132,585
edits
Changes
no edit summary
We're in Boston with Amy. When she set out for university this morning it was a spring day and she wore her new, buttery-leather pumps but as she comes out of the library she knows that they're going to be ruined - and unsafe - in the snow that's now falling. As she crosses the road, a car comes out of nowhere and hits her. It doesn't stop.
Two months later, we're with Angela Rizzoli, mother of Detective Jane Rizzoli, and a keen defender of the suburb of Revere, north of Boston, where she lives. Nothing gets past her and whilst her boyfriend, Vince Korsak, is in California, looking after his sister, she has the time to watch what's happening in the neighbourhood. The family people who are moving in at no 2533 have aroused her suspicions. Matt and Carrie Green have hidden the U-Haul truck in the garage, the blinds are always down, Matt Green is putting bars on the windows and he carries a concealed gun. The trouble is that when she tells her daughter and the local police about her suspicions, they're not interested.
They're not interested either in the fact that sixteen-year-old Tricia Talley has disappeared from her home. The police argue that as she's done this before and always come back when she runs out of money, there's no reason to think that there's anything different on this occasion. Angela's not so certain but Jane Rizzoli and her partner, Barry Frost are looking into the murder of Sofia Suarez, a fifty-two-year-old nurse in the intensive care unit. Who would want to kill ''her''?
I used to have a rule about not joining an established series of books after the first one or two have passed me by. Somehow it didn't feel fair on the author but I've done it again: ''Listen to Me'' is book thirteen in the Rizzoli and Isles series and Although I've been aware of earlier books in the series, I've never actually read one. I decided to make the leap and I'm glad that I did - not just because it was an excellent read but because there are twelve books in the back catalogue for me to catch up on. ''Listen to Me'' read perfectly well as a stand -alone: sufficient information is given for you to catch up on the back story of some of the regular characters but there's not so much that if you've been reading the story, much of what's here will feel like padding.
The characterisation is top class. Angela could be annoying but I found myself rooting for her and I liked the quiet, unassuming Dr Maura Isles. There's a lot more to her than meets the eye and I'm looking forward to finding more from earlier books. It was the plot which really caught my attention, though. All the various strands weave beautifully and seamlessly together to deliver a really satisfying finale. I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.