Under The Knife

by Tess Gerritsen

For attorney David Ransom, it begins as an open-and-shut case: malpractice. Then Dr. Kate Chesne storms into his office, daring him to seek out the truth—that she’s being framed. When another patient turns up dead, David starts to believe her. Somewhere in the Honolulu hospital, a killer walks freely. And now David finds himself asking the same questions Kate is desperate to have answered.

Who is next—and why?

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

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

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

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining romantic suspense story involving the murders of medical personnel who work at a Honolulu hospital. While the romance between doctor Kate and lawyer David was just okay for me, I thought the suspense aspect of the story was very well done and kept me guessing. There was a great cast of characters (especially the secondary characters) who really brought the story to life. I enjoyed the hospital/medical setting, which was a change of pace from my usual suspense reads. An enjoyable earlier book from Tess Gerritsen.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Tess Gerritsen's Rizzoli & Isles series however I'm finding that her standalone books just aren't up to the same standard, maybe it's because they are some of her earlier works but I dunno, they leave me feeling disappointment.

My favourite Tess trait is that shes so gory she makes me want to vomit over my shoes, this book didnt have that element, and it felt sappy which is so un tess like.

However it's a good thriller, I think if this had another authors name on the spine I'd rate it higher but I expect a certain standard from Tess and this fell short.

Three stars.

[Phrynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not one of Gerritsen's best books but still a very entertaining mystery and one where I did not even begin to guess the real killer! I enjoyed it for the story and the mystery but not for the romance which was feeble and unnecessary. Thank goodness that in her later books she left the romance part behind and concentrated instead on what she is good at - writing a really good thriller. And she is very, very good at that!

[Louie the Mustache Matos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this is only my second Tess Gerritsen novel, I find myself wanting to return to her over and over again to experience her narrative style. This was a stretch for me in the sense that this is described as a romantic thriller which I would almost always reject as "not interested" except that I like this author. The reality that I enjoyed was that this is really a murder mystery, medical thriller with the much more tolerable romantic aspects on the back burner. IMHO, that is honestly where it belongs when you reach a certain stage of adulthood. The mystery is relatively cut and dried, the reader has a sense as to who the killer is early on, and how it was done, the why is much more elusive, but we eventually get there in a way that is suspenseful and gratifying. This is also an early work of Gerritsen's which I can attest she has become adept at characterization and deeper plot design. Not that Dr. Kate and Lawyer Dave are uncompelling characters, but she makes them more interesting later in her career. Still, I found this an enjoyable read. My third Tess Gerritsen might net her a bookshelf all her own.

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank goodness Tess Gerritsen stopped including stupid romance crap in her books. And thank goodness this wasn't the first of her books I've read, or I'd have missed out on the fantastic Rizzoli series. Why do authors feel the need to ruin a perfectly good murder mystery with a stupid romance? Do they think that's the only way women will read their books? Not this woman! The most interesting thing about this book is that there's a minor character named Brophy. The reason that's interesting is because Dr. Isles has a love interest named Daniel Brophy. Gerritsen must know someone with that name because it's an unusual name to use twice. I would suggest that instead of reading this book, start with The Surgeon and read that series instead. It's much, much better.

[Elly · Rating 2 out of 5]

They might end up 30% shorter, but if Tess Gerritsen took the romance out of her books, they'd be 100% better. They'd be terrific, actually.

Gerritsen's twisty plots are fairly clever and nicely suspenseful, and I am a particular fan of her medical thrillers. This was not a bad story. Unfortunately, her cloying Mills and Boon-esque renderings of her characters' love lives are virtually unreadable, and because she insists on giving these relationships so much airtime (not what I'm looking for in a mystery/thriller, even when well-written), it really sucks a lot of pleasure out of the reading experience.

