Vanish

This is my first Tess Gerritsen. It won't be my last. I've gathered that the book is one of a series, but that simply doesn't matter. The characters, some of whom appear in other Gerritsen books apparenty, are stand-alones who become quickly quite believable.

A clever plot brings together two seemingly unconnected stories, and we find ourselves in a violent world of human trafficking, police and FBI corruption, and a nine-and-a-bit-months pregnant detective, Jane Rizzoli. Whether you're blanching at the details of a too-much-information autopsy, being quietly horrified at the bleak life of a young trafficked woman, willing a siege situation to come out right - since our pregnant cop is right in the thick of it - or following the show more convoluted politics of the case, you'll be involved in this narrative.

It's not a good book for an insomniac like me, as I chose to read yet another chapter before trying to settle down at last to sleep...and then another ... and another. A thoroughly involving read. show less

Human Trafficking is atrocious. That modern-day slavery exists and hasn't been eradicated entirely blows my mind. I, on a whim, took a Trafficking class for a college degree fulfillment. It was eye opening and truly became something that I am passionate about.
This Rizzoli & Isles was about a HT ring and an enslaved persons escape from them. Maybe it is my own personal passion cutting through but it was powerful to me that a nice portion is told through an enslaved person's perspective.
The story is your basic R&I story. Rizzoli is about to give birth. General whodunit mystery occurs and the heroines are in danger.

Now we're talking! I really enjoyed this fifth installment in the Rizzoli & Isles series. This one was a nice blend of Jane & Maura action, although for some reason I still have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that Jane is both married and pregnant! (I blame the TNT series for this!!)

I loved the beginning of this book, where Maura is at work late and hears noises from the storage cooler...only to find a body that isn't so dead! That shocking open leads us into a tangle of government conspiracy, a hostage standoff, Jane in the hospital, and everyone looking for a woman named Mila!

I dug all of the twists in this story from the back-and-forth in the beginning to tell the backstory of Mila and Olena, to the new chapter for Jane show more as she finally finds her footing in the role of wife and mother, to the final whodunnit. This was what I'd been waiting for in the past few books: lots of suspense, plotlines with BOTH Maura and Jane, and an ending that I had to wait until the last minute to figure out! Great read!! show less

Medical examiner Dr. Maura Isles discovers that one of the corpses awaiting autopsy in her morgue isn't actually dead. She is rushed to the Emergency Room where she kills a security guard and takes a hostage - Jane Rizzoli.

Jane is about to give birth when she becomes a hostage in this crisis. The woman calls in a friend who is well-known to the police since he is accused of murdering a Highway Patrol officer who stopped his car and fleeing the scene.

Both of the hostage takers have a story to tell and Jane wants to listen. But, before they can tell their story, a crisis team from Washington, DC, breaks in and kills both of the hostage takers. The woman gives Jane a final message: Find Mina. Mina knows.

Jane gives birth to her daughter, show more but she still has many questions about the whole experience of being a hostage. So does Maura Isles. Both wondered why the crime was taken from the Boston PD and became Federal so fast.

As they look into things along with Jane's husband FBI Agent Gabriel Dean, they discover a conspiracy reaching all the way to the White House and involving many branches of US Intelligence. From a house full of Russian prostitutes in Virginia to a major defense contractor making billions off the war in Afghanistan the conspiracy is massive. They don't know who they can trust from the FBI since everyone is keeping secrets.

I enjoyed this fast-paced thriller. It is the fifth book in a series but the first that I have read. I'll be looking for more from this author and in this series. show less

Vanish is the fifth of Tess Gerritsen’s Rizzoli/Isles series. The story starts with Maura Isles discovering a female in a body bag, an apparent drowning victim, who isn’t dead. Transferred to the hospital, the woman becomes violent, shoots a security guard and takes hostages. Jane Rizzoli, about to give birth, happens to be in the wrong place and becomes one of the hostages. Her husband, FBI Agent Gabriel Dean, her Boston PD colleagues and Maura Isles spare no effort trying to track down the woman’s identity and her reasons for the siege. Once again, Gerritsen brings the reader a gripping drama, with Jane Rizzoli providing many lighter moments. In the court scene, Rizzoli conclusively proves that, even at 9 months pregnant, she is show more still a cop. As well as exploring Rizzoli’s doubts about her mothering ability and her concern with her lack of maternal instinct (topical for many first-time mothers), Gerritsen touches on subjects as diverse as sex slave trafficking, war profiteering and sieges and negotiators. As always, an excellent plot with a few twists makes this book hard to put down. Gerritsen at her finest. show less

Opening Sentence: ‘…My name is Mila, and this is my journey …’

I am not one who is driven to read series books in order. I am happy to read all over the place in a series, and if spoilers are given then I have usually forgotten them by the time I get to read the previous books – if indeed I ever get to them. VANISH is a few books into the Jane Rizzoli series but other than mentioning a previous case in passing, it read as a stand-alone.

After a long relentless day Dr. Maura Isles is working on a report and when she can’t remember where a tattoo was located on one of the bodies she autopsied. She returns to the morgue only to hear one of the bodies groan, she opens the body bag to find a beautiful woman, Olena, who opens her show more eyes. She is still alive. She is rushed to hospital.

Detective Jane Rizzoli is nine months pregnant and in court, her last case before her maternity leave. What should have been a quick and easy court appearance starts up with Jane pinning the suspect to the ground and handcuffing him, and ends with her waters breaking and being rushed to hospital about to give birth. While this is happening Olena seizes a security guard’s gun and takes several hostages – one of whom is Jane. It is now up to Rizzoli’s husband, FBI agent Gabriel Dean, to gather his wits and get his wife and unborn child out safely. He quickly realizes that there is more going on than first appears when the situation attracts the attention of the highest levels of government. Disregarding veiled warnings to leave things alone, Gabriel begins his own investigation and is startled when he uncovers a shocking conspiracy.

From this set-up, Tess Gerritsen builds up a riveting, if a little far-fetched at times, tale of government conspiracy, post 9/11 hysteria, torture, murder, white slavery, prostitution, betrayal and giving birth in the middle of a hostage situation. I was engrossed by the story from the beginning, and didn’t let me go till the end, where the final sentence is the same as the opening one. show less

Vanish by Tess Gerritsen lives up to my expectations. I have read several of her books but out of order and that never made it difficult with connecting to the story. There is always plenty of suspense to keep me turning the pages and little bits of humor thrown in.

Maura Isles is a Boston Medical Examiner and had unzipped the body bad of a beautiful woman and the woman opens her eyes. This was the start of a very long bad day for Maura, she rushes the woman in for medical treatment.

Mila, a redhead from Belarus is in Mexico City. She has been tricked into a sex trafficking scheme. Her tale is one of sorrow and pain. She and other women are taken to United States where they are kept in a house with bars on the windows. From then on, show more everything gets worse for her.

Jane Rizzoli is pregnant with her first baby, and on maternity leave. She is thrust into a hostage situation and fears for her unborn baby's life and her own.

All three of these women were trapped in a horrible situation. I applaud the author's courage to take on the horrible situation of sex tracking. Previously, I had visited San Francisco and read a long report about it and the details like the bars on the windows were the same. It is a difficult read in those parts of the story but this nightmare must be addressed and prevented.

I highly recommend this book even though there are some graphic scenes. show less