| The Surgeon, Tess Gerritsen |
| Imagine having your organs surgically removed while you are still conscious. In Tess Gerritsen’s The Surgeon, that is exactly what the killer does. He surgically removes the victims uterus, before killing them.
The Surgeon released in hard cover in 2001, won the RITA award from Romance Writers of America for best Romantic Suspense. Don’t be fooled into thinking this is a love story. This book is a detective novel first and a romance novel second. This book was re-released in paperback in 2007.
In The Surgeon, Gerritsen introduces her Boston homicide detective, Jane Rizzoli. Gerritsen has taken Rizzoli’s character and turned it into a smash hit series of detective stories. So far she has written six books in this series with the most recent being The Mephisto Club.
Gerritsen’s prior experience in the medical profession allows her to provide reality and authenticity to her descriptions of Emergency Room operations and trauma as well as her graphic description of the victims and the post crime scene. In one of the first ER scenes, “”It’s about to get messy,” she warned, her blade poised to penetrate. Though she was braced for the gush, that first piercing of the membrane released such an explosive spout she felt a flash of panic. Blood spilled onto the drapes and streamed to the floor. It splattered her gown, its warmth like that of a copper-scented bath soaking through her sleeves. And still it continued to flow out in a satiny river.” Definitely a “yuck” situation.
Gerritsen tells the story through the eyes of the detectives and the villain. She depicts the story teller change by using italics for the villains thoughts. In this way she helps the reader to understand how warped and twisted the killer really is. In his mind, he revisits ancient times, and relives the brutal way in which women were treated and sacrificed to appease the Gods. The killer’s fantasizes about Greek mythology, Vikings, and Aztecs, and the abuse of women in those societies.
A number of gender issues underlie the main plot, and intertwine with the romance. Rizzoli’s assignment to the homicide makes her the first female on the Boston squad. She encounters many difficulties with her fellow officers. Initially the reader has a hard time liking Rizzoli, because of her antagonism towards others. She views her life as a constant battle to gain equality and recognition for her achievements in a world dominated by men. The author soon shows that she has reason for her antagonism. Her work cohorts put a tampon in a water bottle on her desk. Even her Mom does not understand why Rizzoli chose law enforcement as a career. The reader gets the impression that Mom would prefer Rizzoli home cooking for the family and raising children.
In addition to the chauvinist issues, Gerritsen portrays rape as a gender issue; that men are incapable of understanding the psychological trauma experienced by women that have been raped. Gerritsen uses a rape chat room and rape counselors to portray this message, and to try and explain the trauma.
Tess Gerritsen’s The Surgeon provides the reader with a great detective novel. Her writing style and medical experience provide the reader with extremely descriptive murder and ER scenes. The flow of the novel keeps the reader involved, and intrigued to the end.
BGS revised 5/16/2008
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