Grisly murders that include satanic rituals and messages keep detective, Jane Rizzoli, and medical examiner, Maura Isles, occupied sorting out the meaning. They become familiar with a group of individuals that are well-versed in the historical evil doings of the human race and have to discern whether or not this group is on the up and up or are they as evil as the murderer(s).

There were several things I did not like about this book. One being the basic story line, and two, the side stories. I had no interest in the satanic component - the root of the story and the side stories had a Stephanie Plum feel to them, which resulted in losing some sophistication that Gerritsen's writing generally contains. I was not pleased.

What I did like was the manner in which the story was told. There was one continuing flashback scenario and two present day scenarios. The flashback and one present day were fairly good - they are what kept my interest. I hope #7 in this series steps it up. (2.5/5)

Originally posted on: "Thoughts of Joy..." ( )

A good read, not something I'd usually seek out, but it was lent to me by a friend. 2.5 out of 5 typical crazy people that could probably benefit from some Paxil and a great deal of Jack Daniel's. ( )

I first picked up a novel called "The Surgeon" on a whim, and was utterly spellbound for one long evening in bed...me, the book, and my fear. Never before had I heard of Tess Gerritsen. I immediately ran out and bought everything in print by her. She is at the top of my must read list and I eagerly await each new novel. There is no easy explaination then, for why "Mephisto Club" has sat in my TBR stack for months upon months. Newer books were added to my TBR stack and then read and removed to either my keeper shelves or my donation boxes, all while "Mephisto" still sat patiently awaiting its turn. I think maybe the title of the book turned me off. I think it sounds unbearably boring. Thank goodness, I finally grabbed this one up and began to read. I was hooked immediately. Dr Isles and Detective Rizzo are among my favorite hard-nosed female characters. The story, which I was sure would be boring, is anything but. This isn't her best work, but its extemely strong. The Mephisto Club is actually a group of intellectuals, all members for their own personal reasons. Their aim is to study evil. They believe in demons amoung us. When their group suddenly seems to be targeted by a satanic-type killer, the Mephisto Club joins Dr Isles and Detective Rizzo to find the killer (against thier wishes of course). The mysteries reveal themselves little by little. Each new tidbit of information is eagerly awaited. The shock at the end makes perfect sense in hindsight once its revealed. My one and only complaint (other than the title, which I now forgive) is that the final confrontation scene is over far too quickly. After working up to it for four hundred plus pages it would have been nice to see it drawn out more than three or four pages. I have to wonder because of the last chapter, if Ms. Gerritsen plans to have us revisit the demons and the Mephisto Club in the future. If so, I guarentee that novel, won't put nearly as much time in with my TBR stack, as its predecessor . ( )

***

By far my favorite Gerritsen. It seems that several are interested in the Book of Enoch. I am not sure who started this trend, but this is a very good installment. ( )