a tiring flight from paris gets shocked into the crowd and the police cars that were swarming in front of her house. not knowing what is going on she get out of the cab that she was at and approaches the sceen just to have everyone look at her like they seen a GHOST! and literally they have every reason to be.
in front of her house, parked in a simple car was a woman who has been shot, she was the splitting image of dr. maura her self! making this book so interesting, it was hard to put it down. this suddenly was a personal call for dr. maura to find out who the woman was, why does she look like her so much, what does the mysterious woman do for a living, and who her real parents are! to the light romance she was having or felt like she was having, with a man/cop who known who the woman was, her sister.

i can not express how happy i was to pick up this book, if i said anymore then i would be giving almost the whole book away. all i can say is that you will absolutely not know who the killer is until the very end! the way she ties all the murders together was ingenious! omg i almost gave out a spoiler.

guys i highly recommend this book to read!

I blasted her when she wrote The Apprentice and hated the Jane Rizzoli character. In Body Double however, I found the twosome of Maura and Jane a good match. This was a quick read, lots of twists and turns and a surprise ending that I thought was rather quirky and fun.
This is a good read, not a great one. Tess does terror and suspense with a flair. I am happy that I gave this author another go.

This is oe of my favorite suspense authors. I wish she would write faster. I really have enjoyed all of her books. They are well written and interesting, exciting stories. Definitely recommended!

Boston medical examiner, Dr Maura Isles, returns home from a working vacation at a forensic pathology conference and is shocked to discover that her home is a murder crime scene with herself starring in the role of victim. Chaos and confusion reign until consultation with detective Jane Rizzoli and further investigation reveal that the victim, Maura Isles' doppelgänger, not only shares her blood type and birth date but, based on DNA investigation, is actually an identical twin. The questions are deliciously obvious to the investigators and the reader alike - who was the actual intended victim, Dr Isles or her hitherto unknown sister?; if it was Dr Isles, then why did her unknown twin come onto the scene at that precise moment; if it was her sister, then what was she doing parked in Dr Isles' driveway?; who was their mother and why was Dr Isles unaware that she had a twin sister? I won't waste any further ink on plot synopsis because, frankly, nothing further need be said. Nobody could possibly put "Body Double" down once they've read, oh, maybe three or four paragraphs!

There can be no denying it - Gerritsen is an extraordinarily skilled artist of the realism school when it comes to painting a thriller canvas! She brushes a background completed with broad daring strokes but, at the same time, completes a foreground with attention to the most meticulous detail. "Body Double" succeeds on any number of fronts. Rather than dwelling purely on a summary of a plot, as exciting as it is, of course, it's more worthwhile spending a little time on the enjoyable successes that set Body Double apart from more run-of-the-mill thrillers.

Body Double provides an eerie, realistic chronicle of the development of a psychopathic serial murderer.

We are treated to superb examples of the use of modern police investigation techniques including, of course, forensic pathology and computer analysis.

Readers are forced to ask themselves difficult philosophical questions relating to adoption: To what extent do adoptees have a right to their natural history? To what extent do mothers giving up their children for adoption have the right to confidentiality? Nature or nurture? What is the prime determinant of personality, intelligence and skill make-up of adopted children? (Now here's a real toughie for you ... if you were an adopted child and you came into the certain knowledge that your mother was a schizophrenic and a convicted criminal, how would you feel about that and would you feel the compulsion to visit and learn more about her?)

Her story also forces us to ask ourselves what we might do faced with unresolvable, impossible "urges" - in this case, a sexual attraction to a priest who is clearly aware of the attraction and yet is absolutely committed to his vocation!

Today, we are well acquainted with serial killers such as Paul Bernardo, for example, whose name alone in Ontario is sufficient to conjure up a case of shivers. In Body Double, Gerritsen has given us a moment of respite by creating a victim who somehow found the inner strength to resist and confound her stalker, torturer and would-be murderer! (The ending of this little sub-plot will make you want to stand up and cheer at the same time as your laughing yourself silly!)

What do you think? Have I said enough to convince you that Body Double is a five-star thriller must read?

Paul Weiss

This fiction book is an exciting thriller that leaves you guessing until the very end. Body Double is about a Boston Medical Examiner Maura Isles, who one day sees herself lying on the autopsy table. A DNA test confirms that the woman is in fact her twin sister. To find the answer to her sister's murder, she must dig way into the past even before her time, to uncover the horror that awaits her, and to learn of her real mother and the dark secrets she keeps. This is without a doubt the best book I have ever read, the connections are bone chilling. The way everything comes together is brilliant on the author's behalf. She wrote this book so well that you could not guess how everything ties together and comes to an end; you feel like you're there with the characters feeling the emotions they feel. Read this book and you'll be on the edge of your seat for sure.

