Cover Image: The Shape of Night

The Shape of Night

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Member Reviews

As a fan of Tess G, I eagerly awaiting reading this new book. It is thrilling, but not as much as her previous and very popular titles. Paranormal is something that intrigues me, but this book was just that little bit twisted with the few "weird" things that is in the storyline.
I won't go into too much detail, as I don't want to spoil for fans, but it is a fast read, if you have the time and can read in one or two sittings.
Tess writes extremely well and picturing the scenes was easy with the writing stye.

Ava has travelled to a small town in Maine to escape tragedy, and put the past behind her and start a new. She finds an old home to live in which is a haunted mansion with a ghost that visits her at night.
Ava is curious to find out the truth about the ghostly visits and seeks out the previous tenant, only to find that she has disappeared and any townsfolk deny any knowledge of her. Any so the story commences.

You may like this book, it depends on an individual's like of paranormal. Give it a go, but it isn't the best novel by Tess, but I won't hold it against her, and will continue to read her books as she is a brilliant writer.

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I thoroughly enjoyed the Rizzoli and Isles series and generally like Tess Gerritsen books so was keen to read this new novel.
On starting the book I had mixed feelings, I was looking forward to reading one of my favourite authors books but not sure of the genre, romantic ghost story. The more I read the more I enjoyed it but still not 100% sure what to rate it.
The main character Ava leaves Boston for an old house on the coast of Maine to try to write a cookbook. She is also trying to escape from her troubled past and thinks there is no better way than to get away from everything. The house has hidden secrets and appears to be haunted by Captain Brodie who was the original owner and died more than a hundred years ago. The previous tenant, Charlotte, mysteriously disappeared leaving unanswered questions. Is t he ghost of Captain Brodie a threat to Ava? and is he the reason for Charlotte's sudden disappearance.
I did enjoy the book but prefer the authors usual genre.
I would like to thank both Net Galley and Random house for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

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I was already familiar with Tess Gerritsen and her characters, Rizzoli and Isles. I didn't know what to expect with this story but, I was very pleasantly surprised.
Brodie's Watch, a clifftop home in New England is the main star of the story. Built by a long deceased ship's captain, the building commands stunning views out to sea.
Ava has rented the house as a base for her cookery book writing but, more than that, she is running from a secret that leaves her devastated and avoiding her sister. Ava's relationship with alcohol is spiraling out of control as she tries to numb her memories in order to sleep.
A dark spirit roams the house in the form of Captain Brodie. At once, Ava feels the pull of this dark and mysterious form. She knows that he can't be real but, she can feel him and, as the days pass, Ava begins to experience strong sexual encounters.
Ava tries to seek comfort and escape with the handsome 'Dr Ben'. A gentle man who paints in his spare time and gently woos Ava. He is obviously attracted to her and offers his support.
Haunted by the fact that the previous tenant disappeared mysteriously, Ava seeks the help of a local medium who warns that there are dangerous events happening in the house. A body is found in the sea and identified as the previous tenant, Ava must face up to the dangers of Brodie's Watch and find safety in a new place. Can she escape the draw that the house holds over her?
I found this story really interesting but, it did seem to struggle with finding its identity. Not specifically a thriller or an erotic novel, I wasn't sure where the story was leading but, I was happy with the conclusion.

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Is it a ghost story or is it a story with guilt? A very different book by this author, but still an enjoyable read.

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I have never read anything by this author before buying what a great writer she had me on the edge of my seat I will definitely read more by this author.

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Ava is a great food blogger but a crappy sister. She feels immense guilt at her part in the tragedy which changed her sisters life. She has secluded herself on the Maine Coast to finish her latest book. Along with her huge cat, there are a couple of carpenters also rattling around at the house due to the building work going on.

While happily trying out recipes on her willing guinea pigs, Ava begins to feel uneasy. She seems to have a...ghostly visitor but can't tell if they are there to help her or scare her! Add in 2 very handsome men who are vying for her affections and all of a sudden we are in a Gothic Romance!

