This is another series I’m reading with a group on Goodreads. We’re a bit further along but I’m posting the earlier reviews. This book series was developed into the television series Rizzoli & Isles that aired on TNT starring Angie Harmon & Sasha Alexander. The books are much grittier than the television show, however.
Late one evening, Maura Isles is closing up the morgue and hears a noise in the cold room, the locker area where the bodies are stored. She locates the unit that’s the source of the noise and the eyes of the woman suddenly open, obviously not a corpse. Maura gets her admitted into the hospital’s emergency department but soon word gets out about the woman’s circumstances. Meanwhile, Jane Rizzoli has finally gone into labor and is admitted in the hospital. When she’s sent to the imaging area for a sonogram, bedlam breaks out in the hospital and a patient ends up holding her and those in the department hostage.
However, the book begins with the abduction of a group of women who are then forced into the sex trade, an obvious human trafficking network. It was heartbreaking and horrible as we are told the story through Mila, a very young Russian girl who doesn’t hold back as she chronicles her journey. I knew her situation would ultimately converge with Maura’s and Jane’s so I immediately began exploring the connections. It wasn’t easy or clear cut but eventually I pieced it all together but still didn’t know who could be trusted and what happened to Mila. The highly climactic ending held a couple of surprises to make this a highly intriguing story.
We have yet another narrator but one who I thought was great and not just because she is the first to pronounce Jane’s last name correctly (it was a serious annoyance for me with the other books). Her accents (Boston, Russian) seemed perfect and she made appropriate distinctions for other characters. I liked both the story and the performance and am still enjoying this series and how it’s progressing.
Book Info
- Release Date: 11 hours, 11 minutes
- Series: Rizzoli & Isles #5
- Narrator: Susan Denaker
- Audio Length: August 23, 2005
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Fab review!
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Thanks, Nicki!
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Lovely review 😍
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Thanks, Shalini!
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I loved the TV series. That’s the one them wherein I have seen all episodes abd some reruns too
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I enjoyed the show, too, but it was very different from the books.
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I had every intention of reading the series but it’s so different to the TV series. I watched them all more than once so I think the characters portrayals were too firmly in my mind.
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Cathy, I still see the TV stars as Jane & Maura, even though Angie Harmon is taller than the book Jane but has her personality. The woman portraying Maura, though, is very different from how she’s described in the book. However, it’s not interfering with my enjoyment.
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Wonderful review, Jonetta! I have this book… one of these days I’m going to read this series.
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Thank you, Darinda! It took me so long to get started but now that I have, I’m loving it.
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Glad you’ve got a new narrator. I read and loved this series back before audio was on my radar!
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Oh, Kim, the audio is so, so good! I read the first two and then switched. The stories are great on their own but the narration has been great despite the Rizzoli mispronunciation😏
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Another series and another author for me. Terrific review, Jonetta! I am so seriously close to trying audiobooks.
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Thank you, Marialyce! I can’t wait to hear about your first listening experience ☺️
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I’ve enjoyed a couple of books from this series and found a couple more to be, well, just okay. Gerritsen seems to do best when she’s covering topics she’s passionate about. But this one sounds interesting.
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I’ve enjoyed all but one so far and that was due to the subject matter being a dud for me. So far, so good.
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I think that’s the thing, if we don’t connect to the topic/subject material, it can be a bust. But not necessarily a bad read.
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Probably the best way to stay on track with a series is to read it with others! This is one I like but I probably will never finish!🙃
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That certainly is true for me, Berit! I hear you about finishing…the new and shiny things are such a distraction.
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Wonderful review! I’ve been meaning to start this series for ages; they sound like very entertaining reads.
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Thanks, Yvo! The series is a win for me.
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How weird for the narrators to not pronounce the last name correctly. That would bug me too! Wonderful review, Jonetta! ♥️ One of these days, I’ll get to this series! 😉
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Thanks, Jennifer! Mispronunciations in audio are more commonplace than one would believe as most authors don’t have a role in the audiobook production. It’s when readers complain that it gets fixed.
I hope you do get a chance to get to this series as it’s turning out to be a winner.
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I’m so glad you are enjoying the series! I loved this one. It’s creepy during the morgue scene! I would flip out, lol. I plan on rereading this series again one day because I enjoy it so much. Excellent review, Jonetta! ♥
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Thanks, Stephanie! Oh, that morgue scene was definitely creepy😬 If you do reread it, I highly recommend audio.
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You’re welcome! Thanks for the suggestion! I think I have one on audio but own the rest as hardback. I’ll have to look into the audio for summertime traveling. 😉
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Great review Jonetta. That’s great that they’ve changed the narrator who’s doing everything as it should be, mispronunciations bother me too.
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Thank you, RoseMarie! I’m glad to not hear that anymore.
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😊 😊
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Wonderful review Jonetta. I have read all the books in this series and enjoyed them all, even thought the subject matter is not always pleasant.
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Thank you, Carla! This is such a consistent series.
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