I'm going to give her 'fragile lady / big strong man' schtick a (bare) pass in this book, because it is more than twenty years old - but in general, her cliched sexism is another element of her writing that is pretty disappointing. For a strong, successful woman (she was a doctor before turning her hand to writing), she turns out some tired stereotypes. Again, I have to skim those bits because I actually find them offensive. And you know what? I'm not going to give it a pass after all, the nineties weren't exactly the Middle Ages. Here are some gems from this book:

"'I don't need your help,' she snapped. 'I've never needed any man's help!'
He briefly considered the old-fashioned method of brute force, but knowing her sense of pride, he didn't think it would work. So he simply retorted, 'Suit yourself,' and stalked off to the house."

"She swept back a stray lock of hair and a lead weight seemed to lodge in his throat as he glimpsed the bruised cheek. Despite her pride and her so-called independence, she was really just a woman. And like any woman, she could be hurt."

"His gaze lingered on her cheek. 'That bruise of yours is already fading. Every time I see it I get angry.'
'You told me once it turned you on.'
'What it really does is make me feel protective. Must be some ancient male instinct. From the days when we had to keep the other cavemen from roughing up our personal property.'"

"There he sat at the foot of the bed... and watched her sleep. Such a beautiful, stubborn, maddeningly independent woman. He used to think he liked independent women. Now he wasn't so sure."

Yuk.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a big fan of Tess Gerritsen's writing and love the Rizolli and Isles series so when I found this earlier book that had previously eluded me I was eager to read it.
A young anaesthesiologist named Kate Chesne is accused of malpractice when a patient dies during a routine operation. She knows something is not right with the documents in the patient's file and believes she is being framed for the death. When Kate discovers others deaths that appear to be linked she realises that there is a bigger picture and that she must not only clear her name but alos discover who lies behind the killings.
This is another of the medical thrillers that have proven so successful for Tess Gerritsen and although this is one of her earlier novels it still ticks most of the boxes and delivers a good entertaining read. Admittedly it is only just a 4 star rating but I can still recommend it to Mystery Thriller readers.

[Paige Bookdragon · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's quite a shock that I finished this book within 2 hours..

[Sevgi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Katil çok tahmin edilebilir, çok basitti. 2,5 tan 3 alır anca

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Eglė Eglė · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tess yra mano apleista, bet be galo mylima rašytoja. Jos Ricoli seriją tiesiog ryte surijau, buvau pakvaišus dėl jos🤪  ir dabar po truputuką pažindinuosi su likusia jos kūryba. Kaip dažniausiai ir būna romantinėse knygose,  taip ir šiame romantiniame trileryje dominuoja du personažai -vyras ir moteris. Keitė - narsi, atkakli, drąsi, daugelis ją pavadintų moteris su kiau...s , na o Deividas nė kiek jai nenusileidžia - šaltas, abejingas, griežtas ir tvirtas, toks jis pasirodo iš pirmo žvilgsnio. Atrodo nieko neįprasto ir naujo, tai jau tapo šablonu meilės knygose, tačiau išskirtinumo šiai knygai suteikia detektyvinė linija. Pirmuosius keliasdešimt puslapių nejaučiau didelio susižavėjimo, buvau jau primiršus apie Tess sugebėjimą taip tiksliai ir smulkiai aprašyti medicininius įvykius, pilnus terminologijos, bet labai greitai įvykiai pasileido ir nebesugebėjau atsitraukti. Nors ir lengvai nuspėjama, aistra tarp Keitės ir Deivido suteikė knygai drugelių plazdenimo pilve jausmą, o detektyvinė istorija - įtampą ir jaudulį. Kartu paėmus tai tapo tobula kombinacija!

[Viktorija| Laisvalaikis su knyga · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vieni lūkesčiai skaitant šią knygą pasiteisino su kaupu - Tess puikiai vedžiojo už nosies, vis atrodė, kad jau tikrasis kaltininkas yra žinomas, bet vėl netikėtai teko galvoti apie kitą... , tad taip ir likau nenuspėjusi. Jei detektyvinė linija buvo tokia stipri, tai kita meilės - tikra pasaka ir taip viskas nuspėjama ir banalu.