There are some triggers on this book of sexual assault/rape, kidnapping/abduction - so please keep these in mind. Great atmospheric writing and a tense storyline. As a lover of Rizzoli and Isles this was a completele different feel of book and I heartily enjoyed it!

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As a huge fan on Tess Gerritsen, I usually preorder her books as soon as a date is announced and without waiting for details. So I was delighted to have an arc of this to get my teeth into and review for her.
This book is a huge step away from any of Tess’ previous writing which are mainly crime based. The story starts as a typical ghost story and has a similar open to other paranormal ghost stories I’ve read; single woman, running from a past, too much alcohol, is she going crazy or is it a ghost etc. It then starts the get a bit surreal and includes s&m style sex with said ghost. For me this was a bit out of my comfort zone, I like a good thriller, I don’t mind a ghost story- I don’t like sex/romance.
There is no doubt that the writing is really good, it’s easy to be drawn in to the story and to want to keep reading just because Tess writes so well. I rated the book 3stars because of this, on storyline alone I would have rated it lower.

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I've been a huge fan of Tess Gerritsen's Rizzoli and Isles series for years but hadn't read any of her standalone novels before so when Anne was looking for reviewers for her latest book I decided to sign up, and having finished reading The Shape of Night the one thing I can safely say is Rizzoli and Isles it's not! Having read the blurb I was expecting a bit of a haunted house/mystery storyline but things certainly took on more of an unexpected twist than I was expecting which typically wouldn't be my type of read.

From the outset it's clear that our main character Ava is running from something, she's escaped to coastal Maine on the premise of getting stuck into researching and writing her latest cook book but if she thought she could escape from her past then she's sadly mistaken. No sooner does she step inside Brodie's Watch then strange things start happening, at times she thinks it's her mind playing tricks with her, and maybe a fondness for drink could be playing a part in her delusions, but at others she can sense that there's someone else there watching her. I can tell you now as soon as the first strange event happened, I would have been long gone so she's a braver woman than me!

The murder/mystery element of the book comes into play after a woman's body washes up on the local beach and it's not long before we discover her identify and her links to Brodie's Watch. So why did she disappear as quickly as she had arrived, what happened to her and could Ava herself be in danger?

Ava was a character that intrigued me, I wanted to get to know the real her and find out about the events that had brought her to Maine but at the same time her woe-is-me attitude and the fact that she was avoiding those that obviously cared about her really frustrated me. I wanted her to face up to and deal with whatever demons she was running from as avoiding them would only make it harder for her in the long run to be happy and move forward with her life. Her cat Hannibal also deserves a honourable mention as he stole the scene at times, and certainly created paranoia for Ava when he started hissing at shadows in the dark.

There's no doubt that Tess Gerritsen is a skillful writer, whether it be in the crime genre which I'm used to reading or this book which I'm not actually which genre to classify it as maybe paranormal suspense/romance. And she certainly amped up the creepy tension in this gothic, atmospheric novel that I really shouldn't have read so late at night that it had me listening out for noises in my hotel room. But on the flip side there were some explicit scenes that I could really have done without... I won't go into any real detail other than to say it takes the idea of a friendly ghost to a whole other level!

The Shape of Night turned out to be much more of an eye-opening read than at first expected from Tess Gerritsen but it hasn't deterred me from reading another standalone novel from her in the future, although I'm hopeful she'll return to the crime storylines that I have enjoyed from her in the past.

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I have always enjoyed reading the Rizzoli and Isles series so was interested in reading this standalone novel. It is completely different, instead of a police based novel it is a ghost story combined with a disappearance of a young woman and takes place in a small-town in Maine.

When Ava arrives with her fantastic cat Hannibal at Brodie’s Watch she hopes that she can put the past behind her and finish her book. Almost immediately she senses a strange atmosphere and as she settles in she realises that she isn’t alone. And that her companion is a threat. What happens to her becomes increasingly unsettling, from the paranormal, the past and the present.

I always like a spooky novel and this doesn’t disappoint. There was just the right amount of tension and combined with not knowing whether the presence was a threat or protection, I was eagerly turning the pages to see what would happen next.

