Girl Missing

Kat Novak is a Boston medical examiner. When she examines the body of a young girl, it is clear she died from a drug overdose but it is like no drug Kat has ever seen before. When she tries to get the police and the DA’s office to investigate, no one seems interested even when more bodies arrive in the morgue – after all, they’re just prostitutes and druggies from the wrong side of the tracks, in fact the same side of the tracks Kat is from. But Kat can’t let go and decides to investigate on her own and soon finds herself embroiled in a mystery that takes her, not only into gang territory but into a Pharmaceutical lab. The handsome billionaire who owns the lab is searching for his missing stepdaughter who may be a victim of the show more drug or, worse, the person behind it and decides to aid Kat in her investigation whether she wants his help or not.

Girl Missing was originally written in 1994 under the title Peggy Sue Got Murdered and was, according to author Tess Gerritsen, her ‘bridge’ novel from romantic suspense to thriller. I have to admit here that when it comes to romance, my inner curmudgeon tends to take over. Too often, romantic interludes just seem to bog a story down and spoil what is otherwise a happy little tale of murder and mayhem. And, yes, there is definitely romance here but, fortunately, it takes a backseat to the mystery. Kat seems like a definite forerunner to Gerritsen’s later female crime-fighting duo, Rizzoli and Isles: she’s strong, capable, and independent and, although she does team up with a male love interest, she always takes the lead in the investigation. She goes where the clues take her and he can follow or go home.

Girl Missing is a fun read with plenty of action and twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. It’s perhaps not as strong as her later books but it’s still a heck of a page-turner. It’s been updated for a new audience and, on occasion, the difference in eras shows but not enough to interfere with my willing suspension of disbelief. It’s a relatively short book at only175 pages on my Kobo so perfect entertainment for a lazy afternoon when you’re looking for a quick read to become completely engrossed in. show less

None of the characters is what they first seem to be. Tess Gerritsen's medical background serves her well with the details of autopsies and drug effects. This reissue of Gerritsen's early work contains an introduction by the author, in which she states that she considers this novel the bridge between her romantic suspense novels and her crime fiction. An excellent early offering from Gerritsen.

ARC provided by NetGalley

Kat Novak is an outstanding Medical Examiner and leaves no stone unturned when investigating deaths. But when a beautiful young woman’s corpse is found dumped in a garbage alley, she may have bitten off more than she can chew. And then a second victim is found. Both murdered by an unknown drug. And more deaths maybe coming and a serial killer maybe on the loose. But the police won’t listen, the mayor casts her out, and her ex-husband--the DA--tells her to knock off the investigation. Kat though continues on and when her search leads to a wealth prominent citizen whose company manufactures drugs and new medicines...and whose own daughter is missing, the house shakes.

This is a rerelease of Tess Gerritsen’s show more first foray into the mystery/thriller genre after writing romance novels. And...it’s clear that she’s still figuring out how to write mystery/thriller versus romance novels. Unlike her Rizzoli & Isles books, the mystery and motive of events is overly convoluted leading readers to try to figure out which of the four different mysteries is the real one and not always providing answers to other events. Tess also falls back into the romance genre style of writing about a third of the way through the book which, means that Kat turns from strong, confident ME...to crying young woman who needs a guy to rescue her. Which is a bit of a turn off.

While there are some good points to the book and I can see how this one led to the Rizzoli & Isles books, this is not a story I’m likely to come back and visit again anytime soon. If you want to see how Tess got her start writing thrillers, pick this up. If on the other hand you just want to enjoy Rizzoli & Isles books...give this one a pass. 2.5 out of 5 stars. show less

This was my first Tess Gerritsen novel, and apparently quite a good place to start. This was Gerritsen's first cross over into crime, moving away from romance, and for a crime debut it was pretty damn awesome. She effortlessly blended crime with a little bit of romance - nothing too overpowering - for an easy to read thriller that will keep you guessing until the final pieces fall together.

Kat Novac is a medical examiner in Boston, and within two days, she inspects two corpses who both appear to have died from an unidentifiable drug overdose. The only clue is a name and number written on a matchbook. Adam Quantrell is not at all what she expected though, and while some sparks fly between them, Quantrell's name remains at the top of the show more suspect list. Quantrell is obviously hiding something, and his eagerness to identify the overdosed Jane Doe suggests his squeaky clean past is not all it seems to be. Quantrell is the owner of a powerful pharmaceutical company, and all signs point to their laboratory for the source of the deadly drug.

When Kat's life is threatened, Quantrell clears his name as a suspect and instead becomes a love interest. But all is not well within the walls of the city's elite, and it becomes obvious that corporate coverup and conspiracy are rife within the law enforcement. Who is responsible for the deaths of the drug takers? Why does law enforcement seem so willing to deny that there is a problem? And what happens when Kat realises that the people who are closest to you have the greatest capacity to hurt you?...

Well I suppose you'll have to read it! I suggest you do. It's not an amazing thriller, but it's a quick and easy read that is highly entertaining and enjoyable. show less

As the author herself says this is a bridging novel between her earlier romance work and her more familiar mystery/crime/thriller work. From the outset this reader would like to make it clear that this is a re-issued (previously published) work which had been by corrected for the modern audience. Indeed I feel that I may have read this before but I still did not guess the perpetrator of the crime.

As usual with a Gerritsen novel you know what you are getting – a right rollicking good story. Picking up one of her books is like being re-united with an old friend. This novel grabs you from the very beginning.

You could tell this was an early one as the female lead was not as nearly as developed or as intense as the characters in the show more author’s later books. In places the female lead constantly refused to accept that the hero wanted anything to do with her. Indeed I wanted to slap her for her constant self-denigration was annoying and then she takes it into her head to run away and is then truly angered that he does not follow. That being said the heroine was determined to discover the truth no matter how risky the situation.

I am a huge fan of this author’s later grittier, darker, gruesome thrillers but this plot line is fresh and keeps you guessing until the very end. This reader feels that it would have been a worthy twist to have the heroine’s ex-husband as the baddy and thereby giving this sinister unlikeable chap the ending he deserved.

Full Disclosure: ARC received from Netgalley for an honest review. show less

Bait and switch! This looked like a new Tess Gerritsen. It is actually a re-titled, revised version of an earlier work. This story is okay, but not up to par with the author's later work. And the "updates" to this book insert some inconsistencies that made me go, "Wait... what?". For example, there are mentions of recent televison shows, cell phones and computers; but cell phones and the internet are never used when a present-day person would rely on them as a primary tool. The inconsistency was distracting, and I would've preferred to read this simply as an older story without any updating.

This is quite a page turner. I was surprised (later) to find that it is a reprint of a much earlier novel.
It appears to be a stand-alone, with a likeable Boston medical examiner as the central character.

The bodies of young girls begin to turn up, apparently dead from a drug overdose. The bodies are found in the slum streets of one of the poorer Boston suburbs where the ME herself grew up, so she feels an affinity with them. However the drug they are dying from is still in the trial stage and not yet released for human usage. Kat Novak wants the police department to put out an alert, warning drug users that there is something lethal being sold but she meets all sorts of opposition. The town is on the brink of its bicentennial and the show more mayor does not want anything to rock the boat.

Meanwhile she meets a man who is looking for his daughter. show less