Džiaugiuosi, kad iš pagrindinės knygų serijos apie Morą ir Džeinę liko dar daug neperskaitytų kūrinių, tai prie jų dar šiemet sugrįšiu, o turėdama kitą romantinį trilerį "Laikoma kalta" - tikrai jau neatsiversiu, užteko "Melo kainos".

[K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trigger warnings: murder, death of a child, animal experimentation, possible assisted suicide?

I read this solely because it's set in Hawaii so it let me cross something off for one of my yearly reading goals. I remembered reading Tess Gerritsen books back in undergrad and enjoying them, so I when I saw this was set in Hawaii and my library had it, it seemed like a no brainer.

Course, it wasn't until I was about half way through that I realised this was first published in 1990 and subsequently reprinted with a more modern cover. There were certain things about that piece of information that made a LOT fall into place.

I mean, the medical thriller side of the story? That was pretty solid and it kept me guessing throughout. But the romance side of the story? OOF. It was very VERY 90s. Lots of male dominance and man pain. Lots of him insisting that he can't possibly fall in love with her and then doing it anyway. Lots of her swooning. Lots of me eye rolling.

The romance? 2 stars. The thriller side? 4 stars. Balance it out and you get 3. MATHS WOO.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kate Chesne, a young anaesthesiologist is accused of malpractice after a patient dies during a routine operation. Kate knows something is not right with the documents in the patient's file and fears she is being framed for the death. The subsequent death of a nurse leads Kate to believe there is something larger at stake here than just her career and she sets out to find what is going on.

As you would expect from Tess Gerritsen, the book is full of suspense and a few twists and turns as Kate and lawyer for the prosecution, David Ransom unearth some well kept secrets and chase down the real killer.

[Neringa Gal · Rating 5 out of 5]

daug veiksmo. biski meiles.nu puiki istorija

[Melek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tess Gerritsen uzun zamandır okumak istediğim bir yazardı. Kütüphanede elime bu kitabın geçmesi ile de yazarla tanışmış oldum. Kitap 1990 yılında yazılmış. İlk basımı Martı yayınlarından 2014’te, Doğan Kitap’tan 2020’de yapılmış. Bu sebeple kitapta 1990’ların Amerikası ve o dönemin bilimsel gelişmeleri ışığında hikaye ilerliyor. Bu sebeple bazı noktalarda kitap pek bana hitap etmedi. Ayrıca kitabın sonunu tahmin etmek de oldukça kolaydı. Büyük bir şok yaşamadım. İçinde bolca aşk olan, yazın hızlıca okunabilecek büyük beklentilerin olmadığı bir kitap arıyorsanız bu kitaba başlamanızı öneririm.


Puanım 3.4!

[Sylwester Szlachcic · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[denudatio_pulpae · Rating 2 out of 5]

To miało być rutynowe znieczulenie, jednak Kate Chesne traci pacjentkę na stole operacyjnym. Podczas sprawdzania dokumentacji wychodzi na jaw, że pani anestezjolog popełniła kardynalny błąd, który bezpośrednio doprowadził do śmierci pacjentki. Rodzina zmarłej wynajmuje prawnika, by dochodzić swoich praw w sądzie. Kate jest jednak pewna, że nie popełniła żadnego błędu, a ktoś próbuje ją wrobić. Kiedy zaczynają ginąć inni ludzie, wiadomo już, że ta sprawa ma drugie dno, jednak czy lekarka będzie w stanie to udowodnić? Czy znajdzie się ktoś, kto jej uwierzy?

Pewnie, że się znajdzie :) Ja Wam to prosto wytłumaczę: oskarżona o błąd lekarski Kate i jej największy wróg – adwokat (bardzo przystojny, zapomniałam dodać) zakochują się w sobie. Koniec. Cała ta historia jest otoczką do płomiennego romansu tych dwóch tylko pozornie wrogich sobie osób.