I did guess correctly at what was happening in the present day and what Ava was running away from but it didn’t stop me enjoying this novel. I liked her relationship with most of the characters, especially Hannibal and the recipes were an added bonus.

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Tess Gerritsen is an author that’s an automatic go to for me – without knowing anything about it, I’ll read it. But I’m seriously wondering if The Shape of Night was written by someone else, it’s that different from anything the author has written before. A one hundred and fifty year old ghost; a woman living in said ghost’s house; that same woman drinking herself to oblivion almost every night; and there’s more…

Ava rented Brodie’s Watch in Maine for the summer so she could complete the manuscript that was almost a year overdue. Her agent, Simon, had been very patient but even that was wearing thin. Ava’s only company was her cat Hannibal (as in Lector) and the old house was huge. So, was she alone? Or was Captain Brodie visiting Ava at night? Was she dreaming, mixing her terrible past with her guilt?

Graphic sex scenes, S&M, an implausible plot – I was incredibly disappointed in The Shape of Night and am not really sure what genre it is meant to be. There will be people who’ll enjoy this novel, but it didn’t sit right and wasn’t for me I’m afraid.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

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This is definitely a different kind of stand alone book to the others from this author. Tess Gerritsen is one of my all time favourite writers and I applaud her at trying something different. It wasn’t a book that I normally read but I still felt it was well written and had captured the spooky supernatural feel very well.

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Thank you to Netgalley, Bantam Press and Tess Gerritsen for my arc of The Shape of Night in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: Ava Collette is running from Boston after the terrible events of New Years Eve. As a cookbook writer, coastal Maine seems the perfect place to write her new book centred on New England Cuisine, and the beautiful house she's rented; Brodie's Watch seems the perfect place to live. But she's not alone in the house. The house is filled with strange noises and seems to have a life of its own. Then she starts to hear the rumours that the house is haunted by Captain Brodie. Then one night she is awakened to find the man himself there, and he looks and feels like flesh and blood.
Meanwhile there's been a series of accidental deaths and disappearances which Ava decides to investigate when she begins to wonder about the previous tenant's swift departure from the house. Soon she is consumed by both the investigation and the nightly visits of Captain Brodie's ghost.

It's probably my own fault for not checking the synopsis of this book properly and trusting in my love of Gerritsen's previous books. This was not just the worst of her books I've ever read, it was one of the worst books I've ever read period.
If you can imagine Fifty Shades of Grey but with a ghost and much more disgusting. There's S&M and then there's whatever this is. Honestly this book was just so weird. I don't know if it just genuinely didn't know what it was supposed to be.
The main character mostly just got drunk and really reading about someone drinking bottle after bottle of red wine is not interesting in the least. As for the ghost I just can't even go there. The murder mystery was just not needed it just added to the confusion and felt pointless. I only didn't DNF this book because I was genuinely curious about how much worse it could get. This book was quite simply just a hot mess. I can only presume that it was published purely based on Gerritsen's previous successful novels because there is absolutely no other explanation.

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I'm not really sure how to review this book, while quick and easy to read, it wasn't really what I was expecting. We have Ava who, in the wake of a personal tragedy, leaves Boston to take a rental for the summer in coastal Maine, where she's determined to finish the book she is writing. She is able to get the rental on a huge oceanfront mansion cheaply, as it has a checkered past, and is said to be haunted.

Ava tries to get on with her life, and though making progress with her book, she is drinking too much and starts to have strange dreams in the house. But are they dreams or manifestations? As the old house casts it's spell around Ava she's not sure if what she's feeling is real, or simply drunken dreams while under the influence. She does know she doesn't want to leave the house, however when the previous occupant turns up dead things escalate, and Ava is drawn in to a nightmare that she isn't sure she can escape from.

