Presumed Guilty by Tess Gerritsen

by Tess Gerritsen

Miranda Wood thought she had seen the last of Richard Tremain, her rich and married ex-lover—until she discovered him stabbed to death in her bed. With her knife. With her world falling around her, Miranda is determined to clear her name and discover who killed Richard. But proving her innocence may become secondary to staying alive.…After Nina Cormier was jilted at the altar, the empty church exploded. Then someone tried to run Nina off the road, and she realized someone wanted her dead—but who? That's what Detective Sam Navarro needs to find out…fast. With a nightmare unfolding around them, Sam and Nina decipher the stunning truth. Now they're at the mercy of a brilliant madman who plays for keeps.…

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Suspense, Crime, Ebooks, Romance

Mass Market Paperback

First published May 1, 2008

About the author

Internationally bestselling author Tess Gerritsen took an unusual route to a writing career. A graduate of Stanford University, Tess went on to medical school at the University of California, San Francisco, where she was awarded her M.D.

While on maternity leave from her work as a physician, she began to write fiction. In 1987, her first novel was published. Call After Midnight, a romantic thriller, was followed by eight more romantic suspense novels. She also wrote a screenplay, "Adrift", which aired as a 1993 CBS Movie of the Week starring Kate Jackson.

Tess's first medical thriller, Harvest, was released in hardcover in 1996, and it marked her debut on the New York Times bestseller list. Her suspense novels since then have been: Life Support (1997), Bloodstream (1998), Gravity (1999), The Surgeon (2001), The Apprentice (2002), The Sinner (2003), Body Double (2004), Vanish (2005), The Mephisto Club (2006), and The Bone Garden (2007). Her books have been translated into 31 languages, and more than 15 million copies have been sold around the world.

As well as being a New York Times bestselling author, she has also been a #1 bestseller in both Germany and the UK. She has won both the Nero Wolfe Award (for Vanish) and the Rita Award (for The Surgeon.) Critics around the world have praised her novels as "Pulse-pounding fun" (Philadelphia Inquirer), "Scary and brilliant" (Toronto Globe and Mail), and "Polished, riveting prose" (Chicago Tribune). Publisher Weekly has dubbed her the "medical suspense queen".

Now retired from medicine, she writes full time. She lives in Maine.

Reviews

[Siobhan]

Tess Gerritsen writes consistently good books. However, for me, the kind of good they are varies depending upon the era they come from.Presumed Guilty and Keeper of the Bride both fall into her romantic thriller category, which is my least favourite category for her work. Don’t get me wrong, they’re both great books, but there is far too much of a romantic focus (as the category title would suggest).

If you’re a fan of all of Geritsen’s work – by that I mean you have read her nineties stuff and not just her Rizzoli and Isles books – then by all means give these two a try. I’m sure you’ll adore them, as I did. However, if you have only read her crime thrillers, be aware that you get something quite different in these books.

There is the consistent mystery across all of her books. You are always trying to uncover some hidden facts. When it comes to her romance thrillers, though, you have a predetermined ending in a number of ways. You get the lead male. You get the lead female. You know they’re going to get a happily ever after – together. It ruins quite a few aspects of the story for me, with attention being focused upon forming a relationship between the two. Why does this relationship need to be formed? Because we have the drama of a relationship that may not work out. Alone the thriller aspects are wonderful, if not short, but with the romantic aspect you have a tale of old that has been done many times before.

Nevertheless, they are still four star books. They are weaker four stars than her Rizzoli and Isles books – the Rizzoli and Isles books are four stars working towards five, for me, whereas these are four stars with the occasional slip into three star territory (mainly through my inability to deal with too much romance at once) – but they are still four stars.

Certainly give them a read if you enjoy Gerritsen.

[Joyce]

These were obviously from the very early stages of Gerritsen's literary career. The second was a vast improvement over the first and both served their purpose quite well. They were used as a learning process for her and ultimately lead to her current novels. It's nice to know she has developed into the author she is!

[Elizabeth]

Come on???!!!! The Queen of mystery writing this bit of soft porn??? I was SO disappointed. This book should be a Harlequin Romance and Ms. Gerritsen should have used a pseudonym! In the future I will make sure her book includes Maura Isles and Jane Rizzoli before I buy it! What a letdown!!

[Judy Wise]

This is the first time I have read Tess Gerritsen. I loved both stories in this book.
They kept me glued to my book from the first pages. Good murder plot with a little love thrown in. Clean wording and clean love scenes.

[Thida]

It clearly carried me to the end on my toes. Loved it! Now looking for the next novel from the same author. I cannot get enough.

[Jeanna Read]

Definitely one of Her earlier works, there is more romance and less gore than her newer novels. But still a mystery, still action packed, and still a great read!

[Diana H.]

A bit predictable, but overall a good short novel.

[Ellen]

Fast read..
Loved it!

[Rachel Deraas]

Would have been 4 stars except for the second book. Way to much back and forth with the couple. Will they or won't they? It was a little much for me. Good twist in the first book.

[Alison Levi]

An all round great little page turner from an always excellent author

[Suzanne Mack]

Keeper of the Bride was the better story in my opinion. It had more feeling… more character depth. However, both were kind of amateurish, considering the author.

[Darla Stokes]

Duo of two older Tess Gerritsen romantic suspense novels. They do suffer from the usual romantic suspense tropes--like poorly timed romantic interludes--but since that's common to the genre, and they're older books, it's hard to complain too much. The mysteries, however, are well-done and page-turning.

[Lanette]

Presumed Guilty: Enjoyed the storyline and two main characters. Story kept me guessing and wanting to find out whodunit until the end.
Keeper of the Bride: good storyline and characters. Kept me reading. [library ebook]

[Carolyn]

Not my cup of tea at all. I was expecting a murder mystery, and what I got was more like a Harlequin romance. I did finish the first one, which wasn't very long, to find out who dunnit, and I was surprised. But decided to pass on the second one. No more of this author for me.

[Sharon]

Pretty good, predictable, but it is a Gerritesen book, so of course I will read it. She is one of my faves, and apparently this is one of her early works from when she was testing the waters, so to say. A quick little read.

[Chris]

Fair but not innovative detective stories from her early years.

I strongly recommend skipping the 'romance' bits - it shortens the read by half, prevents nausea and results in my giving it an OK instead of did not like...

[Jennifer]

It was a pretty good book. Endings were predictable but still enjoyable.

[Anna]

What was Tess Gerritsen think of? The Surgeon is one of the scariest books I've ever read but this is like bad Barbara Cartland.

[Nicole]

Both were classic Gerritsen with a dash of romance. I liked Keeper of the Bride, especially.

[Cindy Kester]

Two more titles by one of my favorite authors. Fast read that didn't let me down.

[Starr Gardinier]

Read Keeper of the Bride only.

[Nicole]

I liked these better than the other two books of hers I read recently. Both had engaging characters, and both had exciting conclusions. Again, a cheesy love scene didn't do anything for me.

[S.J. Hitchcock]

Loved this book, and could not put it down. There are no more words I can express that you just have to read this, each page had me turning to the next.

[Marla]

I read a review that said that they had figured out who was doing the killing right away. I however did not know in Presumed Guilty until the very end.

I enjoyed both of these books.

[Ann]

not what I was expecting. Borrowed BPL book and didn't realize it was more romance than murder/mystery. Was at least a quick read.

[Destiney]

Presumed Guitly was a good book.

[LBK]

Predictable, but a quick read.

[Kristen McKinney]

Definitely not one of her best works. A bit lame.

[Carol Hurtig]

Love Tess Gerritsen!

[Joyce]

Both books were really good. Easy to read and follow.