Review : The Keepsake

Posted by kay on May 22, 2009 2:56 pm in 4 stars reads | 2 comments

The Keepsake by Tess Gerritsen
Pages : 349
Genre : Mystery
My Rating : 

Besides reading bubbly, chicklit and YA books, I also enjoy reading a good mystery – something I obviously inherited from my mom! When I came acrosse The Keepsake at the library, it seemed like such a good fit for me that I didn’t hesitate; a novel taking place in a museum, with murders, mummies, and a dangerous killer on the run? Sold!

For untold years, the perfectly preserved mummy had lain forgotten in the dusty basement of Boston’s Crispin Museum. Now its sudden rediscovery by museum staff is both a major coup and an attention-grabbing mystery. Dubbed “Madam X,” the mummy–to all appearances, an ancient Egyptian artifact–seems a ghoulish godsend for the financially struggling institution. But medical examiner Maura Isles soon discovers a macabre message hidden within the corpse–horrifying proof that this “centuries-old” relic is instead a modern-day murder victim.

To Maura and Boston homicide detective Jane Rizzoli, the forensic evidence is unmistakable, its implications terrifying. And when the grisly remains of yet another woman are found in the hidden recesses of the museum, it becomes chillingly clear that a maniac is at large–and is now taunting them.
Archaeologist Josephine Pulcillo’s blood runs cold when the killer’s cryptic missives are discovered, and her darkest dread becomes real when the carefully preserved corpse of yet a third victim is left in her car like a gruesome offering–or perhaps a ghastly promise of what’s to come.

The Keepsake is exactly what the book cover promises it to be; a good mystery which keeps you guessing until the end. I like when a book keeps you guessing, and this one did just that; when I thought I knew, for sure, who did the bad, I was surprised to find out that, no, I didn’t! Gerritsen leads you into the plot’s trap with a great talent for suspense  and a writing I absolutely enjoyed.

I liked the characters; Maura and Jane were both interesting, very different in titles and in personnalities. I liked to know about them, and I thought the author kept a great balance between their personal life and the case they were investigating. Josephine’s character is interesting, too; mysterious, we follow her around just enough to learn a little on her past without answering all our questions. The setting was to my liking, of course, and wether the mummy was ancient or not, I liked that the investigation took place around ancient artefacts and history. Again, I thought the author had a good balance of forensics and questioning, letting the story move along the events quickly.

One of the things I noticed while reading the book, was the way Gerritsen introduced characters or their stories with few presentation, as if we might possibly now them already. It wasn’t bad in itself; just a little surprising, a little different. Then yesterday I went on the author’s website and discovered that, indeed, I might have known the characters if I had read the previous books from the author! It didn’t trouble my understanding of the book in any way, but it explained the familiarity the author used in her characters’ descriptions. She has two series, one with Jane and Maura, and the other of “Medical Thrillers”; I don’t know if this one is a series in itself. The funny thing is, before I visited her website, I went to the library and borrowed “The Bone Garden”, which is the most recent of the Medical Thrillers; so I guess I’m set to read those from the end, to the beginning!