I did enjoy this book, but I really think some of the scenes were unnecessary. I found they detracted from the book, and while yes, it was creepy, it could have been made more so by the power of suggestion, not the explicit scenarios that were repeated. This would make a good beach read, but it could have been so much more.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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I love the Rizzoli and Isles series so had to read this stand alone book from Tess Gerritsen.
This is a creepy, atmospheric thriller that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Ava moves to a house called Brodie’s Watch to get away from something that happened in her life, and to finish her cookery book.
The house seems daunting at first but when she steps inside, she feels like it’s welcoming her in.
Ava is soon woken at night by noises and then a voice. She then sees the figure of a man.
She goes to a museum to research into the property’s history and realises the figure she saw is Brodie himself.
Ava is very troubled so I couldn’t decide if she was actually seeing things, or if it was the alcohol she had consumed. However, when an investigator is called, it’s hard to tell if it’s all in her mind, or not.
Women have lost their lives at this house and when a body is found at sea, Ava has lots of questions about the history of the house and the area.
The last few chapters really had me gripped as I didn’t want the house to claim another life.
This is a great supernatural thriller that I highly recommend.
Thanks to Random House UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

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Quite a different direction to Tess Gerritsen’s usual books and as soon as I started reading, I knew I’d enjoy it.
Ava, a food writer has come to Maine to escape her guilt, just herself and her cat Hannibal with plans to write a cookbook.
Brodies Walk is the house she is renting for a few months, an old sea captains house which from the outside seemed cold, then instantly felt warm and welcoming when she stepped inside. But strange things are happening, is it her alcoholic induced dreams or something more real?

With themes of the paranormal in an old house, mix in some strange deaths from years ago, it’s one of those books you just let yourself go with the flow. I took this book at face value to be entertained and that’s exactly the job it did.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy to read

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Ava Collette is a chef who writes cookbooks. She is also feeling guilty about something she has done. She decides to get away from it all for a few short while and rents Brodie's Watch, a very old house with a sea view in Maine. The house had originally been built by sea captain Jeremiah Brodie, but it's now being restored to its former glory. It's not long before Ava sees a ghost, the ghost of Jeremiah Brodie. He tells Ava he wishes her no harm. Ava starts to look forward to Jeremiah's visits. But then Ava starts to question her sanity and contacts Meave Cerridwyn, a ghost hunter, to see if the house is haunted. It also looks like the previous Tennant moved out in a hurry. Was she also spooked?

I have read all of Tess Gerristens books and I've loved them all. This story has a modern gothic feel to it. The characters (even the ghost) are well rounded. There is an eerie vibr to this tale that I was not expecting as it's not usually what the author writes about. You get a sense that something creepy is about to happen from the moment Jeremiah is introduced. I did not know where this story was going to go or what the outcome was going to be. I just know that I loved everything about it. I do recommend this book.

I would like to thank Netgalley, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and the author Tess Gerristen for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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The prologue sets this book up as something with the potential to be deliciously creepy so I was eager to continue reading. I absolutely fell in love with Tess’ ‘Rizzoli & Isles’ series (both book and TV versions) but have only read one of her standalone books prior to this one, ‘Playing with Fire’.

I read a couple of early reviews prior to beginning this book that mentioned [ghost erotica]. I thought, ‘Nah, it’s Tess. She wouldn’t go there, surely.’ Yeah, so I was wrong. If someone told me that I’d been punked, that some other miscellaneous author wrote this, it would make much more sense to me than it really being Tess. I wouldn’t have requested this book for review had the blurb even hinted at this content, but here we are.

Running from a secret shame and seeking oblivion at the bottom of a bottle (or, more accurately, many bottles), Ava escapes to Brodie’s Watch, a hilltop mansion overlooking the sea.

“I’d hoped for a serene place to write, a place to hide. A place to heal.”

Ava is a food writer who needs to work on her very overdue next book and a gorgeous, somewhat isolated house that was formerly owned by a sea captain seems like the perfect location. It isn’t long before Ava becomes aware of the home’s unsettling past and some more recent mysteries that the residents of Tucker Cove aren’t especially forthcoming about.

“To the casual visitor, Tucker Cove seems quaint and picturesque, but it’s also a village that guards its secrets and protects its own.”

I’d already ordered this book from the library for my mother before I began reading it and since neither of us have ever voluntarily read anything that could be confused with [erotica] before, I’ve warned her of what’s in store. (Now, that’s an interesting conversation to have with your Mum.) If you’re into [50 Shades of Spectral BDSM] you’ll probably enjoy those scenes but when I was reading some of the more graphic bits I was a bit like, “My eyes!”

