Peccavi. That is the world written in blood at a grisly Christmas Eve crime scene. A young woman dismembered and murdered in her own home. On the walls, written in her blood, is the Latin word for “I have sinned” along with three upside-down crosses. If that weren’t enough to tell Jane she was dealing with a seriously demented killer, the victim’s severed head starring back at her from the kitchen floor surely does.

To make matter infinitely worse, this murder brings Jane into contact with Dr. Joyce O’Donnell, a psychiatrist who has made a name for herself as a hired gun for defense attorneys. She “researches” serial killers, including the one that nearly killed Jane on a previous case. Jane’s instincts tell her that O’Donnell isn’t telling her the truth about this new crime, and when she meets The Mephisto Club, she’s sure of it.

The Mephisto Club, of which O’Donnell is a member, believes that demons walk amongst us. That they are the offspring of fallen angels and human women – and the Scooby Doo Gang spends their free time pouring over ancient texts, looking at ancient symbolism and sticking their noses into official police business. Their leader is particularly good at this, with his money and connections, and Jane spends the whole blessed book holding herself back from knocking his block off.

While the crime scene and murder investigation is, as always, fascinating – the cracks in Gerritsen’s latest begin to show with the exploration of her characters. Developments in the marriage of Jane’s parents make for interesting reading, especially for fans of the series, but it’s Dr. Maura Isles who is the most problematic. This is a smart woman. This is a woman who should be making better choices – and over the course of this story she makes a disastrous one. Yes, smart women are known to make bad decisions when it comes to the opposite sex, but this one is a real doozy, and frankly the Dr. Isles from previous books should really have known better.

Also, Maura gets mixed up with The Mephisto Club, and she never takes a decisive stand one way or another. This is a character that has proven to have a calm, cool and clinical mind in past books. The fact that she fails to take any sort of stand this time out is particularly grating.

This leads the story to flounder much of the time, and it’s not until the ending that it gains any sort of footing. While abrupt, it is handled well – although I fear as readers we have not seen the last of the Mephisto Club or the ringleader who is particularly grating at times. His character, with his money and influence, essentially hamstrings Jane – and one suspects he’s going to stick around to not only annoy her, but to also be another romantic option for Dr. Isles.

Gerritsen certainly knows how to write good suspense, and the mystery here is well done. It’s the actions of the characters, particularly Maura, that detract from an otherwise exciting and pleasurable read. In real life, smart women make mistakes every day – which is probably why one expects better in fiction. As it is, I hope Maura gets therapy or at the very least listens to Jane.

--Wendy Crutcher