Czy to jest aż takie złe? Nie, autorka nawet nie próbowała ukrywać swoich inspiracji romansidłami, więc nie mogę jej za nic winić.
5/10

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm glad this was not the first Tess Gerritsen novel that I've read. It was definitely not her best. The problem was the love story and all of the passages describing their lust for each other. They were like two teen agers whose hormones were interfering with their ability to think and act like adults. "She tried not to think what he'd look like, standing under the stream of water, but the image had already formed in her head, the soapsuds sliding down his shoulders, the gold hairs matted and damp on his chest." Sounds like a moon struck teen aged girl.

As in many of Gerritsen's female characters, she tries to portray them as being strong females but more often than not they fall back into a stereotypical female role by needing and wanting the man to protect them and basing their value on whether the man loves them. In more than one novel, the female convinces herself that the man does not love her and instead of confronting him, she tries to run away from the situation. The lead female is always insecure in the relationship and needs the male to constantly reassure her.

The mystery part of the story was good even though I'd figure out most of the ending by about the middle of the book. So if the romance had been handled differently, this could have been rated a 3 star.

[Kasia (kasikowykurz) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lubię Gerritsen, nawet bardzo, choć minęły już całe wieki, odkąd czytałam jakaś jej książkę i nie wiem, czy to moje gusta tak bardzo się zmieniły od naszego spotkania, czy to ta książka jest taka słaba, ale wynudziłam się koszmarnie.

Sama sprawa jest spoko, podobał mi się ten wątek i mogłoby się to obronić, gdyby nie bardzo niepotrzebny romans. To było takie złe, takie na siłę i nie na miejscu, że aż czułam się nieswojo w trakcie słuchania. Ugh.

Przykro mi, bo mogło być fajnie, a wyszła taka kupa.

[İlkim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yine yine yine... Tess bir kez daha beni hayal kırıklığına uğratmadı. Kitap çok akıcıydı, karakterler de çok iyiydi tabi. Bu tür kitaplarına oranla bunda daha çok aşk var gibi geldi bana. Kitap boyunca katili merak ettim durdum ve sonunda beklemediğim biri çıktı, tabi mutlu oldum. Tam dişime göre bir kitaptı kısacası. Konudan kısaca bahsedeyim bir de: Kate doktor karakterimiz. Anestezi uzmanı olarak görev yapıyor. Ameliyathanede arkadaşı da olan bir hemşireyi kaybediyor ve suç onun üstüne kalıyor. O da bunun aksini kanıtlamak için çabalıyor. David ise avukat ve işini iyi yapamayan doktorları mahvetmeye kararlı, zaten karşı tarafın avukatı olarak işe alınıyor. Kate önce onu ikna etmeye çalışıyor, tabi aradaki elektrik de belli oluyor. David en başta ona inanmasa da etkilenmemeyi başaramıyor ve istemeden ona yardım ediyor. Ölümler arttıkça Kate'in de güvenliği tehlikeye giriyor ve David yine karşımıza çıkıyor. Tehlike içinde ikisi birlik olup soruşturmalarını sürdürmeye çalışıyorlar ve işler sarpa sarıyor. Katil gayet güzel kurgulanmıştı, cinayetlerin sebebi de en başta aklınıza gelmese de sonradan anlaşılmaya başlıyor, o arada da açıklanıyor zaten. Ben çok beğendim tabi, kitabın ilk sayfasında Tess'in imzasının da olması kitabı daha da özel bir konuma sokuyor zaten. Tess severler bunu da okusun kesinlikle.

[Burçak Kılıç Sultanoğlu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kitap güzel de bana bişeyler eksik gibi geldi anlamadım :P Ama değişik olmuş kapakta Tess yazmasa demezdim bu Tess'in kitabı diye aşk gerilime üstün gelmiş :D Anestezi uzmanı üzerinden anlatıldığı için tıbbi bi gerilimde değildi.. sadece üstüne kalan suçtan arınmaya çalışıyor kahramanımız.. Katil şaşırttı ama öyle şok olmadım ne bileyim benim gibi Tess manyakları okusun ama Rizzoli&Isles seri kitaplarındaki performansın yanında sönük biraz onun için hiç okumayanlar bundan başlamasın :D

[ѕєяєηιтι · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tess'in adını çıkarıp başka bir yazar gibi okusaydım kitabı çok beğendim diyebilirim 5 yıldız verirdim kesinlikle ama Tess olunca insan daha farklı daha fazla şey bekliyor sanırım o yüzden 4 yıldız da kaldı benim için

Ama sevdim kesinlikle sürükleyici güzel bir kitaptı. Aksiyon romantizm bir arada herkes tarafından zevkle okunacağını düşünüyorum

[Book lover · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review to come after I get my life back again. But to sum up my feelings- I very much enjoyed the mystery, but hated the characters and the romance.

