The Mephisto Club : A Rizzoli & Isles Novel

Evil exists. Evil walks the streets. And evil has spawned a diabolical new disciple in this white-knuckle thriller from New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen. PECCAVI The Latin word is scrawled in blood at the scene of a young woman�s brutal murder: I HAVE SINNED. It�s a chilling Christmas greeting for Boston medical examiner Maura Isles and Detective Jane Rizzoli, who swiftly link the victim to controversial celebrity psychiatrist Joyce O�Donnell�Jane�s professional nemesis and member of a sinister cabal called the Mephisto Club. On top of Beacon Hill, the club�s acolytes devote themselves to the analysis of evil: Can it be explained by science? Does it have a physical presence? Do demons walk the earth? Drawing on a wealth of dark historical data and mysterious religious symbolism, the Mephisto scholars aim to prove a startling theory: that Satan himself exists among us. With the grisly appearance of a corpse on their doorstep, it�s clear that someone�or something�is indeed prowling the city. The members of the club begin to fear the very subject of their study. Could this maniacal killer be one of their own�or have they inadvertently summoned an evil entity from the darkness? Delving deep into the most baffling and unusual case of their careers, Maura and Jane embark on a terrifying journey to the very heart of evil, where they encounter a malevolent foe more dangerous than any they have ever faced . . . one whose work is only just beginning. From Publishers Weekly In this brisk, deftly plotted thriller from bestseller Gerritsen ( Vanish ), Boston medical examiner Maura Isles and police detective Jane Rizzoli look into the murder of 28-year-old Lori-Ann Tucker, whose body is found Christmas morning in her apartment amid an unholy mess of severed limbs, black candles and satanic symbols rendered in blood. "Peccavi," reads one word scrawled across Tucker's wall�Latin for "I have sinned." Isles and Rizzoli must sort sinner from innocent among suspects who can be found on several continents and include a group of sophisticates�scholars, an anthropologist, a psychiatrist�who are either cult members or crusaders against evil straight from the pages of Revelation. Other murders follow, all gruesome, all involving apocalyptic messages. On occasion, the action shifts to Europe, to a young woman running from a man she's convinced is descended from a race of fallen angels. Gerritsen has a knack for stretching believability just short of the breaking point�and for amassing details that produce an atmosphere in which the most terrible possibilities can and, indeed, should occur. (Sept.) Copyright � Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Bookmarks Magazine The Mephisto Club , the sixth in the Jane Rizzoli/Maura Isles series (after Vanish ), contains Tess Gerritsen's trademark lurid writing, grisly medical/forensic details, and chilling suspense. This time, as a satanically driven killer tortures and dismembers his victims, an esoteric cult considers the existence of a gene for evil. It's not a tale for the faint of heart; metaphysical inquiries into demonology and evil are matched, page by page, by grisly details. The only major criticism comes from New York Times Book Review , which cited a total lack of credibility. Otherwise, The Mephisto Club should provide "hair-raising, demon-hunting good fun" ( Los Angeles Times ). Copyright � 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles—the inspiration for the hit TNT series—continue their bestselling crime-solving streak. • Evil exists. Evil walks the streets. And evil has spawned a diabolical new disciple in this white-knuckle thriller from New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen. PECCAVI The Latin word is scrawled in blood at the scene of a young woman’s brutal murder: I HAVE SINNED. It’s a chilling Christmas greeting for Boston medical examiner Maura Isles and Detective Jane Rizzoli, who swiftly link the victim to controversial celebrity psychiatrist Joyce O’Donnell–Jane’s professional nemesis and member of a sinister cabal called the Mephisto Club. On top of Beacon Hill, the club’s acolytes devote themselves to the analysis of evil: Can it be explained by science? Does it have a physical presence? Do demons walk the earth? Drawing on a wealth of dark historical data and mysterious religious symbolism, the Mephisto scholars aim to prove a startling theory: that Satan himself exists among us. With the grisly appearance of a corpse on their doorstep, it’s clear that someone–or something–is indeed prowling the city. The members of the club begin to fear the very subject of their study. Could this maniacal killer be one of their own–or have they inadvertently summoned an evil entity from the darkness? Delving deep into the most baffling and unusual case of their careers, Maura and Jane embark on a terrifying journey to the very heart of evil, where they encounter a malevolent foe more dangerous than any they have ever faced . . . one whose work is only just beginning. This ebook edition contains a special preview of Tess Gerritsen’s I Know a Secret . BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Tess Gerritsen's The Silent Girl. Evil exists. Evil walks the streets. And evil has spawned a diabolical new disciple in this white-knuckle thriller from New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen. PECCAVI The Latin word is scrawled in blood at the scene of a young woman's brutal murder: I HAVE SINNED. It's a chilling Christmas greeting for Boston medical examiner Maura Isles and Detective Jane Rizzoli, who swiftly link the victim to controversial celebrity psychiatrist Joyce O'Donnell'Jane's professional nemesis and member of a sinister cabal called the Mephisto Club. On top of Beacon Hill, the club's acolytes devote themselves to the analysis of evil: Can it be explained by science' Does it have a physical presence' Do demons walk the earth' Drawing on a wealth of dark historical data and mysterious religious symbolism, the Mephisto scholars aim to prove a startling theory: that Satan himself exists among us. With the grisly appearance of a corpse on their doorstep, it's clear that someone'or something'is indeed prowling the city. The members of the club begin to fear the very subject of their study. Could this maniacal killer be one of their own'or have they inadvertently summoned an evil entity from the darkness' Delving deep into the most baffling and unusual case of their careers, Maura and Jane embark on a terrifying journey to the very heart of evil, where they encounter a malevolent foe more dangerous than any they have ever faced ... one whose work is only just beginning Christmas Eve in Boston is no holy night for medical examiner Dr. Maura Isles. In a rundown house a woman has been dismembered in an act of carnage that leaves veteran cops in shock. The last person called from the dead girl's phone is Dr. Joyce O'Donnell, a celebrity psychiatrist who's made her name defending serial murderers. But there are other clues that make the police wonder if this slaying was part of a Satanic ritual. Drawn on the wall, in blood, are ancient symbols, and a mirror-image word in Latin that, translated, says: "I have sinned." Then a second woman is found butchered on Beacon Hill, just outside the grand residence of Anthony Sansone, a reclusive historian. He is the leader of the Mephisto Club, an old and secret society dedicated to the study of evil, and to confronting it in its purest form. On the door to Sansone's house have been scrawled yet more ancient symbols. Are they clues? Or threats? When the same symbols appear on Maura Isles' door, Maura and Jane must call on the Mephisto Club for assistance. Because this is a form of evil Boston PD has never encountered before. And the only way they can defeat it is by turning to the people who understand the devil himself.