Dr. Maura Isles returns from a trip to Paris to find police swarming her home and a dead woman in a car who's her exact double. The discovery of the dead woman, who turns out to be a twin she never knew she had, sets in motion a series of explosive events, including the discovery of her parentage and a series of macabre deaths. She's pursued by a persistent policeman who was helping her twin evade an abusive ex-lover. The story runs on several threads and everything ties up to a chilling conclusion.
This is one of Tess Gerritsen's best novels. The action never flags and at times the discoveries sent chills down my spine. She makes good use of her medical knowledge without it being too jargony and overwhelming. Maura isn't a very appealing character, she seems rather cold and distant but that doesn't detract from the impact of the story. Jane Rizzoli improves over time though, she started off in the earlier books as rather prickly and annoying but has mellowed. Too bad Ms Gerritsen is veering more towards using Maura as a central character and Jane's husband, Gabriel Dean, hardly appears in this book.
Her addition of Maura's interest in her priest is an unwelcome distraction and is my only quibble with a thoroughly good read.

Once again, Tess Gerritsen has written a real page turner. I became so engrossed in the story that I finished the novel in two sittings ( I did require food and sleep ). I have read everything that she has published in this genre and would not hesitate to recommend her novels to anyone who wishes to be entertained, captivated and thrilled. I anxiously look forward to her next novel.

i read this in 2 and a half days this past winter break. despite its lack of depth (no sybolism, metaphors, etc.--a refreshing break for an ap english student), this book is incredibly gripping! with almost a 'law & order' feel, this book is more suspenseful than most movies i've seen.

If you like "CSI" or "Bones" this book might be a pleasant diversion. I don't read crime drama often, but this book was enteraining in that vein. It's the sort of book a person can whip through in a short time.

The reason I rated it so low is that the characters weren't really that believable. Maura, the heroine, at one point was eating lobster takeout in Maine, and was telling her companion that she had never eaten lobster in the shell before. Her explanation was that she had just moved to Boston from San Francisco. I found myself thinking, "Huh? How can a grown person live in both San Francisco and Boston and be eating lobster in the shell for the first time?" These types of little details made it harder to suspend disbelief and were distracting. (Maybe that's just me.)

Also, as another reviewer mentions, the author misses some opportunities to explore the characters of the villains. She seems to spend more time describing the perverse character of a psychologist who is fascinated by murderers than on the murderers.

At one twist in the plot, the character involved was so obscure I had to leaf back through the book to job my memory.

I would have enjoyed the book more if it had a bit more character development in the key players of the plot, or if all of the better developed characters played more interesting roles in the plot twists. Actually both would have been good.

However, since the other books by this author review well, and since I secretly enjoy crime fiction, sign me up for the next one!

This was the first Tess Gerritsen book I read. I was surprised to find that she surprised me! Plotlines don't go where you expect, and I found myself saying "D&*m!" quite a few times...in a good way. The idea of finding your own corpse and discovering a hidden past was intriguing and a bit scary. I gave this 5 stars because I've haven't read this plot before and the book was well-written and involving. What will I give her VANISH, though? It was a better book, it moved faster and involved me more deeply so that I HAD to finish it right away. And those who have read Gerritsen's previous novels don't all agree that Body Double is her best work. WOW! I have something to look forward to! Having given up on Patricia Cornwell--her last novel was a chore & I won't read Predator since so many have told me it's worse--I am so happy to have "discovered" Ms. Gerritsen, who is more than equal to anything that Cornwell wrote in her better days. I don't know that I'll delve into her Harlequin series, but I look forward to reading her medical thrillers.

I compare everything she writes with Gravity, and this one fell short. I am not a fan of series with recurring characters, per se. I like her stand alones better.

As many reviewers of this book I agree that the main plot is really thrilling. The problem is that is pretty difficult to find it. If this book were written with 100 pages less would be and excellent thriller, but when you read a subplot and you only want to finish it to get to the main plot, the book gets boring. I also agree that the end is not bad, and as many reviewers said I will give T.G. another try with another book.

I finished this book late last night, and I'm glad I've already got "Vanish" so I can start it ASAP!
I love just about any genre that is thrown my way, but I do have a special interest in medical forensics. And I have to say...since I have seen an actual autopsy performed myself, Ms.Gerritsen's descriptions of them in her books are to the tee! It is grisly, but fascinating at the same time. (I'm not a morbid person - I promise!)
I enjoyed this book, and I couldn't put it down. Just when I thought I had the end all figured out, the author threw in one more twist that was totally unexpected.