[Lynn Spencer]

I am at least a book or several behind on various series since there are just so many of them out there now. However, when I looked at this month’s prompt and thought about what I wanted to read, I just wasn’t feeling the urge.

I have been on a Tess Gerritsen glom lately, so even though this book isn’t part of a series, I decided to just continue trucking right along through her backlist. Most readers now would think of Rizzoli & Isles thrillers when they think of Gerritsen. However, she got her start in romantic suspense, often using her medical background to come up with some interesting plotlines.

In Under the Knife, her heroine Dr. Kate Chesne lives out her worst nightmare as an anesthesiologist. One of her patients dies on the table under circumstances that should not have occurred. Fingers are pointed at Kate as the accusation arises that she misread an EKG with fatal results.

Kate does not believe that she made such an obvious mistake and she is determined to clear her name. So, what does she do? She shows up at the office of medical malpractice attorney David Ransom, determined to tell him the real story. The lawyer in me read this part of the book and kept thinking, “There’s all kinds of ‘no way’ written all over this situation,” and yet something about the writing kept me reading.

This is a partial review. You can find the complete text in the TBR Challenge column at All About Romance: https://allaboutromance.com/july-tbr-...

[santiyecikiz · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5 🌟
Polisiye okumayı özlemişim, her ne kadar 5 yıldız vermesem de çok iyi gitti cidden e o da Tess farkı sanırım💖

[Courtney (caffeinereadrepeat) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jiggling Jack-o'-lanterns! 😳😯🤯😯

This quick, fast-paced medical thriller novel was just what I needed after a two day break of reading. I absolutely inhaled this novel & loved every moment of it! As always Gerritsen nails it with her medical thriller writing! Even with the smidge of romance involved in the subplot, it took nothing away from the suspense and mystery! Twice I was thrown off course of who I thought it was and the revelation at the end was unreal! I was as unsuspecting as Kate and totally blind-sided. Gerritsen knows how to wrap you around the mystery and suspense and keep you until she's ready to release you. It was so deeply satisfying & delish. An absolute humdinger of uncertainty that will grip you and keep you at the edge of your paws!

Mყ 𝐒ყɴ𝐨ρѕιѕ: Dr. Kate is a new anesthesiologist at a hospital in Hawaii. She's assisting with a surgery on a nurse colleague. But a routine surgery goes horribly awry and dies. Dr. Kate is being blamed and sued with attorney David who believes this to be an easy case. But Kate is positive she's being framed. And when another colleague's of Kate is murdered, David comes to the realization there's some truth to Kate's accusations. And the real murderer is walking amongst the patients and doctors who will go to any means to protect their secret.

𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭: 4 / 5 Jack-o'-lanterns! 🎃

[Valerie Drees · Rating 1 out of 5]

One star for effort -- mine. I like Gerritsen's work, normally, and the storyline was good -- but not good enough to hold my interest when she started turning it into a romance novel -- which I abhor! The main character was either naive or stupid and slow -- she made me want to throw things. The mystery story got lost in these faults -- I kept thinking "get on with it." I rarely ever turn a book back to the library unfinished, but this was an exception. Just didn't have the stamina to tolerate plodding through this one...

[Sedaca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okuduğum ilk Tess kitabıydı ve tadı damağımda kaldı. Heyecan, aksiyon, aşk ve dram hepsi dozajında tam bir çıtırçerezlik kitap. Sanırım bir favori yazarım daha oldu :)

[Marjan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dit boek is een kruising tussen een detective en de boeketreeks.