Paranoia can be extremely disorienting and I have rarely seen it portrayed as well as I did in The Apprentice. This is the second book in the Rizzoli and Isles series by Tess Gerritsen and is the sequel to The Surgeon. It opens when Rizzoli is called to a crime scene of a double murder just outside of Boston proper. Upon arriving she gets concerned because there are certain elements of the scene that calls the Surgeon to mind, even though he has been incarcerated since she caught him the year previous. However, there are just enough differences that she is unable to convince anyone that it is more than just a copycat or her own paranoia. Things quickly get worse though when FBI agent Gabriel Dean shows up and starts investigating as well. Especially considering he seems to know more about what is going on than any of the detectives investigating the murder. Rizzoli refuses to step aside on the case and continues thinking there is a connection to the Surgeon, a connection which seems to have been verified when he escapes from prison shortly thereafter. As she continues to delve into the case, Rizzoli has to find the potential motivation behind what is going on but at the same time she also has to face her own motivation behind her paranoia and obsession with the case.
I have to admit that is a great follow up to the previous book, The Surgeon, as it does a great job of continuing the story of Detective Jane Rizzoli. The focus of the story is clearly situated on Rizzoli and is not split between Rizzoli and her fellow detective, Detective Moore, as was the case in the previous book. I like this because I feel like I get to know more about her as a character and a person because of this. She is an extremely easy character to sympathize with and ultimately to like as well. There is a lot more depth added to her in this book which really helps flesh her out in comparison to the previous book. I really enjoyed how well her paranoia and obsession were portrayed on the page as I really felt like it was realistic and believable. One of the biggest similarities between this book and the previous book is the intricacy and detail of the main plot. I like mystery books with intricate plots, my main problem is that very few books genuinely have intricate plots but this series seems to do a good job with that. As the story progresses and Rizzoli works on unraveling what is actually going on the complexity of the events increases even as things work on gradually becoming clearer. There are more elements at play in the later parts of the story that complicate things but at the same time reveal other elements that help create the big picture. One of the only things I didn’t like about the book is the near constant doubt that Rizzoli faces throughout the book. It comes from within as she faces her own doubts about the case being connected and blames her own paranoia for thinking that. At the same time it also comes from without as she faces doubt from her fellow detectives as well. In many ways, the only one who even comes close to believing her is Agent Dean and even then he doesn’t at first. I have to say that I really admire Detective Rizzoli for being able to admit her doubts but still work on the case as if she is right. Not everyone is able to be that confident in their own abilities. Overall, this book has great character development and a great plotline. I give it four out of five stars.
This book is obviously a mystery or crime story so I would recommend it primarily for readers who happen to enjoy that genre. However, it also includes a fair amount of dark or mature content, including some gore, that readers should probably be aware of going in. It doesn’t bother me but I do know that type of content may bother others. For the same reason, I would recommend that younger readers should be careful before they consider reading this as it may not be suitable for them. In my opinion, it probably should not be read by anyone younger than their late teens. Overall, a good book and one that I enjoyed. If you decide to try it feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.