I liked this book in general but it was also disappointing. I absolutely loved The Surgeon, its plot, characters, pace, villain, emotions, the issues portrayed and its medical aspect. The Apprentice is not a bad book but compared to the first book in the series, it's a weaker installment, in my opinion. In The Surgeon we get to read from various POVs (Rizzoli, Thomas, Chatherine and the villain's). In this second book, we only have Rozzoli and the villain's. I really liked to read from Thomas and Catherine's POV, they were really engaging protagonists and I really cared about them and their fate. I think that's one of the reasons I didn't like The Apprentice like I was expecting to. It's not like I hate Rizzoli - even though she's not a favorite of mine so far - but she's not that exciting either, even though towards the end I started to care more about her and about her feelings. This book just isn't as exciting as the first one. Its plot is really not that exciting, despite there being really great moments/scenes that made me think of The Surgeon in terms of enjoyment. But these scenes were supposed to lead the main plot to a very exciting and thrilling ending, that make us feel nervous, curious and expectant, and it didn't happen. This ending.. it could have been so much better. I don't think it's the way you solve a mystery (when I got to the end I even started questioning myeslf if there was really one to solve all along) and a crime in a book. I feel like this book wasn't really needed, the author used stuff and characters from the other volume and added some new in this book and tried to connect it all and make it work and it didn't work that well. Now that I think about some scenes from the book, I even question myeslf 'Why did they happen?' - at the time they were interesting scenes but where's their connection to the rest of the story? Oh well.. Talking about more positive aspects, like I said, the great scenes (medical, policial, macabre, suspenseful..) and I also loved the villain's POV. Maybe even more than in the first book, and I really enjoyed it in it. For me, it's so interesting to be inside a psycho's mind and read about the way they think and see the world around them. Also, Rizzoli - she's not really the main character in the first book and there are not even that many chapters from her POV and I didn't like her much or connect to her but in this book, basically all of them are from hers and I liked her character more, even though like I said earlier, I don't love her yet or something. I don't regret reading the book, it was good to read another book in this series full of things I adore in literature even though it wasn't as good in this second book and I finished it somehow disappointed.Still, I'll surely read more books in the series (I already own the three following volumes in the series, actually), and I hope I'll find them as good and exciting as book one. I know Tess Gerritsen can do a lot better than this.
I really wish people would stop saying that this book is transphobic just because a serial killer who hacks women's organs out of them is taking their uteruses as a way of stealing 'what makes them women'.He's a mental case - he probably hasn't brushed up on the social implications of defining femininity by an internal organ. Now that that's out of the way - This was a fairly odd book, the final 'showdown' with the killer was over in less than four pages. Most of the book was spent in Rizzoli considering FBI agent Gabriel Dean, and what his motivations were. This probably would have been more dramatic if I hadn't seen the TV series, and so knew he wasn't the killer from page one. I like that Rizzoli is warming up to her team a bit and forging relationships. Some reviewers have expressed dissapointment and anger that Korzack is portrayed as an overweight homophobe instead of the overweight dog lover we know from the TV series - but to that I say, he's an ignorant man, from an older generation, and he gets called on it. This isn't spruced up for TV - it's making a stab at realisim. And cops are sexist and homophobic and yes, sometimes racist. (They can also be transphobic, or at least, not as up to date on their thinking as people living exclusively on tumblr) so I'm prepared to give Gerritson the benifit of the doubt, that her character will change and grow throghout the series, this was his first appearance after all. Still, I like the friendship developing between him and Rizzoli, and between her and Frost (who, I'm sorry will always be TV Frost to me - just cannot picture him white and blonde).The only characterisation that dissapointed me was Isles, because again I'm used to the TV version. In the book she's coming across as a gothy queen of the damned character - which is kind of cliche. But, we'll be seeing more of her I'm sure. I'm trying to warm up to Rizzoli, but it's hard to like a character that doesn't like herself, and doesn't seem to like anyone else either. And at times the writing is overly clinical and dry, hence the three stars.
What do You think about The Apprentice (2015)?
I prefer to read series books in order, however, my local library didn't have the 1st book in the Rizzoli series on audio CD so I waivered and went ahead with The Apprentice. I had already listened to another book in this series and it didn't matter that I hadn't read the previous ones. The Apprentice, however, constantly refers to events and characters in The Surgeon. I didn't feel lost or that I couldn't understand the full effect of what was going on, but rather, I felt like there were secrets I didn't know. Rizzoli was keeping things from me!Also, this book concentrated so much on the villian in The Surgeon that you didn't find out very much about the one in this book, other than the fact that he was copying and likely working with the villian in The Surgeon.But I won't be kept in suspense for very long. I've already begun reading The Surgeon so I can find out what all those secrets are. I've loved the other Gerritsen books I've read and I have no doubt that I will like The Apprentice once I finish The Surgeon!
—Stacey
I really don't care for medical thrillers. Like csi this book suffers from the problem of everyone standing around and explaining their jobs and the technicalities of what they found. I love the show that is based on these books and wanted to read this one too because it had Maura in. I was amused to see she was a goth! But she is not the adorable geeky Maura of the show. Half way in and she has no personality at all.Maura's isn't the only disappointing characterisation Korzak is horrible and homophobic and Gerritsen spends a lot of time relating how unpleasant he is with his weight. The world is the same screwed up version of reality where everyone is sexist and exposing a corpse's genitals is the worst thing that can happen. Yet compared with books like the hungar games trilogy it just comes across as overly dramatic and naive. I'm really glad I got this from the library. I read about half of it in an hour and a half but I just can't be bothered to finish it. I will just be sticking with the show from now on.
—Mel
This review will have spoilers. You’ve been warned.The only reason I checked this book out of the library is because I watched Rizzoli & Isles on TV and I enjoyed it. This is not the type of book I normally read. This is the second book in the Rizzoli & Isles mystery series. Rizzoli is a homicide detective who a year before heroically captured the serial killer dubbed The Surgeon. She was also nearly his victim, which has left her scarred inside and out. The scars start to itch when she’
—Liz
