a review of "The Keepsake"

The Keepsake: A Novelby Tess Gerritsen

When a previously unknown mummy is discovered in the storage basement of the small, private Crispin Museum there is great excitement all around the city of Boston. People love mummies, and the press is out in force as “Madam X” is transported to the hospital to be checked out by a cat scan. One of our favorite medical examiners, Dr. Maura Isles, dubbed by the press “Queen of the Dead”, is present at the invitation of the museum curator. But things do not go as expected, because mummies do not have modern dental work or bullets in their legs. Or a very personal message for the Crispin's Egyptology expert Josephine Pulcillo, who it seems, has her own deadly secrets.

Into the investigation steps the team of Detectives Jane Rizzoli and Barry Frost, familiar from Gerritsen's previous six books in the series, and before long there are other grisly discoveries for the duo to delve into. There is very soon evidence that they have a serial killer on their hands and indications that Dr. Pulcillo is very intimately tied into this macabre mystery.

Now I must confess that I was a little concerned at the beginning of the book that, between a mummy, the doddering museum director and secret hiding places in dusty basements, I might have stumbled into a game of Clue with Professor Plum in the Conservatory with a candlestick. But fear not, because very quickly things took on Gerritsen's customary fast paced, suspense filled and yes, quite creepy pace. Creepy is a very entertaining thing in her skillful hands.

One sign of good suspense story is that we, the reader, are kept on our toes. Just when we think we have it figure out, the rug is pulled out and we are happily dragged around another series of twists and turns. And be assured there are ample twists and turn in this latest appearance of the excellent characters of Isles and Rizzoli to keep us on the edge of our seats. "The Keepsake" is a taut, action packed, suspense story that will not disappoint Tess Gerritsen's many deserved fans.

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