Review: The Shape of Night by Tess Gerrittsen

I went back and forth with myself and the rating I wanted to give The Shape of Night by Tess Gerritsen. I have been a fan of Gerritsen's for years. Her Rizzoli and Isles series is quite intriguing and rather different from this title.

The Shape of Night is far and removed from Tess Gerritsen's medical and police procedural mysteries. Ava Collette attempts to escape the tragic past that haunts her in Boston to an idyllic, remote mansion in Maine off the coast where she actually does become haunted. Thinking that Brodie's Watch, the home she's renting, will be the perfect escape, she's soon confronted by a ghost who is hellbent on making her pay for her sins.

Ultimately shit gets weird... really weird.

What's done well in The Shape of Night is the suspenseful buildup. Even when the title treads violently close to being just another ghost story, Gerritsen's expertise holds readers captive. She's able to maintain an interest in Ava even when Ava is beyond redemption. Ava is presented with proof positive that there is something sinister happening in her home, yet she can't resist. She's that dumb protagonist that goes back into the belly of the beast when everyone in the theater is yelling "no!".

Or is the need to pay penance that strong?

Hey! I'm a sucker for a good ghost story and I must admit, The Shape of Night does bring on the chills. When I wasn't engulfed in the story, I was still thinking about what I'd read. Sure, this read goes down the same road as many other paranormal mysteries but it's captivating enough for true Gerritsen fans to see through. The Shape of Night is so well-written that although it teeters on the line of cliche quite firmly, that too can be ignored long enough to roll in the hay with a ghost. ***

Copy provided by Random House Publishing Group via Netgalley