Body Double by Tess Gerritsen (2004, Abridged, Compact Disc)

What's not to like about a book where, when confronted with a killing with a rare Black Talon bullet, one of the cops wonders aloud where the now illegal payload can even be found and another cop quips, "Try eBay"? We all know that the sale of live bullets is no longer allowed on eBay, and we all know why. And it's a very good thing. But it is nice to know that eBay is the first place people think of when looking for something rare.

As it turned out, the bullet in this suspenseful psycho-thriller by series author Tess Gerritsen didn't come from eBay either. Instead, it came from a gun held by — but that would be telling, and we don't want to ruin the suspense now, do we?

When Boston Medical Examiner Dr. Maura Isles finds that a murdered woman looks exactly like her, her life is catapulted into freefall. She was adopted; could this be a twin sister she never knew she had? And what was she doing in front of Maura's house when she was killed?

"Body Double" is the fourth book in the Dr. Maura Isles and Detective Jane Rizzoli series, and it's the first time we've really begun to learn any of Maura's family history. This book forces her to delve into that heretofore unvoiced past. Eventually all is more or less resolved, as in all really satisfying mysteries, but Maura's life will never be the same.

Gerritsen has been called "the queen of the suspense medical thriller", and books like "Body Double" are the reason why. The medical-examiner details in this series are nowhere on any kind of par with Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta series, or Kathy Reichs' Temperance Brennan books — in fact, medical details are noticeably sparse — but the suspense is breathtaking, and the plot twists and turns are exhilarating. Even if you haven't yet heard the other books in the series, you will enjoy the ride. And if you do, then you've got several more treats in store.

But do yourself a favor and look for the unabridged version, because abridged versions of anything by definition have to leave out some of the good stuff. You can only hope there's plenty more left behind, which in this case there pretty much is.

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This book is well worth buying. This was an amazing story about a mass murderer and two women who try to catch him.
Read by Anne Heche, it is well worth listening too. A great story and VERY well read.
Well Done Tess!