Reviews with content warning for Stalking - The Surgeon

Steeped in gender roles, misogyny, and the plot heavily revolves around sexual violence.

Very engaging and easy to read (finished the whole thing in two sittings in less than a day), enjoyed the medical details and I found the killers POV moments creative and intriguing but was bored by the two main characters and found them very unsympathetic (especially Rizzoli's internalised misogyny and both cops' unethical behaviour at different points). Was also highly disappointed by the completely unnecessary "twist" that

the villain had worn a wig/crossdressed, contributing to the tired and queer/transphobic trope of serial killer men donning drag as part of their villainy.

Content Warnings

hkburke2's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I enjoyed the writing and the pacing was... Motivating, I guess. It kept me engaged. Several things did not age well here, though.

Gender essentialism with the uterus, Rizzoli's whole character is developed around her looks without a lot of depth/appreciation for the systems around her (although there's some acknowledgment of the pressures on her as a woman in the department, it feels really surface level), and the flaw in her character being she just wants to kill suspects - definitely not a good look and something she'd struggle to come back from, for me.

Also weird there's no Isles? I guess this is just further confirming for me that when it comes to books I like cozy detective stories/mysteries, not "modern day" police procedurals. But if that's your thing, the writing here at least could sell you on this. I can see why they wanted it for TV. (I listened to the version narrated by Laurel Lefkow).

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straendeeeeeeeee's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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nicolelis's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

absolutely phenomenal book! i chose it from a very long list of possible books to read for the final project for my summer forensic science class (based on the synopsis), and am so glad i did. the plot is so captivating and makes the book a very enticing read once you learn a bit about the characters and the crime--it took me 3 or so days to read the first 50 pages but only 1 and 1/2 to read the last 300. i'd definitely recommend it!

Content Warnings

alies_in_wonderland's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Content Warnings

our_bookish_reads's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

So, I had to do another re-read of Rizzoli & Isles of the new book coming out this year (2022) and I need to be up to date on the info!

Anyways, I love these books. They're brilliantly written and perfectly gory! If you have an active imagine as I do, then you'll have no trouble envisioning certain parts.

IE: the guys leg that is literally hanging on by skin!

I love Rizzoli and cannot wait until Maura Isles comes in!! I haven't read The Surgeon in quite some time, so while reading I was gasping and shocked at some of the things I read! 😂

Ok, can we just agree that Moore getting involved with (Catherine) the only known survivor of the orginal murders and rape, during newly active investigations and murders is disturbing, unprofessional and cringey? Every time I read his parts with Catherine, I hate it.

Content Warnings

dhutton1997's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

holy crap. I checked out this book from my library after the StoryGraph recommended it and I’m so glad they did. I typically have a difficult time reading books about serial rapists &killer combos, but Gerritsen does such a good job of balancing scary, suspenseful moments with a budding romance and potential love triangle between

Rizzolli, Moore, and Catherine

. The book kept me on the edge of my seat. I would not recommend this book if you do not want to read stories about law enforcement.

Content Warnings

madisonfrank's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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