Tess Gerritsen’s ongoing mystery series involving Boston Medical Examiner Dr. Maura Isles takes a new, dramatic turn in this story when Maura’s safe return from a conference in Paris leaves everybody close to her shocked and elated. That’s because the police had just discovered a woman murdered inside a car in front of Maura’s home, a women who looked exactly like Maura. This led to the natural assumption that it was Maura who’d been killed in the car.

As a medical examiner, Maura is well-used to dealing with death and dead bodies on a daily basis. Still, this case has her all shook up, for it’s like looking at her own murder and observing her own autopsy. Who this dead woman was, what her relationship with Maura is, and how it all ties with Maura’s unknown past are some of the questions which a terrified but determined Maura sets out to discover, with some help from a heavily-pregnant and pragmatic Detective Jane Rizzoli. Little does Maura know that in her quest for her roots, she will unearth the evidence of countless murders stretching back years, discover the terrible truth of her own roots, and draw a diabolically clever serial killer’s deadly attention to herself.

In Body Double, Gerritsen goes beyond her usual skillful presentation of a murder mystery. This time the story is more personal to the central character of Maura Isles. The thoughtful and provocative story not only deals with some very pertinent and little spoken-of crimes but also integrates the emotional and the diabolical, a personal quest and a multiple-murder mystery to great effect. The character of Maura, who has so far been shown as a cold, professional woman who prefers not to air her personal problems, now finds herself smack dab in the middle of a media magnet of a murder mystery, one that’s too close to her for comfort, and is in turn devastated by the ugly answers she finds out to her heartfelt questions. How this character grows, both professionally and personally, as the story progresses is interesting to observe. Without a doubt, the suspense is intense, the complex plot provides plenty of surprises and keeps the readers spellbound till the last page is turned – an immensely engrossing and enthralling read, in short.