The police are called and the lead officer for this crime is Jane Rizzoli. The medical examiner, Maura Iles, is also called in but she is keeping a low profile for having testified against a popular Boston cop. She is not beloved by the men (and women) in blue at the moment.

Jane’s initial response to the severed hand is to determine where the body that goes with the hand is located. Not long afterward on the roof of a tenement building the body of a young woman, dressed in black is discovered. The woman is apparently the one from whom the hand was severed.

As the story unfolds it is believed that the death of the woman is related to a mass murder and suicide which occurred in a Chinatown restaurant several decades earlier. As Jane digs deeper she finds a Chinese woman, the owner of a martial arts academy. Iris Fang, now in her fifties, lost her husband in that massacre many years ago. Iris believes that the police were wrong when they announced that the restaurant worker who committed suicide was responsible for the deaths of the other victims. Moreover, she believes that the “suicide” victim, Wu Weimin, was murdered, and that the murder is tied to the mysterious disappearance of her daughter two years before the massacre.

The case proves to be a challenging one for Rizzoli. It has its origins in Chinatown where many of the residents don’t speak much English and are reluctant to cooperate with anyone outside their ethnic community. She secure the services of a second generation Chinese cop on Boston’s police force, Detective Johnny Tam, but she is uncertain whether Tam is part of her team as a career move, because he genuinely wants to help make the bridge to the Chinese community, or some third as yet unascertained motive.

Tess Gerritsen has written another winner in her Rizzoli and Isles series. This tale takes a look at the Chinese immigrant community, and at the vast tradition of Chinese storytelling. In addition she provides a wealth of forensic detail to firmly ground the tale in reality. There is plenty of action though those that prefer the graphic details be handled off stage might want to skip lightly over those passages.

Her characters themselves are realistic with their own attitudes and hang ups. We get a good look at some areas that Jane and Maura are in direct opposition. Neither woman could claim to be “right” but it is obvious that these two ladies are never going to come to an agreement on certain issues. Jane takes the center stage in this one as she continues to learn what is in store for her as a mother as she sees what can happen between other mothers and daughters. We get an update on Jane’s mother’s relationship with her new love interest and how this relationship has affected her extended family’s dynamics.

While I am pleased to see that the television version of these characters seems to be succeeding, I am happy that Ms. Gerritsen has not abandoned their lives in print. There is so much more depth to the characters in print. The problems and explanations are much more complex, leading to a much more satisfying experience.

--Andy Plonka