The Sinner - Tapa dura

"Thou shalt not kill" but that doesn't apply to whoever brutally bludgeons to death two nuns in a New England nunnery. Detective Jane Rizzoli, called to the scene, is brought up short when an autopsy reveals an earth-shattering revelation, so closely linked to her own troubled personal life it taints the investigation, bringing it nearer to her heart and away from professionalism, and, worst of all, breaking down the impenetrable veneer she so closely protects. Accompanied by medical examiner Maura Iles, the two women embark on a hunt for the killer, with Maura too becoming inextricably linked when a global connection is discovered. Fast paced and a "one-session" read, it is another cracker from this talented American crime writer, expanding on previous characters and introducing the new. Rizzoli looks set to rival the best of American fictional detectives whilst Iles is a gentler version of Cornwell's Scarpetta. It is a partnership one hopes will continue into the future, with each complementing the other in their various different aspects of the job and personality. - Lucy Watson

Not even the icy temperatures of a typical New England winter can match the bone-chilling scene of carnage discovered in the early morning hours at the chapel of Our Lady of Divine Light. Within the sanctuary walls of the cloistered convent, now stained with blood, lie two nuns - one dead, one critically injured; victims of an unspeakably savage attacker. The brutal crime appears to be without motive, and the elderly nuns in residence can offer little help in the police investigation. But medical examiner Maura Isles' autopsy of the dead woman yields a shocking surprise: twenty-year-old Sister Camille, the order's sole novice, had given birth before she was murdered. The disturbing case takes a stunning new turn when another woman is found murdered in an abandoned building, her features obliterated. Together, Isles and homicide detective Jane Rizzoli uncover an ancient horror that connects these terrible slaughters. As long-buried secrets come to light, Maura Isles finds herself drawn inexorably toward the heart of an investigation that strikes closer and closer to home, and toward the dawning revelation - too shattering to consider - of the killer's identity. As spine-tingling as it is mind-jolting, The Sinner finds Tess Gerritsen in peak form. Beneath its layers of startling insight into the souls of its characters, and the richly wrought depiction of the everyday war between good and evil, beats the unstoppable heart of an irresistible thriller.