So I promised today not to write any more reviews on chick-lits (Sorry again!) Therefore this morning is a THRILLER, from the incredible writer Tess Gerritsen.

The first point to make is, I am a wimp. I cannot watch horror films, I cannot watch medical, or scary television programs, and I am a little (ok a lot) afraid of the dark. However, I have never been afraid to read a book. This however was not the same for this book, ‘The Mephisto Club.’ I have read a number of Gerritsen’s books and have always applauded the suspense, and horror that she manages to create. However this was one step further. To say I couldn’t sleep, or even try to sleep after reading this book is an understatement. It gave me shivers just looking at the book for a few weeks after and although I have delved more recently back into its pages I have not been able to read it from cover to cover again…yet .

There are many reasons that explain the utter brilliance of this book; not only the fact that it kept me on my seat, afraid to put it down but apprehensive and fearful to read on. But there are so many other reasons. Firstly the relationship between the two characters Rizzoli and Isles is brilliant, and continues to bring me back to Gerritsen’s books over and over again. The contrasts and differences between them and their different ways of dealing with the investigation, their independence and their different weaknesses is skilfully written. Rizzoli is the cop who takes no prisoners and will not stop until she cracks open the case, Isles is the worker of the autopsy room, finding the answers in the remains of the victims.

The Mephisto club follows Rizzoli and Isles as they are called to a crime scene where a young female has been murdered. However this is not a normal murder and each of the homicide investigators is shocked by the chilling and gruesome murder. Not only has the young girl been murdered, but her head and hand have been removed, Satanic symbols and upside-down crosses are emblazoned upon the walls however there is also a word “Peccavi.” Could this be a ritualistic murder? However when Dr.Isles takes the body she makes an even more horrific discovery. The hand recovered does not belong to the murder victim; somewhere there is another victim. The plot continues with pace and we encounter a number of new characters and The Mephisto Foundation, who claim they find and destroy demons and also Lily who is running from a demon. The book continues at an incredible pace and as a reader we encounter a number of new murders and clues deliberately left to be explored. However it is not only the story that blows us away, but there are the interlinking stories of Rizzoli and Isles as their personal lives are tested alongside the murder.

This story is incredibly brilliant; the plot is well thought through and never lets up for the reader to take a breath as we are plunged through this terrifying story. We are propelled through the story at an incredible pace. To understand the book it may be an idea to read earlier books however this book stands alone in its stand out brilliance!