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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
A lot
Graphic violence — surgical killings; graphic forensic examination; a serial killer's method
Language
Some
Moderate profanity
Sexual Content
Barely any
Mild — some adult situations
Substance Use
None
No meaningful substance use
Emotional Intensity
A lot
The surgical killer — his method and what it signifies; Catherine Cordell's survival and what the killer wants; Rizzoli's investigation
What this book is about
Two years ago, a killer who surgically removed organs from his victims disappeared — leaving one survivor, Dr. Catherine Cordell. Now he's back in Boston, and Detective Jane Rizzoli is investigating murders that match the earlier pattern exactly. The Surgeon is the first Rizzoli & Isles novel — introducing Jane Rizzoli as a Boston homicide detective; the forensic and surgical detail is Gerritsen's signature.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Surgical killings — graphic forensic detail; Gerritsen's medical background shows
A killer who returned — and went after his only survivor
Jane Rizzoli's introduction — one of crime fiction's most authentic female detectives
First in the Rizzoli & Isles series; adapted as a TNT television series
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