As soon as I suspected this ghost’s intentions I was ready to call my Winchester boys so they could deal with him. I personally would have taken this book much more seriously if there hadn’t been [sex with a ghost/demon]. Sorry, Tess, but whenever I stumbled upon snippets like

[“I want him to light the match and set me on fire, to prove that the living can satisfy me the way the dead do“]

I ended up getting the giggles. It wasn’t supposed to be funny but it struck me as so absurd I couldn’t help finding humour in it.

Because it’s still a Tess book (it is; I double checked the title page) there’s got to be a dead body. Even though our main character is a food writer, not a police officer or medical examiner, I expected there to be some mystery surrounding this person’s identity. As soon as the body was found I thought there was only one person it could be, and sadly I was right.

“Artists create, they don’t destroy. They don’t kill.”

I won’t tell you if an artist is the culprit or not but obviously Ava isn’t acquainted with Dennis Rockmond from his two Season 3 Rizzoli & Isles episodes, ‘This Is How a Heart Breaks’ and ‘Melt My Heart to Stone’, if she doesn’t at least consider the possibility.

I expect a challenge where Tess’ stories are concerned, oftentimes not knowing who did it or why until just before (or when) it’s finally revealed. This time I knew who the big bad was as soon as I met them. I also figured out early on what Ava’s shameful secret was, so wasn’t surprised by anything (other than the [whole BDSM thing]).

“You are the one I’ve been waiting for.”

I’m unsure if this is a real inconsistency or if I missed something but when Ava first encounters the sea captain she winds up with [bruising, yet no subsequent encounters leave a lasting mark on her]. It infuriated me that it’s not challenged when the sea captain [refers to Ava as his possession and even more so when she was okay with that]!

I have to believe that with a cat called Hannibal, the main character drinking Chianti at one point had to be a deliberate choice by the author, one that I very much appreciated.

I’m not interested in pigeonholing writers. I usually enjoy it when authors write outside the lines of what I’ve come to expect of them. I think there are going to be a lot of surprised Tess fans out there where this book is concerned though, besides myself and my still pretty much unsuspecting Mum.

About the cover: There is no way that cat in the cover image is anywhere near the 26 pounds that Hannibal, Ava’s cat, is supposed to be in the book. It seems poor Hannibal had to diet before he was allowed to pose for his big moment.

So, where to from here? I will definitely be reading any future Rizzoli & Isles books, no questions asked. However, after not loving two standalone books by this author in a row, I think I will be holding off to read some early reviews before deciding if their next standalone is for me or not.

Content warnings include [mention of suicide, BDSM and stalking].

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Bantam Press, an imprint of Transworld Publishers, Random House UK, for the opportunity to read this book.

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I love Tess Gerritsen’s Rizzoli & Isles series so was looking forward to reading this, especially when it sounded like a foray into a very different type of novel - a gothic paranormal mystery.

The main character, Ava is a cookery writer who has rented a mansion on a secluded point with views out to sea for the summer. The reason she gives everyone is that she needs to work in seclusion to finish her book, with a large kitchen for testing her recipes. However, mainly she is running away from her guilt at her part in the death of her sister's husband. After meeting the ghost of the sea-captain who built the house she decides to research it's history and discovers that several women have lived alone in this house before her and died prematurely. However, the ghost reassures her that he will protect her and she soon finds herself looking forward to his visits after dark.

The characters were well developed and the setting was atmospheric, but somehow I felt that none of the elements (gothic, paranormal or mystery) was as well realised as they could have been to pull this into a really creepy gothic mystery.

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A very different story from this author.A complex thriller with great characters,a stunning setting and a lot of surprises.Thoroughly enjoyable read.

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I did enjoy this book but through no fault on its own or the wonderful
Author it’s not one of my favourite genres , I’m a big fan of Tess Gerritsen I just felt that the romance and the twist level was fairly predictable and this spoilt it for me . Saying that I always look forward to new books by this author.

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